Term Paper: Overthrow

It can be seen throughout history and today that the international affairs of the United
States are money driven and selfish, just like any other imperialist country. This does not seem to
match with the ideals that this country cherished since its inception. However, again and again
the actions made were justified with some greater purpose, such as to promote democracy to the
world, leading the United States to be the country that have overthrown the most foreign
governments in history. In the book, Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer, the author documents all
regimes in which the United States government had overthrown, notes what would have been
different if the overthrow did not occur, and questions whether the overthrow was done to
promote democracy to the world. This essay would be analyzing the United States take-over of
Hawaii, the Philippines, and Nicaragua, showing how when financial interests took over the
interest of providing a stable government for the people, the people of that country suffers
immensely.
The first regimes that were overthrown with the assistance of the United States
government was Hawaii in 1893. Kinzer showed how the overthrow was made possible by the
long periods of time which the United States had slowly eased into the country, starting with
Americans taking the land under the permission of the King in the late 1840s, to negotiating a
treaty for the King with the United States for their own economic benefit, to setting up a
government where the monarch became the elites puppet, to finally removing the monarch with
the assistance of U.S. troops (9-30). The conspirators were not the natives, but instead a small
group of white men whom have interests in the sugar company that is flourishing in Hawaii.
The takeover of Hawaii would not have been possible without Amos Starr Cooke, a sugar
planter, persuading the Hawaiian King in the late 1840s to divide the land where the elite can

buy, as planting sugar requires a lot of land to be viable (Kinzer 13). The white elite continued to
slowly take the power of the monarchy with the unknowing King until it is too late, with the
monarch as the figurehead and the legislature controlled by the rich (Kinzer 15). The elite,
knowing that the U.S. is the largest market for sugar, couldnt sell the sugar until a treaty was
signed due to tariffs on the sugar imported into the United States. The treaty they made the King
signed essentially made Hawaii an American protectorate (Kinzer 14).
After the King died, his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, whom was not as complacent as him,
took the throne. It had made many of the white elite nervous (Kinzer 16). With the Hawaiians
getting tired of being taken advantage of, she agreed on creating a new constitution that actually
would made the government more democratic. However, the white elites does not want this.
With 40,612 native Hawaiians compared to 6,220 whites in 1890, they would have lose a lot of
power if the country became democratic (Kinzer 18). With Lorrin Thurston in the lead, the elite
start planning out an overthrow, and talked to President Benjamin Harrisons administration.
Finding that they have the support of the administration, they continued their plans to overthrow
the government with John L. Stevens, the United States minister to Hawaii (Kinzer 17). The
coup was relatively quick, with the American troops ordered by Stevens forcing the Queen to
relinquish power to avoid bloodshed, and a provisional government formed to be annexed with
the United States.
This overthrow was the first that the U.S. had done overseas, but did not have the direct
authorization of the President. However, it became the model which future administrations will
follow in overthrowing a regime detrimental to American interests. The letter Stevens wrote to
the troops in Hawaii, ordering for their protection, shows a similar reasoning that will justify
future overthrows conducted by the U.S. government, requesting troops for the protection of the

United States legation and to secure the safety of American life and property (Kinzer 24).
When brought to the government for annexation, the public was against the idea, seeing the
overthrow as a purely business motive (Kinzer 85). With the next president as anti-imperialist, he
rescinded the treaty. However, this only last to the Spanish-American War, a war brought by
President McKinley with imperialist motives. He managed to convince the Senate that Hawaii
was needed to ensure success (Kinzer 87).
These events shows the change of public policy during this critical period in history, with
the turning point at 1898 with the declaration of war against Spain (Kinzer 80). Americans had
been expanding west since the American Revolution, believing in Manifest Destiny, or the idea
that the United States should spread democracy in the North American continent from the Pacific
to the Atlantic. After California became a state, this idea did not extinguish. Instead, after the
United States occupied the North American continent from sea to shining sea, financial
interests and American pride start to look at places overseas (Kinzer 82). Finally, with the belief
that they must Take up the White Mans burden and promote democracy in the world, the
public listened to the justification of the expansionist foreign policy, not knowing the real
damage this had created to natives in foreign lands unclear to them (Kinzer 83-4). Hawaii was
one of the few lucky American territories that the government had taken responsibility for. As a
result, it had been given citizenship, government, and eventually statehood (Kinzer 88).
Unfortunately, most other overthrown countries werent so lucky.
The Philippines are part of the spoils of the Spanish-American War, which included
Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico. It was without a doubt that the war was waged on the question of
who should control Cuba, but a curve ball was thrown at the public when the Philippines were
also taken as most do not even know where it is (Kinzer 46). The publics desire for Cubas

independence at the beginning of the war is seen by Congress declaration in the Teller
Amendment, which stated that the people of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent (Kinzer 38). However, not only was this declaration been rejected by President
McKinley regarding Cuba post-war with the media also discrediting Cubas independence, but it
was also rejected in all the other territories the U.S. had taken from Spain, including the
Philippines.
At first, the U.S. only wanted to build a naval base at Manila, letting the island become
independence. However, racism and commercialism took off, with President McKinley firm on
the belief that they should Christianize the Filipinos from their savagery even though most are
already devout Catholic and that the Philippines are essential in building a presence in Asia
(Kinzer 50). It lead to a clash against the rebels whom were already fighting with Spain for
independence, and their strong leader Emilio Aguinaldo. The U.S. therefore did not grant
independence, but instead used militaristic force in a bloody, prolonged war from 1899-1902, to
quash the rebels. The war got ugly quickly, and the government imposed censorship to not let the
news reach home on the atrocity in which the U.S. soldiers were doing against the Filipinos
because of their desire to become independent. However, once the news was sent out early in
1901, with more actions that showed the public that the U.S. was no better than any other
country, support for the war quickly diminished, even with justification from the leaders. This
costly operation that would not have benefitted actual people had killed 4,374 American soldiers,
about 16,000 rebel soldiers, and at least 20,000 civilians in three and a half years (Kinzer 55).
American indifference to the plight of the Filipinos did not end after that war, and the
U.S. appeased to a dictator in exchange for the U.S. military bases in the Philippines. It was not
until 1986 when the Filipinos came out of their oppression which was assisted by U.S. funds.

This had shown the U.S. governments fear of radicals that would bring social progress in the
country was above those who were more interested in stealing money. With the last of American
soldiers leaving the Philippines in 1992, it had left a bad impression on the United States, and
had brought one more nation to hate this country which was supposed to spread democracy
(Kinzer 97-8).
Though the Philippines were taken by the U.S. from Spain mainly for militaristic reasons,
Nicaragua is one of the victims to the United States dollar diplomacy and intervention by
Americas corporations in Central and South America. It is also the first American coup done by
the government which had literally replaced the president of that country. President Taft,
successor to President Theodore Roosevelt, used the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine to basically force Latin America to take loans from American companies and allow
them to have free rein to do business. Nicaraguas president, Jose Santos Zelaya, a reformist who
is loved by Nicaraguans for the reforms he had made in improving the country, refused to do so,
knowing that it would lead to his people becoming oppressed (Kinzer 98). This tension started to
arise since companies lobbied for the canal to be built across Panama instead of Nicaragua. After
the canal is being built in Panama, Zelaya and his work in Nicaragua was not respected by U.S.
officials anymore and is then seen as a threat (Kinzer 62).
It wasnt Zelayas attempt to unify Central America that caused U.S. to overthrow him,
but his continual threat to the business of American companies in his country. Roosevelt, who
loved Zelaya, was succeeded by Taft, who was very close to big business. Tafts secretary of
state, Philander Knox, whom had represented big corporations before, then started taking actions
against Zelaya for not following Tafts dollar diplomacy (Kinzer 64). It can be seen that
Zelayas actions, such as refusing to back down from American corporation demands and taking

loans from European countries, are done to protect his people (Kinzer 65). However, Knox, seen
this as resistance against the United States power and started to smear Zelaya in the media,
attempting to turn public opinion against him. He called Zelaya the menace of Central America
due to his imposition of a reign of terror even though none of those are true (Kinzer 66).
The revolution against Zelaya was funded well by American corporations, whom formed
a conspiracy with an ambitious provincial governor, Jose Estrada, to overthrow Zelaya. It wasnt
through the military that Zelaya was overthrown though. Instead, it was the anger that Zelaya
allowed the death sentence of two Americans who assisted in the plot to overthrow him in
rebellion to occur. Knox then issued a letter to the Nicaraguan minister, stating that Zelaya had
kept Central America in turmoil and killed two Americans, therefore demanding his resignation.
Zelaya, surprised by the turn of events, and know the power of the American military, therefore
resigned, hoping that it will improve relationships with the United States. It did not end there as
someone similar to Zelaya came up and tried to stop the rebellion. However, the U.S. used the
strategy of placing Americans in rebel cities to force the president to ceasefire (Kinzer 69).
Eventually, the Nicaraguan government gave up and Estrada took power.
Just like in the Philippines, instability ensued. In the next century, it became a victim of
the Cold War, losing many from that war, and is now currently one of the most ravaged countries
in Central America. Seeing what Nicaragua could have been under Zelaya, one can see how selfinterests had caused generations of people in a nation pains and suffering.
Even though this essay briefly touched on a few overthrows done by the government, it
has shown many firsts: The first overthrow, the first time U.S. controlled a faraway land, and the
first time a president was overthrown by the assistance and planning of the government. Other
than Hawaii, whom still had lost most of its cultural identity, the other two had led to a tragedy

which still affects the Philippines and Nicaragua today. It can be seen how when democracy is
lost to oligarchy and power from corporations, self-interests will degrade the lives of the people
in that country. Americans agreed that it is important for democracy to be prevalent in the world,
therefore letting their government to take these actions in other countries. However, racism and
self-interests tarnished these great values. It can be seen how the want of power can easily make
a country whom had declared the following to make the same mistakes:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness . That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.

Works Cited
Kinzer, Stephen. Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. New
York: Times /Henry Holt, 2007. Print.