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Hawaii during Anti-Imperalism of the 19th century


The first issue that instigated a nation-wide debate on foreign imperialism was the question of Hawaii. Anti-imperialists rallied to their cause over Hawaii because they feared that the annexation of Hawaii would not be an isolated incident but that those islands would merely be the "first fruit" of a broader imperialist campaign. "Then would come a big army and navy, international complications…and all the annoyances and perplexities from which we are now so happily free".

In January of 1893, the white elite of Hawaii orchestrated a coup d'etat against Queen Liliuokalani, ostensibly with the goal of annexation to the United States and the derivation of economic advantages that would follow such a course of action. However, the incoming Democratic President, Grover Cleveland, made clear that he would not endorse annexing Hawaii, and the issue was relegated to the back burner during his administration. A precedent, however, had been set; the United States minister in Hawaii, John L. Stevens, was unapologetically aligned with the planter elite, and many others began agitating for the annexation of the islands.

While the imperialists recruited military officers to argue for the strategic necessity of annexing Hawaii so as to protect the Pacific coast, anti-imperialists laid out the inherent absurdity of this idea. One must note that the United States' Pacific coast is about as close to Rhode Island as it is to Hawaii. Senator William Roach of North Dakota articulated the anti-imperial case. "If we need to annex Hawaii to protect our Pacific coast, it is absolutely necessary that we annex the British Isles and Europe to protect our Atlantic coast". In the mind of the anti-imperialist, Hawaii would not serve to protect the nation at all; rather it would be "our one weak point".

The anti-imperial aversion to Hawaiian annexation was not fueled solely by altruistic concerns, of course. One of the most common arguments against annexation was the racial inferiority of Hawaii's inhabitants, most of whom were Pacific islanders, Chinese, and Japanese. George F. Hoar, senator from Massachusetts, felt that the Hawaiians were no more than "children in an orphan asylum or an idiot school". In 1893, the Chicago Herald opined that if Hawaii were to become a member of the union, "its political management probably would be profligate and corrupt beyond anything possible, except the Negro governments in the South after the war". Even the less overtly racist misgivings were centered on the fact that the United States was hardly a paragon of multiracial harmony and that the inclusion of more, and more alien, minorities was probably not the most pressing need for the nation.

Another argument of the anti-imperialists was that the cost of defending Hawaii would not be worth any benefits that might be derived from annexing the islands. They pointed out that the United States had already enjoyed friendly relations with the queen of Hawaii, access to trade and coaling stations, and no costly commitments to its defense. In 1897, the Indianapolis News articulated the drawbacks of defending Hawaii. "In case of war it would be easily open to attack".

Posted by: Helen P. Nash

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