Territory of Hawaii

The Territory of Hawai‘i, abbreviated officially as T.H., was established on 7 July, 1898 and dissolved on 21 August, 1959 when Hawai‘i became a state. The U.S. Congress passed the Newlands Resolution which annexed the former Kingdom of Hawai‘i and later Republic of Hawai‘i to the United States. Hawai‘i's territorial history includes a period from 1941 to 1944 when the islands were placed under martial law. Civilian government was dissolved and a military governor was appointed.

Manifest Destiny

When Grover Cleveland stepped down from the American presidency in March of 1897, former U.S. Civil War soldier William McKinley took office. McKinley was an avowed imperialist and believed in increasing American prominence on the international stage.

Related Topics:
1897 - U.S. Civil War - William McKinley - Imperialist

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McKinley's imperialist policies instigated the Spanish-American War and Americans were sent to fight in Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Spain in 1898. Hawai‘i's strategic location for warfare in the Philippines made it clear to McKinley that he needed exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor. Not only did the Republic of Hawai‘i give Pearl Harbor but also native Hawaiian troops.

Related Topics:
Spanish-American War - Cuba - Philippines - Puerto Rico - Spain - 1898 - Pearl Harbor

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By the end of the Spanish-American War, Queen Lili‘uokalani proudly flew the U.S. flag for the first time over her residence at Washington Place. She maintained it was in honor of the flag for which her subjects lost their lives defending. It was the first acknowledgement by the monarchy that American annexation was inevitable and that she was ready to become an American herself.

Related Topics:
U.S. flag - Washington Place

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McKinley enacted Manifest Destiny policies during his administration. Manifest Destiny was the philosophy that America was created to be expanded. Manifest Destiny answered the question: What is to become of Hawai‘i and the newly acquired Philippines? One of McKinley's 1896 and 1897 campaign rallying cries was, "The Hawaiian Islands should be controlled by the United States and no foreign power should be permitted to interfere with them." According to McKinley and his allies in Congress, the Hawaiians and Filipinos were incapable of governing themselves and by virtue of the United States' superiority as a civilization, it had a divine moral obligation to govern over them and civilize them.

Related Topics:
Manifest Destiny - 1896 - 1897 - Hawaiians - Filipinos

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