Hawaii 1810-1900

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, from the time when Kamehameha the Great unified the islands in 1810, to the overthrow of the Hawaiian government in 1893, Hawaii metamorphosed from a feudal society into an independent constitutional monarchy, which, compared to the similar development in Europe, practically happened overnight in Hawaii. The author points out, that in 1887, a group of American and European businessmen and an armed militia, associated with a secret society called the Hawaiian League, which favored annexation to the United States, forced the king at gunpoint with a bayonet at his throat to accept what is today known as the Bayonet Constitution. The paper relates that President Grover Cleveland had refused to approve the annexation of Hawaii; however, in 1896, William McKinley replaced Cleveland as president and gave his blessing to annexation.

From the Paper:

"The Wilson-Gorman Act passed by Congress in 1894 discontinued the bonus to sugar producers in the United States and restored the tariff on sugar imported into that country, so that the Hawaiian sugar industry once more enjoyed the benefits conferred by the reciprocity treaty. Consequently the labor question again became pressing. In the 1880's the government had begun the introduction of contract laborers from Japan in order to counterbalance the Chinese and restrictions had been placed upon the immigration of Chinese. In the 1890's the situation was reversed. By 1896, the Japanese made up nearly a fourth of the whole population. There were real fears that Hawaii might become a Japanese colony. Various measures were therefore adopted to reduce the volume of Japanese immigration and to encourage the immigration of Chinese. Yet during three years, from 1895 to 1897 that this policy was followed, the number of Japanese immigrants still exceeded the Chinese by more than two thousand."

More papers on Hawaii 1810-1900:

• Research Paper # 66027 : "NFL In Hawaii"
• Essay # 70019 : "Marketing Hawaii"
• Term Paper # 127142 : "Hawaii's Approach to Sexual Predators"

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