The United States had been interested in the Hawaii even before the Spanish-American War. It was an important stop for ships that were crossing the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. also considered Hawaii an economic asset because of the export of tropical crops like sugarcane and pineapples. It was white American planters that controlled the export of tropical crops and they became wealthy and powerful from it. The queen at the time, Liliuokalani, didn’t like that they were becoming more powerful so she passed a constitution that gave more power to the native Hawaiians. The white planters refused to accept the constitution and asked the American government for help. The U.S. military forces helped the planters overthrow the queen and Sanford Dole declared
