Background
In January 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi threatened to replace the "Bayonet Constitution" that had been forced upon the monarchy in 1887 with a new constitution that would restore power to the throne. American and European resident merchants operating as the Committee of Public Safety responded by forcing Liliʻuokalani from power and proclaiming a provisional government. During the overthrow, the American Minister to Hawaii John L. Stevens ordered the landing of armed U.S. Marines from the USS Boston in Honolulu, ostensibly to protect lives and property.
After the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, the Provisional Government of Hawaii immediately sent a treaty of annexation to the expansionist President Benjamin Harrison, who referred it favorably to the Senate for ratification on February 15, 1893. When Grover Cleveland, an anti-expansionist, became President less than three weeks later, he withdrew the treaty from the Senate and appointed former congressman James Henderson Blount as special representative to investigate the events surrounding the overthrow.
Read more about this topic: Blount Report
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