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Primary sourceNewspaper article19 November 1893

Probable Fate of Grover's Queen

19 November 1893

An 1893 cartoon imagining Liliʻuokalani being carted away after the overthrow, showing American attitudes toward annexation and her fate.

This cartoon mocks Liliʻuokalani's fate after the overthrow, reflecting American press attitudes toward her and annexation.

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Black and white political cartoon titled 'Probable Fate of Grover's Queen.' A ship's gangway leads to a dock. A man in a top hat and suit stands at the gangway holding papers labeled 'Pacific' and a suitcase. A heavyset man in a bonnet-like hat sits in a wheelbarrow labeled 'Liliuokalani.' A bearded man in a long coat pushes the wheelbarrow toward the gangway. Caption below describes President Dole and Willis giving Mr. Cleveland this Hawaiian 'hili.'
Probable Fate of Grover's Queen, The Morning Call, 19 November 1893.

About this source

What it is

This cartoon, titled "Probable Fate of Grover's Queen," appeared in a newspaper in November 1893 after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. It shows a caricatured figure labeled Liliʻuokalani being wheeled away in a wheelbarrow, with dialogue naming President Dole and a man named Willis, referring to debates over returning her to power.

Why it matters

The cartoon reflects the era's political cartoons about American expansion, which often mocked the people of territories the United States considered annexing, including Hawaiʻi, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. It shows how these images shaped and mirrored racial attitudes connected to the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani's government.

Look closer

  • What does the wheelbarrow and the figures' poses suggest about how the cartoonist viewed the queen?
  • Why might cartoonists use humor to talk about a serious political and colonial conflict?
  • What is left out about the actual Hawaiian people and their views on annexation?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Queen Liliʻuokalani on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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