''Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen''
is a book written by Queen
Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the
Kingdom of Hawaii. It was first published in 1898, five years after the
overthrow of the Kingdom. In it, Liliuokalani gives her account of her upbringing, her accession to the throne, the overthrow of her government by pro-American forces, her appeals to the United States to restore the Hawaiian monarchy, and her arrest and trial following an unsuccessful 1895 rebellion against the Republic of Hawaii.
Her appeals immediately after the overthrow were acted upon by her friend, President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
, who demanded her reinstatement from the President of Hawaii,
Sanford B. Dole
Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was a lawyer and jurist from the Hawaiian Islands. He lived through the periods when Hawaii was a kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory. A descendant of the American missionary ...
, following a confidential investigation and report by
James Henderson Blount
James Henderson Blount (September 12, 1837 – March 8, 1903) was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the American involvement in the political revolut ...
submitted July 17, 1893. Dole refused Cleveland's demands. Cleveland then referred the matter to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
. The Congress investigated further and produced the
Morgan Report
The Morgan Report was an 1894 report concluding an official U.S. Congressional investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the alleged role of U.S. military troops (both bluejackets and marines) in th ...
on February 26, 1894, which concluded that the U.S. had no role in the Hawaiian Revolution. Following the Morgan Report, the Turpie Resolution of May 31, 1894 ended any hope for further assistance in regaining her throne, and her further appeals for help were rebuffed by the Cleveland administration.
In 1898, the same year the book was originally published, U.S. president McKinley and Congress passed a Joint Resolution known as the
Newlands Resolution
The Newlands Resolution was a joint resolution passed on July 7, 1898, by the United States Congress to annex the independent Republic of Hawaii. In 1900, Congress created the Territory of Hawaii.
The resolution was drafted by Representative Fr ...
, annexing Hawaiʻi as a U.S. territory. This Treaty was declined by Queen Liliʻuokalani and was very unpopular with the people of Hawai'i, and the legality of this annexation
remains in question today.
This book is seen by many in the
Hawaiian sovereignty movement as a key source documenting the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. However, many of her assertions regarding the overthrow are contradicted by other primary sources, including the
Morgan Report
The Morgan Report was an 1894 report concluding an official U.S. Congressional investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the alleged role of U.S. military troops (both bluejackets and marines) in th ...
and the Native Hawaiians Study Commission Report of 1983.
In either case, many people believe that the work is successful in conveying the frustration and sadness by the Queen and her supporters both for her loss of the throne, as well as the end of the independent nation of Hawaii upon annexation to the United States.
References
External links
Online editiona
A Celebration of Women Writersweb site of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
The Morgan ReportReportof the Native Hawaiians Study Commission U.S. Congress 1983
Further reading
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Online Edition
1898 non-fiction books
Hawaiian Kingdom
Hawaiian literature
Books about Hawaii
Biographies about royalty
1898 in Hawaii
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