American imperialism: the result of capitalism, business, and trade; the result of fear, competition with other countries, and the quest for furthering an economy—proven with the acquisition of Hawaii and the removal of its ruler, Queen Liliuokalani. Why and how did that happen, and in which ways did it impact the world? The United States removed Hawaii’s queen out of imperialism, an avarice for control of the rich natural resources, and the strategic military standpoint Hawaii provided them with. This changed Hawaii to a tourist base and sugarcane phenomenon, boosting the United States’s economy, but also caused a decline in the population of the Native Hawaiians. The possession of Hawaii also led to the United States’s involvement in World …show more content…
The constitution in 1887 was known as “the Bayonet Constitution” due to the current king at the time, King David Kalakaua, being forced to sign it at gunpoint. Queen Liliuokalani’s rewriting of the constitution provoked outrage from the Americans, and it did not go into effect. Previously, the United States did not protest Hawaii being under its control informally, with its own kingdom and rulers, but when Queen Liliuokalani challenged its intentions, it spurred a need to remove her and to annex Hawaii. After protests and neglected petitions, ships which needed a place in the middle of the Pacific to dock, unwilling Presidents, and at last, nationalism, Hawaii was officially part of the United States—first a territory in 1900—then, a state in …show more content…
Instead of ships using their limited storage space and adding valuable pounds carrying extra fuel, they could make a stop in Hawaii and refuel for the second part of the journey. Hawaii came with Pearl Harbor, but with the acquisition of this new military base, where the United States stationed over one hundred ships, came a new military strike. On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces targeted the Hawaiian naval base of Pearl Harbor, sinking or severely damaging five battleships, three destroyers, seven other boats, and wrecking more than 200 planes. The United States retaliated, going into World War II, which then resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of