Question

How would you describe the tone of Liliuokalani’s letter?

The House of Representatives of the United States:

I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii, named heir apparent on the 10th day of April, 1877, and proclaimed Queen of the Hawaiian Islands on the 29th day of January, 1891, do hereby earnestly and respectfully protest against the assertion of ownership by the United States of America of the so-called Hawaiian Crown Islands amounting to about one million acres and which are my property, and I especially protest against such assertion of ownership as a taking of property without due process of law and without just or other compensation.

Therefore, supplementing my protest of June 17, 1897, I call upon the President and the National Legislature and the People of the United States to do justice in this matter and to restore to me this property, the enjoyment of which is being withheld from me by your Government under what must be a misapprehension of my right and title.

Done at Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, this nineteenth day of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight.

Answer 1

Liliuokalani's letter is a letter fighting for rights in a peaceful manner. In this letter, we see the United States has asserted ownership of the so-called Hawaiian Crown Islands amounting to about one million acres and which are the property of the proclaimed Queen of the Hawaiian Islands. The tone of this letter shows signs of peaceful protest. It shows that the Hawaiians are doing what is called a Satyagrah for their land and rights.