American Hawaii Essay -- essays research papers

American Hawaii American Hawaii Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, it’s nice year-round weather, and its culture. Thousands of vacationers come to Hawaii each year to get away from the stressful city and relax. But do they know how cruel the Americans were to the natives? Do they know how we corrupted their culture and their religion? Do they know how Hawaii really became a state? Probably not. When most people think of Hawaii, they think of happy Hawaiian babes hula dancing and palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. Hawaii has still held on to many of their traditions although they were invaded by Americans. But you have to go to a museum to see their old way of life. Hawaii is now populated mostly by Americans. Native Hawaiians have adapted to our American lifestyle and much of their old traditions and beliefs are lost in history books. America dominated over the Hawaiians just as they did with the Native Americans. The Hawaiians didn’t even stand a chance against big b rother. They probably feel the same way towards America just as a child does with stubborn parents. Now I will tell you about the history of Hawaii so you will see how the United States came to annex Hawaii. Hawaii was first inhabited by the Polynesians. They came in canoes from other islands around the pacific. They called the new found island "Hawaii", which means "home" in Polynesian language. Hawaii was their home until the white man came in and took advantage of these simple, happy aborigines. The corruption of this unique and fragile culture first started when Captain James Cook ran into the islands on January 18, 1778. After Cook’s discovery, many other foreigners (mostly American) visited the islands. They brought clothes, livestock, orange trees, horses weapons and souvigners. Foreigners also brought with them a handful of deadly diseases such as smallpox, measles, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. During the time period of Cook&# 8217;s arrival in 1778 to 1820, the population of Hawaii dropped from 300,000 to 135,000 due to the diseases! Another problem was the introduction of alcohol. Like the native americans, Hawaiians were not immune to alcohol. Hawaiian’s were very sensitive to alcoholism. Hawaiians religion was a very complex one with many gods. They worshiped idols and they belived in many f... ...ature consisted of a council of chiefs and an elected house of representatives. In 1842, the Hawaiian islands were seen as an independent government. Sugar production was Hawaii’s largest buissiness. Tons of sugar was grown in Hawaii. Many of the Hawaiians worked on the sugar farms. Sugar was sold to the United States and large amounts of money flowed into Hawaii. Hawaii’s economy grew and banks were built. Annexation America’s main goal was to overthrow monarchy and Annex Hawaii as the 50th state. In 1887, the Americans forced king Kalakaua to sign a new constitutions that lessened the king’s powers and limited the rights of native Hawaiians to hold office. After Kalakaua’s death, Queen Liliuokalani ruled Hawaii. She was stubborn and wanted Hawaiian independence. But the Americans took over the government and ended monarchy and set up their own government. They put up the American flag where the Hawaiian flag originally flew. So, in other words, Hawaii was stolen from its original owners. Defenseless, Hawaii couldn’t do anything about United States’ control. Hawaii was then Annexed to the United states in 1898.