The United States' link to Hawaii went back several years. New England trading vessels had stopped off there as early as the 1790s, and in the 1820s missionaries came to the islands hoping to spread Christianity. Before long, American-owned plantations rapidly increased all over the islands. American economic dominance and the flood of foreigners angered Hawaiians. In 1891, native Hawaiians welcomed to the throne Liliuokalani, a strong-willed, independent woman hostile to Americans.
Upon the death of her brother, King Kalakauam, Liliuokalani ascended the throne of Hawaii in January 1891. When Liliuokalani became Queen the islands were experiencing a sharp recession. In reaction to pressure from domestic sugar growers the U.S. government passed the McKinley Tariff in 1890 that eliminated the duty-free status on sugar enjoyed by Hawaiian sugar planters. As a result Hawaii's wholesale sugar prices dropped forty percent. American interests in Hawaii began to consider annexation for Hawaii to reestablish a competitive position for sugar. Queen Liliuokalani sought to empower herself and Hawaiians by overturning the so-called Bayonet Constitution, passed in 1887, that limited the power of the monarch and the political power of native Hawaiians. Through a new constitution, the Queen desired to quash any attempt of U.S. annexation.
The American planters, faced with ruin, sought to overthrow the monarchy. Led by Sanford Dole, the takeover began in January 1894 and was openly supported by John L. Stevens, U.S. minister to Hawaii. Stevens called for troops to take control of government buildings including the executive building at Iolani Palace. The coup was successful in deposing the Queen and Stevens cabled Washington, D.C., proclaiming "The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it." However, the American government was not ready to pluck the pear just yet.
President Grover Cleveland instead sent James Blount, a representative, to Hawaii in order to investigate the situation. Blount listened to both sides and concluded that the Hawaiian people united with the Queen. In his final report Blount criticized Dole and Stevens' part in overthrowing Queen Liliuokalani and declared that the Hawaiian people did not desire U.S. annexation. Blount's report and Cleveland's principles exasperated expansionists. A New York newspaper affirmed, "In ordering Old Glory pulled down at Honolulu, President Cleveland turned back the hand on the dial of civilization."
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