Annexation

Kamehameha V, the last of the dynasty, died in 1872, and his successor reigned only a year. In 1874 Prince Kalakaua was elected king. During his reign, he attempted to increase both his authority and the influence of native Hawaiians and other non-Caucasian groups so as to end the political and economic dominance of the haoles. (Haole is a Hawaiian word meaning white-skinned foreigners; it was used to refer to Americans and Hawaiian-born descendants of early American settlers.) In a bloodless revolution in 1887 powerful haole business interests forced the king to accept a new constitution, which limited his powers and denied the vote to most native Hawaiians. After Kalakaua died in 1891, he was succeeded by his sister Liliuokalani, who with the support of the Hawaiian population tried to abolish the constitutional restrictions on her authority. In 1893 a revolution led by United States settlers deposed the queen and set up a provisional government, which asked for annexation to the United States.

When the annexation effort failed because of opposition by the anti-imperialistic Cleveland administration, a republic was proclaimed in 1894 with Sanford B. Dole as president. After William McKinley, an expansionist, was elected President of the United States, Congress annexed the Hawaiian Islands (1898). In 1900 the Territory of Hawaii was created. During the early decades of the 20th century, the economy was controlled by five major Honolulu firms known as the “Big Five,” while the Republican party dominated political affairs.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the Pearl Harbor Naval Base near Honolulu and plunged the United States into World War II. During the war, the Hawaiian Islands played a major role as a base of operations against Japan.