Hawaii Foreign Policy Essay

589 Words3 Pages

Since the founding of the United States, many situations both domestic and foreign have been created by or resolved by the United States. There are some situations, especially with foreign policy that have been greatly impacted by the United States.
Today Hawaii is a state that is part of the united states, but there was a time that it was its own kingdom. Hawaii has been crucial in the united states history and if certain situation hadn’t happened prior to 1933 Hawaii may never have become a state in the united states. In 1875, the kingdom of Hawaii signed a reciprocal trade agreement with the united states that would make sugar imports to the united states duty-free. Pg. 696. With duty free sugar being produced this would have saved American …show more content…

This promise resulted in a huge boom in sugar production. Much of the labor for the farms were Japanese or Chinese. This cheap labor save producers even more money helping boost the power of the sugar growers in Hawaii.
In 1891 the king’s sister Liliuokalani ascended the throne in Hawaii. Liliuokalani tried to eliminate the political power of the American planters at the time, but ultimately this back fired on her resulting in a revolt of the white population. Marines were sent in the assist and within a month a committee with the new government of Hawaii was in Washington, DC with a treaty that would allow annexation of Hawaii.
By 1897 President William McKinley stated that we needed Hawaii and just as much and a good deal more that California. When he couldn’t get the senate to get a two-thirds majority vote he used a joint resolution of the house and senate to achieve what he wanted. Pg.698
In 1917 near the end of World War I president Woodrow Wilson said that America had no selfish war aims. He said that “We desire no conquest, no domination.” He also stated that “We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind.” Pg.774. President Wilson later came up with a program that would be labeled the fourteen