For many years, the beautiful Island Nation of Hawaii stood as one kingdom under the line of King Kamehameha 1. With its warm waters and vast, dancing fields of sugar cane, the land was a desirable location for any ruler or industry to claim. Before Kamehameha became King, each island was governed by separate rulers who had worked diligently to keep the islands independent of each other; however, when he assumed the crown as the king of the big island, he was determined to accomplish what his predecessors never had and unite Hawaii under one sovereign control. In the middle of his reign, in the year 1810, he accomplished this task and henceforth created a single kingdom that would last for many generations (“The Monarchy”). This was accomplished…show more content… During this time, Hawaii was being greatly oppressed by French, British, and U.S. politicians who were seeking to gain control of the land’s resources. Because these men had complete control of the economy, King Kalakaua felt that keeping them satisfied was a necessity to the kingdoms prosperity. With this reasoning, he made the decision to secede the rights of Pearl Harbor to the Americans who were previously using it as a port during the Mexican-American war. However, the oppressors were still unsatisfied. These men wanted control of the entire chain of islands. Using force, they had King Kalakaua sign the Bayonet Constitution which turned the Monarchy into little more than a figure head (“Monarchy Overthrown”). The new constitution placed executive power in the hands of an appointed legislature and greatly limited the monarch’s ability to appoint government officials and veto laws. Lorrin A. Thurston, one of the constitution’s main perpetrators, said, “Unquestionably, the constitution was not in accordance with law; neither was the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Both were revolutionary documents, which had to be forcibly effected and forcibly maintained.” (Bayonet Constitution). Shortly after, the king’s cabinet was overthrown. He died within a few years of the document’s signing, leaving the decaying position to his sister, Liliuokalani, in…show more content… She married a white man during her brother’s reign, but he died before they had any children (“Queen Liliuokalani”). At the time she became Queen, politics were becoming more and more complicated under the Bayonet Constitution. As Queen, her mission was to preserve the islands for the native residents and to do that, she believed it was important to restore power to the monarchy as well as the Native Islanders. Under the constitution, only white men could vote which led to great opposition from Hawaiian, Chinese, and Japanese locals living on the plantations. To appease them and herself, on January 14, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani addressed legislators at a ceremony at ‘Iolani Palace proclaiming a new constitution which would restore power to the monarchy and the Native Hawaiians (“Overthrow of the Monarchy”). However, the constitution failed to pass through legislature. After failing in her attempt to expunge the Bayonet Constitution, the Queen began planning a Royal fiat which she was then advised to not carry out by members of her cabinet (“Monarchy Overthrown”). Heeding their warning and trusting their judgement completely, she ruled against taking such an aggressive stance. After making her proposal, thirteen of the men on her cabinet, all of which being of American, British, or German decent, feared for their futures in
