Bayonet Argumentative Essay

648 Words2 Pages

In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii gave up her throne to the United States of America. About five years after in 1898, Hawaii was officially annexed and became a part of the U.S.A. During this time, the Hawaiian people were bitter and mournful as they watched the foreigners slowly take over their kingdom. Many foreigners came to Hawaii to achieve one goal, to increase the power of foreigners and decrease the power of Native Hawaiians. The kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown with the use of force and was unethically taken. Although Hawaii received benefits that were mainly in their economy, it still does not make up for the wrongful taking of the Hawaiian kingdom. The 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii or more commonly known as the Bayonet Constitution was a legal document constructed by anti-monarchists who It was given the nickname the Bayonet Constitution because of the brutal force used with bayonets and other weapons for King Kalakaua’s signature. This document placed all executive power in the hands of the cabinet (HawaiiHistory). The Committee of Safety was a group of 13 men whose sole purpose While this may be true, this does not rationalize the fact that the overthrow was both illegal, and extremely unethical as well. Years after Hawaii was annexed into the United States, business boomed because of tourism around 1966 (Time). Hawaii was annexed under shady circumstances and was completely illegal. Men pointed bayonets at King Kalakaua and forced him to sign a document which gave up almost all the power within the Hawaiian monarchy to the American and European elites (Wikipedia). This unscrupulous overthrow swept the Native Hawaiians with feelings of sorrow and grief. Their monarchy was taken over unfairly and they were unable to do anything about it, their voices were left

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