November 2012 Auction Ends Thursday, November 15th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2012
Booklet written by Sanford B. Dole as President of Hawaii in 1894 hotly contesting criticism of his role in the Hawaiian Revolution. Entitled ''The Hawaiian Question. A Letter of President Dole to U.S. Minister Willis. An Indictment of American Diplomacy in Hawaii'', the pamphlet was published by Star Electric Presses: Honolulu: February 1894. One year prior to publication, Hawaii's Queen Lili'uokalani was overthrown in a controversial and unpopular coup. Local politician and lawyer Sanford Dole was appointed President of the Provisional Government and Hawaiian Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Safety Committee; many felt the Safety Committee was corrupt since the monarchy itself was dismantled by it. Meanwhile, President Cleveland demanded an investigation into the U.S. military's role in the conspiracy to overthrow the Queen. The resulting Blount Report found the event was conducted corruptly, with the U.S. having unwittingly backed the group that wrongfully displaced the country's beloved ruler. Cleveland dispatched Albert S. Willis as U.S. Minister to Hawaii with the goal of assisting the Queen in reinstatement, contingent upon her promise of amnesty for the conspirators. She declined, and Dole likewise dug in his heels, refusing to hand Hawaii back to Lili'uokalani. Here, he goes on the offensive, attacking the points made by Willis in a prior correspondence and defending his position in the Hawaiian government. Due to this resistance, Cleveland referred the matter to Congress and a second investigation was conducted, The Morgan Report exonerated Dole and the U.S. military of culpability for the coup. U.S. intervention in Hawaii then ceased until its annexation in 1898. In 1993 President Clinton issued the first ever apology for the U.S. government's involvement in the overthrow of another sovereign nation's government. Booklet runs 11pp. and measures 6'' x 9.5''. Creasing and varying degrees of toning. In very good condition.
''The Hawaiian Question: An Indictment of American Diplomacy in Hawaii'' -- Rare Booklet From 1894 Regarding The Controversy Surrounding The Overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani
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