Title: Hawaii’s Monarchy Overthrown With U.S. Support, 120 Years Ago - HISTORY
Headings: Hawaii’s Monarchy Overthrown With U.S. Support, 120 Years Ago
Hawaii’s Monarchy Overthrown With U.S. Support, 120 Years Ago
Sugar barons and businessmen overthrew Hawaii’s longstanding monarchy 120 years ago, setting the stage for U.S. annexation.

Content: Having gotten word of the plot, Liliuokalani’s marshal asked the cabinet to authorize a warrant for the arrest of the 13 men, only to be turned down. The queen and her cabinet ministers then released a statement assuring that “any changes desired in the fundamental law of the land will be sought only by methods provided in the Constitution itself.” Far from placated, the conspirators gathered on January 16 with about 1,000 supporters, including many members of a recently disbanded all-white militia known as the Honolulu Rifles. In on the conspiracy was John L. Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, who ordered a nearby naval ship to land troops in Honolulu, ostensibly to secure the safety of American life and property. Around 5 p.m., Liliuokalani watched as over 120 marines and sailors marched past her palace with a rapid-fire Gatling gun and set up camp a few hundred yards away. Another 40 men stood guard outside of Stevens’ residence. The following day, an unarmed policeman was shot in the shoulder as he tried to inspect a wagon full of ammunition on its way to the conspirators’ headquarters. In the ensuing commotion, some of the leading conspirators ran up to the government building, located across the street from the palace, and proclaimed themselves in charge pending annexation by the United States. Stevens immediately recognized the new provisional government, with judge Sanford B. Dole–whose first cousin once removed would later make his surname famous for pineapples–at its head. Despite having hundreds of men at her disposal, Liliuokalani decided to acquiesce in order to avoid bloodshed. “ [