Question

Why are American business owners trying to overthrow and to control the Hawaiian government?


1.The Hawaiian rulers were poor leaders and ineffective


2. If Hawaii were to be annexed by the united States then the businesses would not have to pay tariffs to sell goods in America

Answer 1

Short answer:
- 2 is essentially correct — economic reasons (especially protecting the sugar industry from tariffs and securing access to the U.S. market) were a major motive.
- 1 is not an accurate explanation of why they acted, though planters and their U.S. supporters portrayed Hawaiian rulers that way to justify intervention.

Explanation and context (brief):
- By the late 1800s powerful American and European sugar planters and businessmen dominated Hawaii’s economy. Their profits depended on favorable access to the U.S. market. Changes in U.S. tariff policy and the end of certain trade advantages made annexation economically attractive because it would remove tariff barriers and stabilize their position.
- Political control also protected their land, labor (including imported contract laborers), and business privileges. In addition, strategic considerations (a U.S. naval base/coaling station at Pearl Harbor) made Hawaii important to expansion-minded Americans.
- The business and political leaders who wanted control used the narrative that the monarchy (especially under Queen Liliʻuokalani) was “ineffective” or a threat to stability as a pretext to justify overthrow. In practice, the 1887 “Bayonet Constitution” and the 1893 overthrow were led by the Committee of Safety (business and missionary-descended elites) with the backing of the U.S. minister and U.S. Marines. The Republic of Hawaiʻi was established (Sanford B. Dole among its leaders) and eventual U.S. annexation followed in 1898.
- There were also competing narratives and investigations in the U.S. (Blount Report vs. Morgan Report) about how much the U.S. government was complicit, but the central economic motive of avoiding tariff/market problems for sugar planters is well documented.

If you want, I can give a short timeline of the key events (Bayonet Constitution, overthrow, Blount Report, annexation) or sources to read for more detail.