TAHPDX: History Topic

Image Citation: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h02000/h02140.jpg

Time Period: 19th & Early 20th Century

In 1894, the American settlers and planters who had recently overthrown the native Hawaiian monarchy and formed a temporary republic petitioned for annexation to the United States. President Grover Cleveland refused to approve the request. His action came from a combination of moral scruples and the fact that many southerners in his Democratic Party had no interest in making a mixed race community part of the U.S. Three years later, President William McKinley reversed Cleveland’s policies and signed a new annexation agreement in June 1897, making Hawaii a territory of the United States. A half-century later, in the aftermath of World War II, American leaders again debated Hawaii, this time over the question of statehood, which was finally granted in 1959.  Although separated in time, both decisions involved a mix of domestic politics and international relations. Cleveland was concerned about the legitimacy of the new Hawaiian government and the proper boundaries of the United States, but he was also apprehensive about assuming control over Hawaii’s multiracial population. McKinley acted in the midst of the war with Spain and the resulting acquisition of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and saw Hawaii as a vital piece in a new American empire. Fast-forward to the 1950s, and the statehood debate raised similar issues. Many conservatives, especially in the South, opposed statehood because they did not want to add more people of color to the ranks of American citizens. Many in the American foreign policy establishment saw Hawaiian statehood as a symbolic gesture that appealed to non-aligned nations in the context of the War.

This topic is scheduled for completion in 2011. Narrative and links will be posted by the end of June, 2011.