"The sugar industry in Hawaii gradually gained political and economic power in the kingdom, eventually instituting a form of contract labor that verged on slavery". (Jeffrey Allen Smith in article The Civil War and Hawaii)
Uncle Sam and Hawaii Annexation Sugar Cartoon The Saint Paul globe., June 18, 1897
Image above courtesy Library of Congress
1887: "When Queen Lilioukalani succeeded her brother, King Kalakaua, in 1891, she was determined to revoke the Bayonet Constitution which had stripped him of his power and left the monarch a mere figurehead." (Marissa Malie Katz in article Hawaiian Kingdom). This exchange led to a modified constitution by the Queen and was seen as a revolutionary and radical measure.
1890: McKinley Tariff A turning point encounter in U.S.-Hawaiian relations occurred when Congress raised import rates on foreign sugar. Sugar planters wanted Hawaii annexed, so in exchange they would not have to pay the higher import taxes.
Image courtesy Hawai‘i State Archives
1893: The “Committee of Safety,” organized by Sanford B. Dole and sugar plantation businessmen illegally call for U.S. military to invade Hawaii. "Following an coup by American settlers against the native Hawaiian government, Benjamin Harrison had tried to rush an annexation treaty through the Senate during his last days as president. Cleveland withdrew the treaty and tried to find some way to repair the damage that the annexationists had done". (Daniel Larison in the article Anti Imperialist Presidency). President Cleveland could not repair or stop the forces set into motion.
Images of Petition Against Annextion courtesy of the San Francisco Call
1897:"Native Hawaiians, or the majority of the 39,000 native Hawaiians on the census, signed the "Petition Against Annexation" in public meetings on five Hawaiian islands."(San Francisco Call). 1898: The pro-annexation forces in Congress submitted a proposal to annex the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution and it passed due to the impending Spanish War and fear of invasion.
“ Traditionally, the only way to annex a foreign territory was through a treaty, and under the Constitution, all treaties need a two-thirds majority vote by the Senate for ratification. Politicians bypassed this requirement by just decreeing that Hawaii was U.S. property with a simple majority vote in both houses. This made the Hawaiian annexation unconstitutional.” (Walter Coffey Exploring The History of American Liberty)
Images (2) Courtesy of Library of Congress
The Anti-Imperialist League was born out of the injustices inflicted on the Hawaiian Islands and was in opposition of the acquisition of the Philippines. They also believed imperialism violated consent of the governed.