According to Queen Liliʻuokalani in her autobiography, ''Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen'', immediately upon ascending the throne, she received petitions from 2/3 of her subjects and the major Native Hawaiian political party in parliament, Hui Kālaiʻāina, asking her to proclaim a new constitution. Believing her actions were supported by both her cabinet and her Native Hawaiian subjects, Liliʻuokalani drafted a new constitution that would restore the monarchy's authority and strip American and European residents of the
suffrage they had obtained in 1887 by
threat of force against King
Kalakaua. In response to Liliʻuokalani's attempt to promulgate a new constitution, a group of European and American residents formed a "Committee of Safety" on January 14, 1893, in opposition to the Queen and her plans. After a mass meeting of supporters, the Committee committed itself to the removal of the Queen, and seeking annexation to the United States. United States Government Minister
John L. Stevens Follow the explicit policy that it been laid out by President Cleveland's Secretary of State back in 1887, on the need to use American military forces to protect American interests in Hawaii during a revolutionary episode. Stevens summoned a company of uniformed US Marines from the
USS Boston and two companies of US sailors to land on the kingdom and take up positions at the US Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. This deployment was at the request of the Committee of Safety, which claimed an "imminent threat to American lives and property". The royal military and police forces made no effort whatever to interfere, to stop the revolution, or to protect the Queen. Historian William Russ states, "the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself." A provisional government was set up with the strong support of the Honolulu Rifles, a militia group which had defended the Kingdom against the Wilcox rebellion in 1889. Under this pressure, Liliʻuokalani gave up her throne to the
Committee of Safety. The Queen's statement yielding authority, on January 17, 1893, also pleaded for justice: : I Liliʻuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom. : That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government. : Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands. Despite repeated claims that the overthrow was "bloodless", the Queen's Book notes to the contrary that Liluʻokalani received "friends [who] expressed their sympathy in person; amongst these Mrs. J. S. Walker, who had lost her husband by the treatment he received from the hands of the revolutionists. He was one of many who from persecution had succumbed to death." An immediate investigation into the events of the overthrow was commissioned by President
Cleveland and conducted by former Congressman
James Henderson Blount. The
Blount Report was completed on July 17, 1893, and concluded that "United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government." Minister Stevens was recalled, and the military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission. President Cleveland stated "Substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair the monarchy." Cleveland further stated in his 1893
State of the Union Address and that, "Upon the facts developed it seemed to me the only honorable course for our Government to pursue was to undo the wrong that had been done by those representing us and to restore as far as practicable the status existing at the time of our forcible intervention." Submitting the matter to Congress on December 18, 1893, after President
Sanford Dole refused to reinstate the Queen on Cleveland's command, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chairman Morgan, continued investigation into the matter. On February 26, 1894, the
Morgan Report was submitted, contradicting the Blount Report and finding Stevens and the US troops "not guilty" of any involvement in the overthrow. The report asserted that, "The complaint by Liliuokalani in the protest that she sent to the President of the United States and dated the 18th day of January, is not, in the opinion of the committee, well founded in fact or in justice." After submission of the Morgan Report, Cleveland ended any efforts to reinstate the monarchy, and conducted normal diplomatic relations with the Provisional Government and later, the Republic of Hawaii. He rebuffed further entreaties from the Queen to intervene further in the matter. The
Republic of Hawaii was established July 4, 1894 under the presidency of
Sanford Dole. ==Black Week==