How Americans Were Seduced By Annexation Of Hawaii History Essay

How Ameri shags Were Seduced By Annexation Of hullo History EssayIn the title of this paper, I am do an eachplacet reference to a recent publication of Dr. Andrew J. Bacevich, retired US multitude col hotshotl and professor of History and International Relations at Boston University. In this title, Bacevich provided a contemporary abbreviation of the roots of militarism in American society, and the over reliance that America places of its multitude machine capabilities when it comes to world affairs.It may seem leftover at first, except Americas eponymous militarism and its modern experiences in the current globose War on Terror have direct parallels with the US ap takement in the 1893 eradicate of the howdyan superpowerdom. The US elaboration in the strong-arm removal of the res publicas sovereignty has been described as Americas first experience with governing body intensify.2In this paper, I will be documenting how how-do-you-do was in fortuity a sovereign nation inside the family of nations a s gumminessus which changed with the US armed servicess intervention in the vacate of the existing government in 1893. I will be framing this military intervention in the consideration of global laws and the linked States own codes on strugglefare. In addition, the denotationation of the strategically grave how-do-you-do in the mount of the impending Spanish American war will be discussed, as it has clear corollaries with the current US oil wars. (Just like the US-led violation of Iraq in 2003, Americas branchicipation in the undermine of hullos sovereignty in 1893 brings up questions of legality regarding international law.) To begin the analysis it is useful to look at the two frames of looking at howdy as an entity todayHawaii as the 50th StateIn researching this paper, I have gained a red-hot understanding in the score of the Hawaiian Islands, which is very polar from the standard narrative which is generally taught. In inc ident, what is clear is that on that point atomic number 18 now two distinct narratives that in play when it comes to conceptualizing Hawaii. The first is that Hawaii is the 50th state of the United States of America, having win statehood in 1959. It is an idyllic land of beaches, tiki bars and a haven for surfboard and brown girls in hulu skirts. One of the main texts consulted in this research was the Russs The Hawaiian Revolution. This monograph was publish in 1959, the year that Hawaii became a US state. This is the authors lead as it succinctly describes how America frames its conception of HawaiiNo commercial comp each would touch this book because popular appeal is lacking in the pages. It is simply non the kind of book which would ever compel a bestseller. Upon submitting a preliminary draft, at his request, to a reader of a advanced York publishing house, I received the following comment What the commercial merchandise wants on Hawaii is romance. I cannot quite se e how you can fitly put push by this book with a jacket showing a scantily clad brownish maiden and a blurb guarantee the reader that he or she might get some pointers as to how sin thrives in Hawaii. And that is what the public wants. An kindle aside to this is that this institution has unitary copy of this book, which was acquired in 1977 and in the intervening 33 years, I am the forth individual to check this item from the library.Hawaii as a sovereign nation under US billetIn channel to this way of looking at Hawaii, is to view Hawaii as a sovereign nation which is not a part of the United States and preferably has been under illegal occupation since 1893. This is certainly not the way that Hawaii is portrayed in mainstream education and media, but does make sense of and explains the maturation Hawaiian sovereignty movement. It is testament to the superpower and hegemony of the United States that what is in truth a compound possession is perceived to have ceded its pow ers voluntarily and become a US state.To understand this narrative of Hawaii is to understand neo-compoundism at work. The United States understandably had a re bare-assed vigour of Manifest muckle in the late 1800s. At this fourth dimension there was a excite westwards to the Pacific soaring, in search of cheaper labor, land and raw materials. innate mountain impeding this were fought, through the Indian wars all the west to the western sandwich coast. At this time there was great interest in the vast market of China and the Orient. Japan was a growing imperial power. The US was gravely concerned with European colonial powers and the nascent Nipponese colonial powers influence on China, as this was in large part an untapped market.Hawaii as a military out stockToday Hawaii is one of the most militarized places on earth. It has tens of thousands of troops and more than cl military installations on the island. More than a third of the land is controlled by the US military. It had become a popular retirement location for military personnel, and real estate prices are several times the national average. It is substructure to TheUnited States Pacific Command(USPACOM), which has responsibility for over half of the worlds surface.The mind of the American military base is a fundamentally symbol of power for the US. A recent count of US military installations across the orchis places the number of foreign bases at over 7003. A US posture in Germ any or the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are facts of the modern world. In his recent critique of the modern American pudding stone, Chalmers bottomson, seeing these bases as a symbol of empire, draws parallels amid the current spread of mid- and large-sized US military bases with those of the British Empire and the Roman Empire at the heights of their powers.4Given these parallels, it is homely why the label of empire has been applied to the American experience. This notion of empire changed the character of America from within and to the removed world, with the 1898 annexation of Hawaii was an essential first step in the creation of this new empire.Fundamental to the US domination of Asia was to have a military outpost far out in the Pacific. In John Hustons WWII documentary Report from the Aleutians he shows a map that illustrates how the Aleutian Islands and the Hawaiian islands were the two strategic outposts from which the Pacific coast of the United States was protected.5In essence the strategy was to establish naval transcendence by bringing the war to them, and have these outposts operating as vanguards against attack.Ernest may emphasizes the shift in Americas foreign polity when it came to the Hawaii question by comparing views expressed well-nigh Hawaii with those expressed twenty-odd years prior about the Dominican republicAs of 1870 they had still seen the United States as an experiment the only consequential nation without a monarch and a privileged aristocracy, and the only one that attempted to reconcile national and local anaesthetic interests by performer of a federal system.6Central to the debates and discourse that occurred more or less the mid-nineties was the Monroe article of belief from several decades earlier. By the 1890s The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 seemed to run justification for actions taken involving Hawaii, Cuba, The Philippines, China and Central and federation America.Ultimately, the Spanish-American war of 1898 was an important focal point that sharpened attitudes towards how America should approach her role within the wider world. To understand this, it is useful to revisit the Monroe Doctrine of over half a century earlier and to explain why it became so important at the close of the century. The Monroe Doctrine was declared in a few paragraphs of chair James Monroes seventh annual message to Congress on celestial latitude 2, 1823. Monroe warned European countries not to interfere in the Western Hem isphere, stating that the American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.7This made clear to the rest of the world that any such colonization would amount to an act of aggression and would be responded to with force. The Monroe Doctrine thus became the foundation of future U.S. foreign policy, and it set out to crystallize the New World from the Old World. Although this Doctrine met with tacit approval from massive Britain, it was not initially taken as soberingly as it would be later in the century due to the image at the time of Americas week naval power.Alongside the resurgent interest in the Monroe Doctrine, there also was a movement towards a new Manifest spate a phrase normally ascribed to an earlier period of westward territorial expansion. American historian and philosopher John Fiske wrote an influential article in 1885, published in Harpers magazine entitled A New Manifest Destiny. Referring to the margin against barbarism Fiskes piece which advocated Christianizing and civilizing the barbarians was rapturously received by audiences at the time, on the lecture circuit.8It is interesting to contrast Fiskes optimistic and expansionist world-view with the prevailing conservative American sentiment of isolationism. A prime example of this was in the US restrained response to The Chilean Controversy of 1891. In late 1891 two US sailors on shore leave from the cruiser USS Baltimore in the Chilean port of Valparaso were killed by rebels (who later would form the new post revolution government.) Despite registering his indignation at the attack, hot seat Harrison remained non-confrontational. Responding to this diplomatic incident he states in an internal memoIt has been my desire in every way to cultivate friendly and intimate relationships with all the Governments of this hemisphere. We do not covet their territory.9President McKinleys future Secretary of State John Sherman in 9 5 echoed these sentiments when he wrote that he hopes that our people will be substance with internal growth, and avoid the complications of foreign acquisitions.10It is in the context of the higher up tensions between the expansionist and traditionalisticist mindsets that Hawaii and its intertwinement with the United States came about. The gameground to the US involvement in Hawaii began with trade treaties cementing a relationship going back a half century based on missionaries and whaling fleets11. In bear for the United States permitting Hawaiian sugar to enter the American market freely, the Hawaiian government agreed not to lease or dispose of any of its territory to any other power. It also lead to the granting to the US of a naval base at Pearl Harbor. Interestingly the Treaty explicitly acknowledged Hawaii as a sovereign state. Overall, however, the effect of this pact was to dilute the countrys independence and make her dependent on the United States. At this point H awaii was a sovereign independent state the Hawaiian Kingdom and was governed under a single ruler (King David Kalkaua.) It had international actualisation and had entered into treaties and conventions with the nations of Austria, Belgium, Bremen (presently Germany), Denmark, France, Germany, Hamburg (presently Germany), Italy, Hong Kong (former colony of England), Japan, Netherlands, New South Wales (former colony of England), Portugal, Russia, Samoa, the Swiss Confederation, Sweden, Norway, Tahiti (colony of France), United Kingdom, and the United States of America.12In 1887, the King was forced to promulgate a new make-up which would drastically reduce his powers and transfer the balance of power to the American, European and Hawaiian elite on the islands. It changed the voting rights of the population and disenfranchised Asians from voting. This came to be know as the Bayonet Constitution as a result of the King being under scourge of being deposed by the arm militia and p oliticians representing the elite what came to be known as the Reform Party. This Party prefer annexation with the United States.In the end this led to the permanent ceding of Pearl Harbor and its surrounds to the United States. This experience of having a naval military installation in a foreign territory or host country was to be the blueprint for the future expansion of the American Empire.This nauseating alliance overcompensated until 1893 when mogul Liliuokalani, sister of the King ascended to the throne and went about drafting a new constitution which would restore the monarchys powers. As a reaction to this, elite mostly American residents on the island created a direction of Safety which had for its purpose the removal of the Queen, and ultimately to cede to the United States through annexation. A provisional government was assembled and a coup dtat took place aided in large part by the straw man in Hawaii of a detachment of uniformed US marines who came aboard from their cruiser, the USS Boston which was in Honolulu Harbor at the time. The presence of these armed US soldiered who were there ostensible in a neutral aptitude to protect US citizens in Hawaii was sufficiently intimidating for the Queen to surrender, leading to the abolition of the monarchy.What is particularly interesting about this whole sequel and ensuing controversy is that it marked a period of introspection and big concern for the image that America was projecting to the world. President Harrison had favored annexation but when President Cleveland assumed office again in 1993 for his fleck term (the first term being directly before Harrison) he strongly opposed annexation on moral grounds. In a message to Congress dated December 18, 1893 he states that all things relating to the achievement (the treaty of annexation of Hawaii) should be clear and free from suspicion. He conceded in the same message that the Provisional Government (of Hawaii) owes its existence to an a rmed invasion by the United States. The tone of this message makes it clear that President Cleveland survey the annexation of the islands to be unconscionable and would impugn the American people and the image of the country internationally.13In fact President Cleveland ordered an investigation into the overthrow by former Congressman James Henderson Blount. It was concluded by Blount in 1893 that the United States diplomatic and military representatives had ab utilize their authority and were responsible for the change in government. However, a U.S. Congressional investigation under Senator John Tyler Morgan into the overthrow, one year later cleared the US military of wrongdoing.14At this point Cleveland changed his position, recognizing the Provisional Government and the nascent Republic of Hawaii.The United States had failed to annex the Hawaiian Islands by treaty. The Hawaiian question remained, and continued to be debated. It could be tell that at this point America had to p osition itself internationally, wrestling with ideas between its traditional moral repugnance at the idea of colonial interference and a growing notion that it should take all outlying territory needed to (its) own defense.15That last quotation is attributed to the very influential Henry Cabot inn speaking to the US Senate in 1895. In this speech he forewarned of Japanese encroachment of the islands which would cause a threat to the United States.16Lorrin A. Thurston, leader of the 1893 coup, shape up pushed the cause for annexation by emphasizing the Japanese threat. He circulated a pamphlet17in 1897 warning of Japanese immigration to Hawaii and the threat that the huge numbers racket of arrivals to the islands would pose. Eventually they would be dominant in numbers and being an energetic, ambition, warlike and progressive people would pose a serious threat. Walter LaFeber summed up the years leading up to this writing Jingoistic congressmen, expansionist-minded naval officers, and militant-minded newspaper editors frequently attempted to conjure up the specter of British, Japanese, or even Russian control of these islands.18The following year in 1898 the new President McKinley was in favor of a Treaty of Annexation, but this failed in the Senate. A congressional sound out resolution was obtained this year, and on the authority of this sound out resolution Hawaii was annexed, becoming a US territory officially in 1900. This was an important turning point, as effectively this was the first illustrate of the new American Imperialism. It is also important in that the basis for the annexation was not a treaty but rather a critical point resolution (even a treaty of cession by the self-imposed government officials of the Bayonet Constitution would be suspect.) To compare this with today, the United States had as untold right to annex Hawaii in 1898 as it has today to annex Iraq or Afghanistan.This is a fundamental point at the heart of the eject the ov erthrow was illegal under international law. But in the context of the Islands use as an outpost during the 1898 Spanish American war, that is what happened. In his doctorial dissertation on the issue, Dr. Keanu Sai writes Congress could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands in 1898 as a librate of military necessity during the Spanish American war than it could annex Afghanistan today as a matter of military necessity during the American war on terrorism.19Dr. Sai, who himself served as a US Army officer, gave an example of how Americas involvement in the Hawaiian overthrow would be perceived now. He explained how if he landed in South Korea as a US Army officer without a military position of forces agreement or consent by that government, it would be an act of war.20When the US Marines came ashore in 1898 wielding Gatling guns and Howitzers to protect the insurgents, this was thus an act of war.Military occupation is currently regulated by the Hague and Geneva Conventions, and US Army scene of action Manual 27-10. Section 358 of this manual statesOccupation Does Not Transfer sovereigntyBeing an incident of war, military occupation confers upon the invading force the means of exercising control for the period of occupation. It does not transfer the sovereignty to the occupant, but simply the authority or power to act some of the rights of sovereignty. The exercise of these rights results from the established power of the occupant and from the necessity of maintaining law and order, indispensable two to the inhabitants and to the occupying force.Section 369 of the same field manual entitled Local impartiality and New Legislation states that the penal laws of the occupied territory shall remain in force. It is for this reason that in the current War on Terror US lieutenants can be seen to be acting in temporarily municipal capacities as Afghani town mayors etc. Clearly neither of the above regulations was observed by the US in Hawaii.The political crisis o f the Spanish American war provided the motive and the opportunity to annex Hawaii. From this point onward the military buildup in Hawaii took off in earnest. To keep the war outside the continental US and to protect shipping posts, a large naval forces was to be created with naval outposts at Hawaii, Guam, Subic Bay and Pago Pago in Samoa. By attaining Hawaii unlawfully, the US has demonstrated that military, scotch and political motives came first.Hawaii did indeed continue to prove to be the strategically valuable military outpost that it was presented as in the 1890s. At no time more so than during WWII. The war was fundamentally a global war between different colonial powers about who gets to control what. After the war ended, the United Nations was set up and charged with tackling the question of colonialism itself. The 1950s saw a wave of colonialist movements and clearly the US began to see Hawaii as being in riskiness of falling outside of the US sphere of influence. Sta tehood was voted upon in 1959 and Hawaiis ties to the US were formalized. At this time the minority of the population were Hawaiians whose sovereignty had been taken away, and the vote was passed by the very people who benefited from the illegal regime change. These people were the settlers from the US, the Asian laborers they had brought to the Islands and US military personnel stationed and living there.Clearly the interests of the native Hawaiians was placed at the forefront in this vote for statehood (a concept the UN refers to as a responsibleness of sacred trust.) The ballot for statehood gave the whole experience the veneer of democracy. Article cardinalof the United States Constitutionmakes treaties made by the US a part of the supreme law of the land, the constitution. As a signatory to the United Nations and by acting in contravention of its codes, the US was thereby violating both international and domestic (constitutional) law, in order to progress its military and st rategic aims.In his (of the time) groundbreaking work The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, William Appleman Williams shoes how America has used informal empire to influence and shape weaker states into an American political and economic mold. At the time of publication, Appleman Williams in his conclusion chapter references the then ongoing Vietnam war and he draws parallels with this and the way the United States acted in the past (Hawaii and the expansionism era of the 1890s.) It is interesting to now be able to draw parallels with the Bush Doctrine as evidenced in the Global War on Terror.Williams comments on the unmannerly Door policy for foreign expansionism which helped America out of the slump of 1893 (in essence, the fight for China.) This foreign policy advanced by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay allowed imperial powers to equally access the Chinese market, without in fact colonizing it. (It was a great fear of the U.S. that China would be colonized thereby threatening U.S . commercial interests.) He provided a revisionist interpretation of the debates occurring in the 1890s at the time it was imperialist vs. anti-imperialist Williams shifts this analysis to colonialist vs. anti-colonialist. This analysis provides us with further proof that the American experiment differed in substantial ways from the colonial empires of the Old World. His analysis also questions the then pervading narrative of Americas altruistic exceptionalism as being the primary driver in entering into foreign wars. Again, parallels can be drawn between more recent US crude wars. In an interesting contemporary development on the Hawaii situation, President Clinton in 1993 ( ascorbic acid years after the overthrow) signed a congressional joint resolution into law, known as the Apology Resolution. Itacknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Haw aiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum21To conclude, it is evident that a marked shift in occurred in the American foreign policy and militarism in the 1890s, culminating in the Spanish-American war. Americas approach to the Hawaii situation and the ultimate annexation of the islands was a turning point, and was clearly the first real evidence of the new American empire. I have reviewed debates and accounts from the time and later, influential revisionist writers such as Appleman Williams who makes comparisons to the then current Vietnam situation. I have reviewed and discussed recent literature from critics of current U.S. wars and drawn comparisons between Hawaii in 1898 and current conflicts over 100 years later. The conclusion is that although the symbol or form of empire is different it is still ther e.