Question
. . . .On January 14, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani left the government offices at Aliiolani Hale after
presiding over the ceremony ending the 1892 legislative session. As the royal band played,
her carriage clattered across the road to Iolani Palace, where she met with her new cabinet.
Her purpose was clear: to nullify the 1887 Bayonet Constitution, which had severely limited
her powers and the rights of native Hawaiians.
For Hawaii’s last ruling monarch, it proved to be the wrong move, at the wrong time. The
mood in Honolulu was already ugly. American interests, dominated by sugar growers and
suffering from two years of economic depression, were critical of the government and
advocated annexation of Hawaii to the United States.
The idea of foreign annexation wasn’t a new one. English, French, Russian, and American
ships and diplomats had been maneuvering for influence in the Islands practically ever since
Captain James Cook had made the first Western contact in 1778.
Although Hawaii’s monarchs tended to feel more comfortable with the British, from the arrival
of the first American whalers in 1819 (missionaries followed a year later), Americans became
the dominant foreign influence. Even royal government had a distinctly American flavor.
Hawaii’s first constitution—signed by Kamehameha III in 1840—was drafted with help from
American advisers.
While the machinations of European and American interests in the Pacific helped keep Hawaii
from being gobbled up by a single power, proximity and growing trade inexorably tilted the
kingdom’s economic interests toward the United States. As whaling began to decline in
the 1860s, it was gradually replaced by agriculture on lands owned primarily by missionary
families and Americans.
But more than any other single factor, the kingdom’s fate was sealed by the rapidly
declining population of native Hawaiians. Between 1877 and 1890, more than 55,000
immigrant laborers, half of them Chinese, were brought to work the sugarcane fields. The
big wave of Japanese workers began in 1886. By 1890, foreign residents outnumbered
Hawaiians, and foreign diseases had so ravaged native Hawaiians that they numbered
fewer than 35,000—down from 400,000 estimated by one of Captain Cook’s lieutenants
in 1779.
Liliuokalani’s people, having lost most of their land and influence to foreigners and being a
minority in their own country, had little political clout left by 1893.
While the queen’s cabinet advised waiting for constitutional change, the mere threat
of that change was enough to move American interests to act. On January 16, more
than 160 U.S. Marines landed to protect American citizens and property. The next day,
a provisional government was proclaimed with Sanford B. Dole as president. To avoid
bloodshed, Liliuokalani, constitutional ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii and composer of the
heartrending Aloha Oe, yielded “to the superior force of the United States . . . until such
time as the Government of the United States shall . . . undo the action of its representatives
and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the
Hawaiian Islands.”
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
Source D • Civic Discussion
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
Even under the provisional government, Liliuokalani remained queen. But on January 16,
1895, she was arrested and imprisoned in Iolani Palace after the failure of a royalist-backed
counterrevolution. That same day, she opened her Bible to Psalms, and wrote across the top
of the page, “Am imprisoned in this room (the Southeast corner) by the government of the
Hawaiian Republic. In the attempt of the Hawaiian people to regain what had been wrested
from them by the children of the missionaries . . . and because they failed I am brought here,
to stay for five years.” Eight days later, the queen was forced to abdicate.
make it shorter
presiding over the ceremony ending the 1892 legislative session. As the royal band played,
her carriage clattered across the road to Iolani Palace, where she met with her new cabinet.
Her purpose was clear: to nullify the 1887 Bayonet Constitution, which had severely limited
her powers and the rights of native Hawaiians.
For Hawaii’s last ruling monarch, it proved to be the wrong move, at the wrong time. The
mood in Honolulu was already ugly. American interests, dominated by sugar growers and
suffering from two years of economic depression, were critical of the government and
advocated annexation of Hawaii to the United States.
The idea of foreign annexation wasn’t a new one. English, French, Russian, and American
ships and diplomats had been maneuvering for influence in the Islands practically ever since
Captain James Cook had made the first Western contact in 1778.
Although Hawaii’s monarchs tended to feel more comfortable with the British, from the arrival
of the first American whalers in 1819 (missionaries followed a year later), Americans became
the dominant foreign influence. Even royal government had a distinctly American flavor.
Hawaii’s first constitution—signed by Kamehameha III in 1840—was drafted with help from
American advisers.
While the machinations of European and American interests in the Pacific helped keep Hawaii
from being gobbled up by a single power, proximity and growing trade inexorably tilted the
kingdom’s economic interests toward the United States. As whaling began to decline in
the 1860s, it was gradually replaced by agriculture on lands owned primarily by missionary
families and Americans.
But more than any other single factor, the kingdom’s fate was sealed by the rapidly
declining population of native Hawaiians. Between 1877 and 1890, more than 55,000
immigrant laborers, half of them Chinese, were brought to work the sugarcane fields. The
big wave of Japanese workers began in 1886. By 1890, foreign residents outnumbered
Hawaiians, and foreign diseases had so ravaged native Hawaiians that they numbered
fewer than 35,000—down from 400,000 estimated by one of Captain Cook’s lieutenants
in 1779.
Liliuokalani’s people, having lost most of their land and influence to foreigners and being a
minority in their own country, had little political clout left by 1893.
While the queen’s cabinet advised waiting for constitutional change, the mere threat
of that change was enough to move American interests to act. On January 16, more
than 160 U.S. Marines landed to protect American citizens and property. The next day,
a provisional government was proclaimed with Sanford B. Dole as president. To avoid
bloodshed, Liliuokalani, constitutional ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii and composer of the
heartrending Aloha Oe, yielded “to the superior force of the United States . . . until such
time as the Government of the United States shall . . . undo the action of its representatives
and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the
Hawaiian Islands.”
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
Source D • Civic Discussion
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
Even under the provisional government, Liliuokalani remained queen. But on January 16,
1895, she was arrested and imprisoned in Iolani Palace after the failure of a royalist-backed
counterrevolution. That same day, she opened her Bible to Psalms, and wrote across the top
of the page, “Am imprisoned in this room (the Southeast corner) by the government of the
Hawaiian Republic. In the attempt of the Hawaiian people to regain what had been wrested
from them by the children of the missionaries . . . and because they failed I am brought here,
to stay for five years.” Eight days later, the queen was forced to abdicate.
make it shorter
Answers
GPT-4o mini
On January 14, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani concluded the 1892 legislative session and aimed to nullify the 1887 Bayonet Constitution, which restricted her powers and native Hawaiian rights. However, tensions in Honolulu were rising due to American interests, particularly sugar planters, advocating for Hawaii's annexation amid an economic depression.
Since Captain James Cook's arrival in 1778, foreign nations had vied for influence in Hawaii, though American presence grew dominant after the arrival of whalers and missionaries in the early 19th century. The kingdom's economic ties increasingly leaned toward the U.S. as agriculture replaced whaling, and a declining native Hawaiian population due to disease led to foreign labor outnumbering locals by the 1890s.
In response to the queen's intentions, over 160 U.S. Marines landed on January 16, 1893, leading to the proclamation of a provisional government with Sanford B. Dole as president. Liliuokalani yielded to American forces, claiming her constitutional sovereignty. Although she retained her title, she was arrested on January 16, 1895, following a failed counterrevolution. While imprisoned in Iolani Palace, she wrote about her ordeal and was forced to abdicate eight days later.
Since Captain James Cook's arrival in 1778, foreign nations had vied for influence in Hawaii, though American presence grew dominant after the arrival of whalers and missionaries in the early 19th century. The kingdom's economic ties increasingly leaned toward the U.S. as agriculture replaced whaling, and a declining native Hawaiian population due to disease led to foreign labor outnumbering locals by the 1890s.
In response to the queen's intentions, over 160 U.S. Marines landed on January 16, 1893, leading to the proclamation of a provisional government with Sanford B. Dole as president. Liliuokalani yielded to American forces, claiming her constitutional sovereignty. Although she retained her title, she was arrested on January 16, 1895, following a failed counterrevolution. While imprisoned in Iolani Palace, she wrote about her ordeal and was forced to abdicate eight days later.