America got Hawaii because while the queen was travelling to DC (took months back then) a ship full of US marines conspired with white plantation owners to stage a coup.
The princess in charge told her forces not to fight because “no Christian nation would steal land from natives” and thought the Queen would straighten it out when she met with the president. Because all she had heard about America was from missionaries and rich people wanting to buy up her land.
When the Queen arrived in DC, she was told she wasnt a queen anymore. Which wasn’t much of a surprise at that point because she had seen how America really treated natives on her way across the country.
Edit:
My bad the delegation to DC left two days after the coup
It’s a nice story, but it doesn’t seem to be accurate to what happened - not at far as I found with some superficial research [1][2]. I’d be interested in any further reading you have on the subject.
Though what I read, the US were still pretty much shitheads. No big surprises there
Your first article isn’t an article, so not sure how you read it…
The second one backs up my “story”.
I was just off by two days.
They sent the delegation to DC two days after the coup.
The queen was deposed on January 17, and the provisional government established under pro-annexation leader Sanford B. Dole was officially recognized by Stevens as the de facto government.[110][111][112] She temporarily relinquished her throne to the United States, rather than the Dole-led government, in hopes that the United States would restore Hawaii’s sovereignty to the rightful holder.[113][114] The government under Dole began using ʻIolani Palace as its executive building.[115][116] A delegation departed for Washington, D.C., on January 19, to ask for immediate annexation by the United States.[117] At the request of the provisional government, Stevens proclaimed Hawaii a protectorate of the United States on February 1, to temporarily provide a buffer against domestic upheaval and interference by foreign governments.[118][119] The US flag was raised over the palace, and martial law was enforced. The annexation treaty presented to the US Senate contained a provision to grant Liliʻuokalani a $20,000 per annum lifetime pension, and Kaʻiulani a lump-sum payment of $150,000. The queen protested the proposed annexation in a January 19 letter to President Benjamin Harrison. She sent Prince David Kawānanakoa and Paul Neumann to represent her.[120]