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Primary sourceNewspaper article21 November 1893

Two Souls With But A Single Thought

The Evening Telegram · 21 November 1893

An 1893 political cartoon from the Evening Telegram commenting on the annexation controversy and showing how the American press caricatured Liliʻuokalani.

This cartoon depicts Liliʻuokalani amid the 1893 annexation debate, showing how American media portrayed her political struggle.

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Engraved political cartoon on aged paper titled 'Two Souls With But A Single Thought'. Two men in dark coats grapple on the ground; one clutches a top hat labeled with a name, a satchel labeled 'John L. Stevens' lies nearby. Above, a figure in a gown with a fan, labeled 'Hawaii' style sash, and a man in a coat stand on a ledge looking down.
Two Souls With But A Single Thought, The Evening Telegram, 21 November 1893.

About this source

What it is

This is a political cartoon published in the Evening Telegram in November 1893, during the controversy over whether the United States should annex the Hawaiian Islands. It shows figures representing the opposing sides of the debate, including references to Sanford Dole and John L. Stevens, key figures in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Why it matters

Political cartoons like this one shaped how ordinary Americans understood events far away in Hawaiʻi. It reveals the political arguments swirling around Queen Liliʻuokalani's attempt to regain her throne after the 1893 overthrow, and shows the tangled alliances between American officials and business interests.

Look closer

  • Who is shown embracing, and who is shown falling — what might that arrangement suggest about the cartoonist's opinion?
  • Why would a newspaper use humor to discuss a serious political crisis?
  • What does the cartoon leave out about the Hawaiian people's own views?

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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