Kahn - Overthrow and Annexation

The following materials from the Kahn Collection are grouped together because they describe, from a non-native perspective, the events surrounding the 1893 illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, and the subsequent acquisition of Hawaiʻi by the United States. One such example of this perspective may be found in the first listed item below, which is a publication containing a collection of letters published in the Honolulu Bulletin in 1893. At issue is Mr. Theo. H. Davies' question regarding the "constitutionality of annexation." In response, Mr. C.J. Lyons explained, "No one at this end of the line pretends that the revolution of January, 1893, was constitutional. Revolutions are never constitutional." Another example may be found in Krout's book below in which she states, "When I visited the Islands first, in 1893, I went prejudiced in favour of the natives, deeply sympathising with them because they had been dispossessed of their lawful possessions. A careful and conscientious study of the situation on the spot led me to change my views absolutely, and I perceived that whatever had been done had been done of necessity . . . ."

Please click on the following links to access this digitized collection.

Kahn - Overthrow and Annexation:
  • Theo. H. Davies, Final Correspondence Resulting from the Open Letter Addressed to the Honolulu Bulletin (Nov. 9, 1893), 20/13
  • Theo. H. Davies, Letters upon the Political Crisis in Hawaii (Jan. 1894-Feb. 1894), 20/16
  • Editorial, "An Accurate Version of Historical Truths," Revised and Reprinted from "The Independent" (Jan. 7, 1897), 20/1
  • Bureau of the American Republics, Hawaii: Handbook No. 85 (Aug. 1897), 5/60
  • J.A. Gillis, The Hawaiian Incident, An Examination of Mr. Cleveland's Attitude Toward the Revolution of 1893 (1897), 5/54
  • Mary H. Krout, Hawaii and a Revolution: the Personal Experiences of a Newspaper Correspondent in the Sandwich Islands during the Crisis of 1893 and Subsequently (1898), 5/95
  • Edmund J. Carpenter, America in Hawaii, A History of United States Influence in the Hawaiian Islands (1899), 5/25