Hawaii Annexation Research Paper

In the later half of the 19th century, America faced a question that would test the founding principles of the Republic, the power vested in the Constitution, and how America would conduct itself on an international scale going forward. This is the question of Hawaiian annexation (Thurston, 27). During this time period, Hawaii was incredibly successful and was only doing better with time. Sugar plantations littered the islands, accounting for 87 thousand acres of land, and exporting 224.5 million pounds of sugar to America by 1890 (La Croix, 172). Like most countries trading with them did, America recognized Hawaii as an independent kingdom. Despite this, in 1898, Congress passed the Newlands Resolution, a joint resolution annexing the Kingdom …show more content…
America plays the role of both the biggest exporter and biggest importer. Economically, America had had a chokehold on Hawaii, long before its annexation. This trade alliance only deepened over time. In 1844, America made up 40% of Hawaii’s imports, in 1892, the year before the overthrow, that number had jumped to 80%. America’s interest in Hawaii manifested itself with its overriding of the Hawaiian economy. The majority of plantations in Hawaii were owned by Americans and worked by Hawaiians, Japanese, and Chinese migrant laborers. These plantation owners, despite making up a small minority of the population, would abuse their influence in order to rig the Kingdom in their favor. To increase their economic power, these sugar barons massively increased sugar production by spreading plantations across the islands. They bought up both private and government land, greatly increasing profits. In 1870, 8,500 acres of the islands were devoted to sugar plantations, which increased more than tenfold to 87,016 acres in …show more content…
Cleveland believed strongly in continental expansion, and nothing beyond it. He thought that American expansion had been realized, and there was nothing left to obtain without falling into the trap of imperialism (Hammett, 1-2). When McKinley annexed the Republic, it was driven by pressure from the Hawaiian League and American expansionists. One of the major reasons was economic, namely tariffs. Hawaii had entered a reciprocal trade alliance with America, meaning that Hawaiian imports bypassed the sugar tariff. In 1882, America lost over $3 million from this agreement. Because of this, when the extension was brought to Congress in 1884, it faced heavy opposition, only getting passed once the Kingdom of Hawaii offered America exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor (La Croix). With the annexation of Hawaii, the planters would no longer need to worry about the security of their reciprocal trade alliance. Another common argument for annexation is to secure America’s strength on an international scale. Hawaii, located in the center of the Pacific, serves as a crucial port between the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Hawaii had already served as a major port in the Pacific, and America could more easily directly trade with countries that it previously had to go through Hawaii for. Another reason argued was that if America didn’t annex Hawaii, another country would. Briefly, both France and

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