Annexation of the 50th State

Annexation of Hawaii

John L. Stevens came to the island of Oahu in September 1889, acting as the U.S. Minister to Hawaii. While his mission in Hawaii was not clearly stated, his political actions on the islands clearly showed that Stevens thought that the annexation of Hawaii was proper and inevitable.

Stevens held firm beliefs about the future of Hawaii in the hands of the United States. From the start of his stay in Hawaii, Stevens made it clear whose side he was on in the political war. He would openly criticize Hawaii’s monarchy, and at times would refer to Queen Liliuokalani and her advisors as “incompetent”(2). Stevens may have not held anything against the Queen herself or any of her cabinet members, but rather degraded them simply to achieve his goals of the annexation of Hawaii, something that he considered “the only effective remedy for Hawaii’s troubles.” (2) Queen Liliuokalani naturally spoke out against the degradation of herself and her cabinet, and on behalf of her position of defending the Hawaiian Monarchy. “The U.S. Minister John Stevens was influenced by the annexationists. As a diplomat, his role was to foster a friendly, trusting relationship with the Hawaiian government. Instead, he often criticized the monarchy in public. I complained to the U.S. government about Stevens’ attitude and conduct but no action was taken.” (1)

Since there was speculation concerning the reasons Stevens was sent to the islands, many people believe that Stevens did, in fact, have plans for annexation in Hawaii long before he reached shore. “Because of the prominent part that Stevens was to play in the dethronement of the queen, and the initial attempt at annexation to the U.S., and because of the absence of any official instructions to Stevens in the State Department files, there has been considerable speculation as to whether Stevens received secret instructions from the U.S. either before or after his departure for Hawaii regarding attempts at achieving annexation in the Hawaiian Nation.” (3) Stevens had many reasons of his own to support annexation. When he arrived in the islands, he saw many great economic and military advantages to having Hawaii annexed as a state. He realized that Hawaii in itself was a growing industry, soon to be had as a major sugar producer in the world at the time. Plus, Hawaii offered a huge strategic position, lying in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, which