Hawaii's Queen Liliʻuokalani had been overthrown and replaced by a provisional government composed of members of the Committee of Safety on January 17, 1893.

The United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii (John L. Stevens) had conspired with U.S. citizens to overthrow the monarchy.

After the overthrow, Lawyer Sanford B. Dole, a citizen of Hawaii, becomes President of the Republic when the Provisional Government of Hawaii ends on July 4, 1894.

Controversy will ensue in the following years as the Queen tries to regain her throne.

The administration of President Grover Cleveland commissions the Blount Report, which concludes that the removal of Liliʻuokalani had been illegal.

The U.S. government had first demanded that Queen Liliʻuokalani be reinstated, but the Provisional Government had refused.

Congress had conducted an independent investigation, and on February 26, 1894, submitted the Morgan Report, which found all parties, including Minister Stevens—with the exception of the Queen—"not guilty" and not responsible for the coup.

Partisans on both sides of the debate question the accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports over the events of 1893.