Committee of Safety (Hawaii)
The Committee of Safety | |
| Formation | 1887 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1893 (succeeded by Provisional Government) |
| Type | Secret society |
| Purpose | Overthrow of the government of Hawaii, annexation by the United States |
| Location |
|
| Membership | Elite business and political leaders |
Official language | English |
Unofficial leader | Lorrin A. Thurston |
Main organ | Committee of Thirteen, Committee of Safety |
| Affiliations | Honolulu Rifles |
The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group of the Annexation Club. The group was composed of mostly Hawaiian subjects of American descent and American citizens who were members of the Missionary Party, as well as some foreign residents in the Hawaiian Kingdom. The group planned and carried out the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The goal of this group was to achieve annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
The new independent Republic of Hawaii government was thwarted in this goal by the administration of President Grover Cleveland. It was not until 1898, under the administration of William McKinley, that the United States Congress approved a joint resolution of annexation, creating the U.S. Territory of Hawaii.