Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

The committee issued a proclamation to the Hawaiian people, formed itself into a provisional government, took possession of the national property, and sent commissioners to the United States inviting this republic to annex the islands. The United States did not respond, but continued the old relation of friendly guarantor.

A constitutional convention held session from May 20 to July 3, 1894, and on July 4 the constitution was proclaimed, the new government calling itself the "Republic of Hawaii."

In refusing to grant this appeal for annexation, the officials at the head of the United States government at that time were of the opinion that such action would be in direct opposition to our traditional policy, and the same argument has since been advanced by the opponents of the plan.

We were thus brought face to face with the question, "What is American policy?" Many statesmen of recent years have declared that our great growth and increasing importance among nations imposed obligations which should force us to take greater part in the affairs of the world. Following the lead of European statecraft, they also asserted that we should adopt this policy to encourage and protect our expanding commercial interests. Not only were we facing problems the war directly presented, but other nations seemed to think that we were about to cast aside the advice of Washington concerning entangling alliances, and establish the relation of an ally with Great Britain.

Edward Everett foresaw the extension of the republican idea, and declared that "in the discharge of the duty devolved upon us by Providence, we have to carry the republican independence, which our fathers achieved, with all the organized institutions of an enlightened community—institutions of religion, law, education, charity, art and all the thousand graces of the highest culture— beyond the Missouri, beyond the Sierra Nevada; perhaps in time around the circuit of the Antilles, perhaps to the archipelagoes of the central Pacific."

The treaty of 1783 with Great Britain defined the western boundary of the United States as the Mississippi river, down to the Florida line on the 31st parallel of north latitude. The original colonies comprised less than half of this area, the rest being organized several years later as the Northwest Territory. In 1803 the United States purchased from Napoleon for $15,000,000 the province of Louisiana, over 1,000,000 square miles in area, including Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, the Indian Territory, most of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, the two Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and most of Wyoming. With this cession came absolute ownership and control of the Mississippi.

By the treaty of February 12, 1819, with Spain, Florida was next acquired, and Spain abandoned all claims upon the territory between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific, embraced in the Louisiana purchase. Texas was annexed in 1845. Under the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, in 1848, which ended the Mexican war, California, Nevada, parts of Colorado and Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona became a part of the United States. The Gadsden purchase of 1853 acquired the portion of this territory south of the Gila river. Fourteen years later the territory of Alaska was purchased from Russia.

Territorial acquisition has been the policy of successive periods of American politics. Hitherto annexation has been confined to contiguous territory, except in the case of Alaska, separated only by narrow stretches of sea and land. But in the case of the Hawaiian Islands an entirely different problem confronted us.

HAWAIIAN ANNEXATION IN HISTORY.

The question of annexation of the Hawaiian Islands has been before the American people in some form for nearly fifty years. In 1851 a deed of provisional cession of the islands to the United States was executed by King Kamehameha Ill., and delivered to the United States Minister at Honolulu—the act being subsequently ratified by joint resolution of the two Houses of the Hawaiian Legislature. In 1854 a formal treaty of annexation was negotiated between King Kamehameha and the Hon. David L. Gregg, in the capacity of commissioner, and acting under special instructions of Secretary Marcy, then Secretary of State under President Pierce. The King died, however, before the engrossed copy of the treaty had been signed, which prevented the completion of the act. But for this there is every reason to believe that annexation would have been an accomplished fact at that time, as the administration of President Pierce was thoroughly committed to it. The policy then distinctly enunciated was not to have the islands come in as a State but as a Territory.