Interview with Phillip Naone
On July 21, 1898, the Hawaiian Islands were officially annexed by the United States. In December of 1898, the United States announced the annexation of the Philippines. There are many in the United States who support these actions, as well as the United States current involvement in Cuba. There are many others who denounce these imperialistic tactics.
In response to the U.S. annexations, the Anti-Imperialist League was formed. Current member ship in the League is believed to be about 100,000 and growing. The League is committed to educating U.S. citizens about the problems with imperialism so that Congress and the President will listen. I was lucky enough to get Phillip Naone to sit down with me to answer some questions. Phillip is a member of the Anti-Imperialist League, as well as a member of the Hawaiian Patriotic League.
Q: Phillip, why don’t you tell me why you are an opponent of U.S. imperialism?
A: That is very simple, no country should have the right to just take over another country. The Hawaiian Islands were governing themselves just fine. At first when business owners from the U.S. came to the Islands, we thought it was a good thing. They contributed to the economy and created jobs. Very soon, though those businessmen got greedy and they wanted to take what did not belong to them.
Q: What did the businessmen do?
A: I think everyone knows that they just marched into the palace and told our Queen, Lili’uokalani, that she was no longer in control of our country.
Q: Why did the Queen step aside?
A: She had no choice. This action was supported by the U.S. government. There were U.S. troops right off the coast. How could she not do what they forced her to do. We heard that there were some people in the U.S. government that opposed this action, but their voices were not heard. Instead, the government listened to Mr. Dole. Of course, he swathe Islands as a way for his company to make more money, so he was not giving up. He even declared himself “President” of the new Republic of Hawaii.
Q: Phillip, I know you and many others fought to try and influence the government of the United States. What were some of the things that you did?
A: Many of us foolishly thought that the government, and the President, did not know what was happening in Hawaii. We thought if we showed the President that most Hawaiians did not want annexation, he would convince Congress and we could return to self-rule. We got over 21,000 people to sign anti-annexation petitions. That was more than half the people living in Hawaii.
Q: You were one of the people who signed that petition, weren’t you?
A: Yes I was. I was 17 years old when I signed the petition.
Q: What happened next?
A: A delegation went to Washington and met with several members of Congress. We presented the petitions and asked them to reconsider the position they were taking. We were able to persuade enough Senators to give their support to us and they agreed to vote against annexation. The delegation passed the good news onto all of us back in Hawaii and we were thrilled, but our happiness was short-lived.
Q: Why is that? What happened?
A: The bombing of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor and the start of the U.S. war with Spain. Now, the U.S. needed the Islands for “strategic” purposes to help with the war effort. This was the excuse they used to sway public opinion. The government of Hawaii would have allowed the United States as much military access as they needed. The government of Hawaii wanted the U.S. to be an ally, they just did not want the U.S. to take over complete control.
Q: Phillip, are you aware of what has been happening with United States involvement in the Philippines? And if so, how do you feel about that?
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A: Of course. We feel great sympathy for our friends in the Philippines. They were truly misled by the U.S. government. They were led to believe the help they gave to the U.S., in the war with Spain, would cement their independence. Obviously, that did not occur and they believe the U.S. lied to them.
Q: Phillip, if you could send a message to the President of the United States, what would it be?
A: I would ask the President to look back at the history of your country. It was not very long ago that the United States was a colony of an oppressive country. Your forefathers fought for independence. The United States, above all others, should understand the desire for independence and their pattern of imperialistic bullying in Hawaii, the Philippines, Cuba and other places is just disgraceful.
Q: Thank you Phillip. I appreciate your time.
Work Cited
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"The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii." National Archives and Records Administration. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hawaii-petition/>.
"United States Becomes a World Power." Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook_print.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3159>.
"Annexation of Hawaii." United States Imperialism. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <https://untiedstatesimperialism.wordpress.com/about/>.