Annexation+of+Hawaii

=__Causes__= In the 1800's the leaders of America were worried that Hawaii would become part of the European empire. In 1842, Secretary of State Daniel Webster sent a letter to Hawaiian agents in Washington affirming U.S. interests in Hawaii and opposing annexation by any other nation. A port for trade was also desired with the annexation of Hawaii, which would help trade along to China and the rest of Asia. The Americans were also considered an imperalist power, which were caused by four main factors: 1. The Americans felt that they were losing out on the chances to get more land. 2. In order to get more resources for the country. 3. To be able to expand the country and its power, because of the closing of the frontier. 4. And finally to open up more trade, to mobilize the army and navy, and to create military posts. =__Means of being obtained__= When Queen Liliuokalani moved to establish a stronger monarchy, Americans under the leadership of Samuel Dole deposed her in 1893. The administration of President Benjamin Harrison encouraged the takeover of Hawaii, and dispatched sailors from the USS Boston to the islands to surround the royal palace. The U.S. minister that went to Hawaii, John L. Stevens, worked closely with the new government there. Dole sent a delegation to Washington in 1894 seeking annexation, but the new President, Grover Cleveland, opposed annexation and tried to restore the Queen. Due to the nationalism aroused by the Spanish-American War, the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 also with the help of President William McKinley. He met with a committee of annexationists from Hawaii, Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney. After negotiations, in June 1897, McKinley agreed to a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaii. The president then submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for approval. The Newlands Resolution in Congress annexed the Republic to the United States and it became the Territory of Hawaii. Although there was opposition in the islands, the Newlands Resolution was passed by the House on June 15, 1898, by a vote of 209 to 91, and then by the Senate on July 6, 1898, by a vote of 42 to 21. Its legality continues to be questioned because it was only a resolution of the United States Government, not a treaty of cession or conquest which is required by international law. Despite several attempts to become a state, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years, until 1959 when it was finally granted statehood.During the 1950s the power of plantation owners was finally broken in a non-violent revolution by descendants of immigrant laborers. Since they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. The The Hawaii Republican Party, strongly supported by plantation owners, was voted out of office. Then the Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated politics there for 40 years. Hawaii's residents actively campaigned for statehood, hoping that they would get full voting rights. In March 1959, Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law, which gave Hawaii statehood.

=__What the Newlands Resolution was__= The Newlands Resolution said, "Whereas, the Government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America, all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also to cede and transfer to the United States, the absolute fee and ownership of all public, Government, or Crown lands, public buildings or edifices, ports, harbors, military equipment, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the Government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereunto appertaining: Therefore, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That said cession is accepted, ratified, and confirmed, and that the said Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies be, and they are hereby, annexed as a part of the territory of the United States and are subject to the sovereign dominion thereof, and that all and singular the property and rights hereinbefore mentioned are vested in the United States of America." The Newlands Resolution established a five-member commission to study the laws that were needed in Hawaii. The commission included: Territorial Governor Dole, U.S. Senators Shelby M. Cullom and John T. Morgan, Congressman Robert R. Hitt and former Hawaii Chief Justice and later Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear.

=__Hawaii Admission Act__= The Admission Act, once an act to provide for the admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union, is a statute enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower which dissolved the Territory of Hawaii and established the State of Hawaii as the 50th state to be admitted into the union. Hawaii still remains the most recent state to join the United States. =__Why it was important__=

Hawaii would prove a key provisioning spot for American whaling ships, a fertile ground for American protestant missionaries, and a new source of sugar cane and pineapple production.The annexation of Hawaii would also greatly help the United States in regards to trading. Hawaii would also serve as a pit stop for the U.S. when making trips to China and the rest of Asia. Gaining control of Hawaii most importantly took away the chance for European countries to capitalize on it's great abundances of resources, and its ideal location for trade with Asia. =__Results__= America's annexation of Hawaii in 1898 extended U.S. territory into the Pacific Ocean and led to the rise of the United States as a Pacific power. Hawaii's economy became increasingly integrated with and dependent on the United States. In 1875 they made a trade agreement that furthur connected the two countries. U.S. sugar plantation owners from the United States came to dominate the economy and politics of the islands. Samuel Dole later became Hawaii's first governor. The annexation also added a 50th state to the U.S., and to this day is the last state to be added.

Links/Sources: [] [|Timeline of the annexation of Hawaii] [|Treaty of Annexation of Hawaii] [] []