Hawaii+Annexation+-+Younsuk



During the 1800s, USA started to pay attention to the location of the Hawaiian Islands. It's location was great both commercially and for protection for the Pacific. At the same time, Europe was looking to take the islands over. Before Europe could take Hawaii, on July 7, 1898, USA gained, or rather took over by force, the Hawaiian Islands.

How Did USA Take Over?
First of all, before the first European settlers in Hawaii, long before the USA annexed Hawaii, "the Native Hawaiian people lived in a highly organized, self-sufficient, subsistent social system based on communal land tenure with a sophisticated language, culture, and religion" (US Public Law 103-150). In 1810, Kamehameha I established the first monarchy. USA was interested in gaining the Hawaiian Islands. So USA conquered Hawaii in 1893, and tried to overthrow the Hawaiian Government. USA, by force, "proclaimed the establishment of a Provisional Government" (US Public Law 103-150). The government was established without the agreement from the Hawaiian Government. USA once felt guilty and tried to give Hawaii back its monarchy, but the Provisional Government refused to give in to USA's decision, and kept trying to take over Hawaiian Government. In 1989, USA officially takes over the government "without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign government" (US Public Law 103-150).

What About The Natives?
"[T]he indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum" (US Public Law 105-130) Yes, like many other citizens of the conquered lands, the Native Hawaiians never threw their identity away. In consequence, "on April 30, 1900, President McKinley signed the Organic Act that provided a government for the territory of Hawaii and defined the political structure and powers of the newly established Territorial Government and its relationship to the United States" (US Public Law 105-130). However, the sudden change economically and socially damaged the citizens' health and well-beings.

What Did USA Gain?
(click the image for resource)

In terms of population, USA didn't gain much, since Hawaii was relatively small compared to the mainland of USA. However, USA formed a Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. With another force in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things did change. Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor in WWII, December 7, 1941, which ultimately led USA to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The naval Base at Pearl Harbor still exists.

(click the image for resource) Commercially, gaining of Hawaii was a big economic plus for USA, at least in modern days. Hawaii is one of the most toured islands in the world. The beautiful beaches attracts many tourists, especially from Japan. Although very aloof from the mainland, Hawaii raises a lot of money just from tourism. Plus, USA gained some money from that movie "Pearl Harbor."

Citation
http://www.hawaiitravelnewsletter.com/hi/annexation.htm http://www.hawaii.maps-pacific.com/ http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/US_Public_Law_103-150 http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_8moh.html http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/hawaii/flights-to-hawaii.php