Excerpt from President Cleveland's Message to Congress, December 18, 1893
It is unnecessary to set forth the reasons which in January, 1893, led a considerable proportion of American and other foreign merchants and traders residing at Honolulu to favor the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. It is sufficient to note the fact and to observe that the project was one which was zealously promoted by the Minister representing the United States in that country. He evidently had an ardent desire that it should become a fact accomplished by his agency and during his ministry, and was not inconveniently scrupulous as to the means employed to that end. On the 19th day of November, 1892, nearly two months before the first overt act tending towards the subversion of the Hawaiian Government and the attempted transfer of Hawaiian territory to the United States, he addressed a long letter to the Secretary of State in which the case for annexation was elaborately argued, on moral, political, and economical grounds. He refers to the loss of the Hawaiian sugar interests from the operation of the McKinley bill, and the tendency to still further depreciation of sugar property unless some positive measure of relief is granted. . . .
. . .
The lawful Government of Hawaii was overthrown without the drawing of a sword or the firing of a shot by a process every step of which, it may be safely asserted, is directly traceable to and dependent for its success upon the agency of the United States acting through its diplomatic and naval representatives.
But for the notorious predilections of the United States Minister for annexation, the Committee of Safety, which should be called the Committee of Annexation, would never have existed.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Why does Cleveland suggest that the “Committee of Safety” would be better called the “Committee of Annexation”?
A.
to detail alternatives to proposed measures that would infringe on Hawaiian sovereignty
B.
to demonstrate the need for annexation of Hawaii to protect American lives and property there
C.
to contrast the motivations of those who supported and those who opposed the Hawaiian monarchy
D.
to clarify that Americans in Hawaii rebelled not to protect themselves but to take control of the island
D. to clarify that Americans in Hawaii rebelled not to protect themselves but to take control of the island.
D. to clarify that Americans in Hawaii rebelled not to protect themselves but to take control of the island
To answer this question, we need to analyze the provided excerpt from President Cleveland's Message to Congress in December 1893. In the excerpt, President Cleveland states that the "Committee of Safety" should be called the "Committee of Annexation." This statement suggests that the motivation behind the committee's formation was not to ensure safety or protect American lives and property, as one might assume from its name, but rather with the goal of annexing Hawaii to the United States.
Therefore, the most accurate answer is:
D. to clarify that Americans in Hawaii rebelled not to protect themselves but to take control of the island.