ipl-logo

How Did Lorrin A Thurston Build The Bayonet Constitution

586 Words3 Pages

On July of 1887, King David Kalakaua was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution and although he disagreed, the presence of the Honolulu Rifles forced him to sign it. This removed the power he had and gave the power to the cabinet. This was the first step to the overthrow. When King David Kalakaua died on Jan 20, 1891, his sister, Liliuokalani took the throne. With Queen Liliuokalani rising, Lorrin A. Thurston and other members of the Hawaiian League formed the Committee of Safety, a group that focused on overthrowing the Queen. Queen Liliuokalani decided that something had to be done, so she declared a new constitution. Lorrin A. Thurston called upon the American minister, John L. Stevens to bring troops off the U.S.S. Boston which caused the Queen’s “revolutionary” act. The overthrow was unjustified because of Lorrin A. Thurston who called an American ship to come upon foreign land illegally and the Committee of Safety, who overthrew the Queen. …show more content…

Thurston was a missionary boy who helped to write the Bayonet Constitution. After his contributions to the Bayonet Constitution, he becomes the head of the Committee of Safety. The Queen plotted to make a new constitution allowing power to be restored to the throne while increasing the voting rights for Native Hawaiians and denying the voting right to the foreigners (Pitzer). People overheard and reported it to Lorrin A. Thurston. With this threat, he called U.S. minister Stevens to come upon Hawaii with naval officers on the U.S.S. Boston. This was unjustified because the arrival was illegal because the U.S. navy wasn’t granted permission to enter Hawaii. Thurston and the Committee of Safety thought of this to be treason because she was revolting against the Bayonet Constitution, so Stevens assured that he would not protect the Queen and that he would land the U.S. troops if necessary to protect American lives and property

Open Document