when did the us take possession of hawaii
History of Hawaii The native population succumbed to disease brought by the Europeans (particularly smallpox), declining from 300,000 in the 1770s over 60,000 in the 1850s to 24,000 in 1920.[3] Americans within the kingdom government rewrote the constitution, severely curtailing the power of King "David" Kalākaua, and disenfranchising the rights of most Native Hawaiians and Asian citizens to vote, through excessively high property and income requirements. This gave a sizeable advantage to plantation owners. Queen Liliuokalani attempted to restore royal powers in 1893, but was placed under house arrest by businessmen with help from the US military. Against the Queen's wishes, the Republic of Hawaii was formed for a short time. This government agreed on behalf of Hawaii to join the US in 1898 as the Territory of Hawaii. In 1959, the islands became the state of Hawaii of the United States.