The Pros And Cons Of Hawaiian Annexation

751 Words2 Pages

According to the PBS show “Hawaii's Last Queen” the Republic Hawaii's president Sanford Dole annexed the kingdom of Hawaii to the U.S on August 12, 1898. An organization supporting annexation called the Hawaiian League led by Lorrin Thurston which took many other forms forced King Kalakaua to sign the bayonet constitution. This constitution striped the power of the monarchy and when his death came his sister Lili'uokalani ascended to the throne and her hopes were to restore power to the Hawaiians which the constitution took away. The missionary boys did not like the queens ideals so they planned to overthrow the monarchy for good which they did later on in history. The annexation was an unjust act done by a group of bisness men wanting power and Hawaii as a territory of the U.S. Although some might argue that annexation was good because it allowed trade to the U.S tariff free others oppose that it was biased because it stripped Hawaiian of their rights to vote and destroyed the Hawaiian monarchy. One reason why the annexation was negative is that it caused Hawaiians to lose their rights to vote on political problems. On the bayonet constitution which King Kamehameha was forced to sign at gun point it stated that the privilege of voting was no …show more content…

Losing the right to vote was bad because hawaiians can’t have a say in the goings of their own country without fighting the Americans. Furthermore because it made Hawaii a territory of the U.S destroying the independence of the Hawaiian kingdom itself losing its right as a country. The annexation had some good effects too like allowing trade to prosper though the way it was overthrown was an illegal deed. Some wonder what the outcome would have been if Hawaii was still an country and not annexed to

More about The Pros And Cons Of Hawaiian Annexation

Open Document