King David Kalakaua Essay

By the time the United State was ready to explore new lands to conquer only a few territories were left that remained. Hawaii was one of these lands; it was led by a hereditary monarchy and was an independent state. In the 1820s America’s interest in Hawaii was sparked when New England missionaries ventured to spread their faith. In the 1840s it became a major goal for foreign policy to keep the European powers and influence out of Hawaii. But it was the sugar trade that gave America the foothold it needed to begin plans of annexation and later the statehood of Hawaii.
King David Kalakaua was the last king of the Hawaiian monarchy. He was a nicknamed the “Merrie Monarch” due to his love of music, social gatherings, and fine things but mostly he is accredited to be the monarch that brought the pride back to the Hawaiian people. By restoring
Grant American and other politically influential and officials, in December 1874. He was able to generate so much goodwill toward Hawaii that not even a month after he left the Washington Congress decided in favor of signing a reciprocity treaty. In 1875 the treaty went into effect which allowed Hawaiian sugar traders to trade freely in the United States. As a result land values in Hawaii increase rapidly as sugar production rose. And a basis for economic stability was established for the islands. The US, on the other hand, gained rights to the land that became known as the Pearl Harbor naval base.
In the1887 a legal document was drawn up by anti-monarchists a which would strip the Hawaiian authority from its monarchy and transfer the power to the Euro/American and native Hawaiian elites. It earned the nickname of the “Bayonet Constitution” because of the manipulation and intimidation that was used to force the King to sign it, by doing so his personal authority was denied and the legislature and cabinet of the government were