Mike, an excellent source for your question about the source of the revolution in Hawaii is a book written by Kinzer titled, "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq." Leaves little doubt that it was the interests of American business that motivated this so-called 'revolt,' as well as the many to follow. Highly recommended.
Joan [email protected] > On this day in 1893, a revolution was led by local businessmen > and sugar planters which caused the Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani > to abdicate, thus setting the stage for Hawaii's annexation, eventual > statehood, and the birthplace of the first African-American President, > Barack Obama. > > For the story as presented by the media, namely, the New York Times, > see: > http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0117.html#article > (NOTE: the image of the front page of the NYT has an ad by > R.H. Macy, the retailer that is with us today [though for how > much longer is another question; the NYT recently said it would > return to putting ads on the front page in order to generate > needed revenue]). > > However, was the revolution and the removal of the Queen > a popular revolt or was it a cynical power play by American > businessmen to maintain their hegemony in Hawaii while being > backed by the power of the U.S. military (U.S. Marines and > Sailors were brought in by the local U.S. authority in order > to "maintain order"; martial law was declared and, in essence, > the U.S. military supported the "revolutionaries")? I will leave > that question to those who are more familiar with the history of > Hawaii to answer. In the meantime, one can read the accounts on > Wikipedia (standard disclaimers apply): > About the Queen Liliuokalani: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani_of_Hawai%27i > About the Congressional Blount report which concluded that > the U.S. had been involved in the illegal removal of the Queen > from office: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blount_Report > The Morgan Report followed the Blount Report and contradicted > it: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Report > Bottom Line: quoting from the wikipedia entry on Blount Report: > |In 1993, Congress passed and the President signed an > |Apology Resolution apologizing for the overthrow of the Kingdom > |of Hawaii a century before. > For more on the "Apology Resolution" see: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apology_Resolution > > And I bet you thought that overthrowing foreign governments > was a recent U.S. innovation. (for Bonus Points: what role > was play by the family that owned what would become the > Dole foods brand?) > > On a cheerier note, on this day we have: > (see: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20090117.html ) > > Birthdays: > Michelle Obama (45yo) > Jim Carrey (47) > Kid Rock (38) > Muhammad Ali (67; float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!) > Maury Povich (70) > Don Zimmer (78; for the baseball fans) > James Earl Jones (78) > Betty White (87; for Golden Girl fans) > Al Capone (Born 1899 in Brooklyn, NY: American Entrepreneur) > Nevil Shute (1899; "On the Beach" author) > Benjamin Franklin (1706; obscure Philadelphian - remembered in the > saying "It's all about the Benjamins!") > > Other notable events: > (1961) In his farewell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned > against the rise of "the military-industrial complex." > (NOTE: which appear to have gone unheeded) > > And perhaps the most culturally significant event in the 20th century: > (1984) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the private use of home > video cassette recorders to tape TV programs did not violate federal > copyright laws. > > Make it a day. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
