"I, LILIUOKALANI of Hawaii, by the will of God named heir apparent on the tenth day of April, A. D. 1877, and by the grace of God Queen of the Hawaiian Islands on the seventeenth day of January, A. D. 1893, do hereby protest against the ratification of a certain treaty, which, so I am informed, has been signed at Washington by Messrs. Hatch, Thurston, and Kinney, purporting to cede those Islands to the territory and dominion of the United States. I declare such a treaty to be an act of wrong toward the native and part-native people of Hawaii, an invasion of the rights of the ruling chiefs, in violation of international rights both toward my people and toward friendly nations with whom they have made treaties, the perpetuation of the fraud whereby the constitutional government was overthrown and, finally, an act of gross injustice to me.
This was my favorite quote from Liliuokalani's story. The formal language that she uses not only portrays how respectful she is to other people, but also conveys her courage and the true ambition she has to stand up for her native land and all the people that live there. She states that for the United States to take control and rule Hawaii is a "violation" towards the Hawaiian people but also says it is a violation towards her. I think the last sentence where she says, "injustice to me," has such an strong message because by including that it will effect her personally makes her argument much more influential. By explaining how this "invasion" will be detrimental to herself, Hawaiians, and other nations connected to Hawaii, I believe she creates an exceptionally admired argument and really shows her passion for her native colony.
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