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Event that used to hasten to annex hawaii
Short essay on hawaiian culture
Short essay on hawaiian culture
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Did you know that Hawaiian culture dates back to 400 A.D.? There are many things about Hawaii that are often overlooked today in 2013, including how America illegally overthrew the Hawaiian government in 1898, violating the rights of the natives. The Hawaiian Annexation is a very interesting topic that strongly connects to the 2013 National History Day theme of “Rights and Responsibilities”. The Hawaiian annexation is a very interesting topic because any person researching it would find out things about Hawaiian culture that they didn’t even consider. The Hawaiian Annexation also closely relates to the 2013 National History Day theme of “Rights and Responsibilities.” There are an incredible amount of amazing things about Hawaii that sadly not many people know about.
Hawaii was an independent nation for 88 years. Hawaii is a wonderful place to visit and learn about, with its strongly-developed culture and spiritual ideas. There are many things about Hawaii that are forgotten, such as the meaning behind the traditions. Hula, the traditional dance in Hawaii, is often represented as a silly thing to do for fun. Hula actually has a lot of symbolism, the arms represent the waves and the entire body represents the good harvest. Hawaii is also a very important place in history, because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and its role in America’s military. While that Hawaiian Annexation is a very interesting topic, it also strongly connects with the theme “rights and responsibilities.”
The Hawaiian Annexation greatly in line with the 2014 theme of rights & responsibilities. Rights were a huge deal during the Hawaiian Annexation because the rights of the Hawaiian natives were violated. There was a petition and several organizations in Hawaii that wrote to the American government trying to prevent America from taking over. To me that represents that while the Hawaiians were strongly opposed to America taking over, America thought that their reasons were bigger, better and more important and went along with their own plans as if nothing had happened. In some documents America even mentioned that they were doing “good” for the Hawaiian natives. This is also where the responsibilities come in. American had certain responsibilities as a country, yet by violating the Hawaiian natives rights they did not abide and consider their own responsibilities. While many people think that Hawaii is a very interesting topic, some people think that it is a very pretty and they do not take Hawaii seriously.
Often times, the history that is being told is one of Hawaiian weakness, and defeat. The Bayonet Constitution of 1887, the Overthrow of 1893, and the Annexation of 1898, are all often used as examples of moments of powerlessness in the Hawaiian Kingdom. What about all history prior to, in between, and after, these major dates? Surely, it did not just disappear. In the last few decades, Hawaiian history has changed dramatically due to the works of many Hawaiian historians. The history that was lost has been found, and new discoveries are still being made. Hawaiʻi’s history is a story of resistance, pride, and unity. Included within this history is a man named Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox. Wilcox was a revolutionist, and a leader, but he enjoyed being a politician the most. Wilcox was the beacon of hope that helped guide the people of Hawaiʻi through darkness. Wilcox was and still is today a symbolic figure in Hawaiʻi’s political history.
The late1890s signaled an imperial expansion of the United States. After the victory of the Spanish American War and the Annexation of Hawaii, the U.S. had successfully expanded its borders overseas. Through the Treaty of Paris 1898, the United States acquired territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. For example, the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba were all obtained from the Treaty of Paris. That same year the U.S. also Annexed Hawaii into the Union. This massive expansion into the Caribbean and especially the Pacific created a political clash between Imperialist and Anti-Imperialist. During this time Anti-Imperialist and Hawaiian political leaders argued that the mistreatment of indigenous people was unethical. On the other hand, Imperialist like Albert Beveridge supported Imperialism. In Beveridge’s speech “The March of the Flag” (1898) he expressed imperialism was the Anglo-Saxon way, because it improved the prosperity of these islands and expanded American borders. Also, he stated that it’s America’s
Eventually, the expansion to this area became imperialistic. Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, offered one of the most attractive natural bases in the Pacific. Soon other Americans followed to become sugar planters and to establish profitable businesses. Americans were busy building huge plantations, warehouses, railroads, dry-docks, banks, hotels, and stores. They soon dominated the island's economy, and they were able to influence its government as well. Americans created and controlled Hawaii's legislature and cabinet, and they limited the power of the native king. As the century began to come to a close, disputes arose between the Kanaka and those of foreign descent. "Hawaii for Hawaiians" became the slogan of people who sought to restore the traditional ways of the kingdom. Others called for the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Annexation would eliminate the recent trade restrictions on sugar and revive the island's faltering economy. The imperialistic was taking over the islands.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
The people of Hawaii and other Pacific Island Nation groups have experienced great injustice from their colonial powers and the acts of imperialism. Lands were seized, cultural practices banned, language lost, and people were even forced to move away from their homes for the purpose of bomb testing. The United States and other countries abroad sent out representatives to do their work for them; in return their future actions would be justified in describing the Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders as savages that need to have wider powers enforced upon them; thus resulting in a tangled web of political mythologies.
The Hawaiian Islands are well known for their beauty, tranquility, and unique culture that have shaped this state into what we see today. The special bond that the natives have formed between themselves and nature is not exactly one of a kind, but it is something that can truly be admired. Around approximately 300 AD, Hawaii was discovered by Polynesians who arrived by canoe from Tahiti. These migrants brought their polytheistic spirituality and formed a large intricate society with hierarchies consisting of many chiefs. Alongside the ruling of the chiefs, the newborn Hawaiians followed a strict belief system known as Kapu akua otherwise known as the “law of the gods”. The Kapu was a strict set of rules and restraints that dictated all aspects of ancient Hawaiian life, including political. These rules were used as a means to control the lives of lower class and female population in order to honor their gods and maintain balance within their Mana.
John L. Stevens came to the island of Oahu in September 1889, acting as the U.S. Minister to Hawaii. While his mission in Hawaii was not clearly stated, his political actions on the islands clearly showed that Stevens thought that the annexation of Hawaii was proper and inevitable.
...se having more land naturally meant having more space for the immigrants and new opportunities. When business expanded, it meant having more wealth for the business owner. After the annexation of Hawaii, the natural resources were enjoyed by both America and Hawaii. Despite the fact that Hawaii was annexed during the war with Spain as a strategic move, America took great care in the expansion of the island (Thurston 1897).
While walking down the beach, the white, warm sand mushes between your toes. The sun’s radiant rays beam off your glowing skin. The sound of waves crashing blocks out the external world. There is no other place like the gorgeous tropical islands of Hawaii. The wide range of flowers, cuisine, and wildlife makes it one of the most picturesque places on Earth. It also leads the United States with the highest racial minority rate making it the most diverse state. However, there are numerous hidden dangers of Hawaii, and not all ethnic groups get along causing sharp tensions across the island.
Ii, John Papa., Mary Kawena Pukui, and Dorothy B. Barrère. Fragments of Hawaiian History. Honolulu: Bishop Museum, 1983. Print.
Hawaii’s economy started with trade. The first European trading ships that stopped at Hawaii to trade was in 1786. They were believed to be bringing furs from Oregon to China. However, the economy could not flourish so well without the help of pineapples and sugarcane fields. When the number of sugarcane fields started to increase, many immigrants were attracted because of the high amount of labour required for growing sugarcane. Plantations hired large numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Portuguese. However, the immigrants demanded their own food to be grown as well. This allowed the Chinese to replace poi, a thick gray paste from pounding...
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
...n. In this assignment I have covered the rights and responsibilities that the treaty contains and an explanation of the differences in wordings and I have also contextualised my understanding of the differences of wording against the Maori Worldview and the Declaration of Independence.