John L. Stevens Quotes
In truth the monarchy here is an absurd anachronism. It has nothing on which it logically or legitimately stands. The feudal basis on which it once stood no longer existing, the monarchy now is only an impediment to good government -- an obstruction to the prosperity and progress of the islands. Destiny and the vast future interests of the United States in the Pacific clearly indicate who at no distant day must be responsible for the government of these islands.
The Ambassador without any authority from the State Department or the Congress engineered a group that staged a coup in Hawaii which overthrew the popular government monarchy and then “asked” to be ruled by the United States. Hawaii had been a stable independent nation, but many American businessmen and adventurers had designs on the valuable Hawaiian land. President Cleveland tried to remedy the situation {643147}, but it was too late. Haraii had become a U. S. territory and there was no going back.
John L. Stevens, 1820-1895, U. S. Ambassador to Hawaii, Reports to the State Department, Quoted by President Grover Cleveland in his Message About Hawaii, December 18, 1893
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
See {587318} and {34913} for the Ambassador�s worst statements. After this tragic affair, Ambassadors were never again given the amount of autonomy that John L. Stevens had. There was no way to repair the damage effectively and Hawaii remained a territory of the United States.
Cochrane became the Admiral in Chief of 2 Different South American Nations—Peru and Brazil—fighting for their independence. Incredibly enough, he was able to form idealistic freedom fighters with no naval experience into navies which defeated both the Spanish and Portuguese fleets at a time when those countries had world class navies. His achievements on behalf of the South Americans are often regarded as the most remarkable naval achievements in history.
Although opposed to monarchy himself, Langdon argued that a people had a right to select monarchical government if they chose. See {634001} for Rev. Dan Foster’s similar argument at in that period.
This was the first contact between the colonists and the French government. The French agent was very non committal and the parties were just feeling each other out. Franklin made it perfectly clear that the colonists would not trade the English King for a French one and become part of the French empire.
See Thomas Jefferson: {605051} for a somewhat similar notion.
He later settled for Home Rule in the Irish Treaty of 1922
In 1908 Austria had designs on the Balkans, whose small countries have been fought over for years.
Teddy Roosevelt dispatched 16 battleships (The Great White Fleet) around the world to impress the Japanese and others with American naval strength:
- Born: August 1, 1820
- Died: February 8, 1895
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John Leavitt Stevens was the United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 when he was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B. Dole – the first Americans attempting to overthrow a foreign government under the auspices of a United States government officer. Apart from his work as a politician and diplomat, he was also a journalist, author, minister and newspaper publisher. He founded the Republican Party in Maine and served as Maine State Senator.
