African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 873 - 77: President Cleveland’s Dilemma

"What is this?" The 24th President of the United States, Cleveland, said as he looked at the document delivered to his desk by his secretary.

"Mr. President, a coup has occurred in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Our merchant groups have overthrown the Hawaiian Kingdom and established the Hawaii Republic, but now they are in trouble and are seeking our help."

Cleveland picked up the document with obvious displeasure. Although many in the country had designs on Hawaii, especially with the strongest voices within the Democratic Party,

as a Democratic President, Russell was clearly not among them because, in terms of foreign policy, Cleveland advocated for the nation to continue adopting an isolationist approach, opposing territorial expansion and the annexation of Hawaii.

Cleveland was indeed a staunch opponent of the United States annexing Hawaii. While he had no particular fondness for Hawaii, Cleveland was clearly not a pushover. He paid significant attention to America and the Pacific (mainly the Far East Empire and Japan) and actively promoted the expansion of U.S. influence in those regions.

The most typical example was forcing the United Kingdom to accept arbitration in the Venezuela boundary dispute, and historically, Cleveland sided with Japan during the war between the Far East Empire and Japan, openly supporting Japan and, under the pretext of "protecting" American missionaries and expatriates' "safety and commercial interests," dispatched Marines to the Far East Empire's Capital and Tianjin areas.

Therefore, while Cleveland opposed the domestic rhetoric for annexing Hawaii, if everything went smoothly, he naturally could turn a blind eye and tacitly allow their actions. However, now that the merchants in Hawaii had clearly stirred up trouble and were only now thinking of asking him to "clean up the mess," such actions left him very displeased.

"Hmph!" Cleveland said coldly, "This so-called Hawaii Republic did not consult with us beforehand, and now picking up the pieces won't be easy, especially since East Africa is not a weak country."

When he took office, East Africa had just concluded the South Africa War, becoming an important global power. The rise of such a great power in East Africa was generally welcomed by the United States, considering that at that time, the U.S. was still keeping a low profile. Although it had surpassed the United Kingdom economically, it was still firmly suppressed by Great Britain.

Many countries were similar in that, during an age when hegemonism was rampant, weaker nations naturally hoped for others to share the burden of facing the overlord. East Africa and the United States were both under British suppression.

"This Hawaiian coup was initiated by our minister stationed in the Kingdom of Hawaii, who not only requested that we deploy forces to recapture Kauai but also demanded the government pass legislation annexing Hawaii into our territory," the secretary said from the side.

Cleveland then said, "There is no room for discussion on this matter. As Americans, we must oppose such acts of invasion with strict moral standards and a sense of justice. Moreover, this time it involves a third-party country, East Africa. Our international reputation was already not great, and if we follow East Africa, it might become as notorious as them."

Cleveland's words were not wrong. Hegemony is not only in military terms; the United Kingdom's ability to shape world opinion was also top-notch. Words like "parvenu" for America, "savage" for East Africans, and "barbarian" for Prussians were not flattering terms, but were widely accepted worldwide, and these oppressive narratives were the privileges of a world overlord, somewhat like the "freedom and democracy" designated by America in a previous life. Whoever did not conform to "American freedom and democracy" would be torn apart fiercely by the U.S. and its Western allies and vassals.

The reason France was able to stand apart from Great Britain was because of its strong cultural influence in the world, with both countries leading the colonial system and simultaneously leading cultural and narrative hegemony worldwide.

After the South Africa War, East Africa's international reputation had become even more tarnished, with terms like "autocracy, colonialism, barbarism, enslavement" being liberally heaped upon East Africans.

Ernst readily accepted these terms because the 19th century was not the 21st century. If the world praised East Africa, that would be the most frightening thing.

Due to the war, East Africa temporarily replaced the United States as Great Britain's second "hate" target, which was not too surprising since the Anglo-French contradictions were more pronounced than those between Britain and East England. While the U.K. did not gain an advantage in the South Africa War, it was not defeated, and East Africa's overall strength was not yet a threat to the United Kingdom.

The rapidly industrializing nations of the U.S. and Germany were truly what troubled Great Britain, especially Germany under the leadership of William II, which would increasingly attract British ire and hostility.

On a somewhat sorrowful note, East Africa's industrial products, except for a few key supported industries, had very weak competitiveness in the international market, which is why Great Britain did not take East Africa seriously.

Although Cleveland's words might seem incredible, he did just that in original history. In December 1893 of the original history, Cleveland submitted a message to the U.S. Congress asking Congress to assist the Hawaiian Kingdom's government in a way that befits American "honor, justice, and morality," which delayed the formal annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. until 1898.

Now Cleveland simply used East Africa as a pretext to repeat what he had done in original history, which also spared him quite some trouble.

In history, after Cleveland vetoed the annexation of Hawaii, American newspapers frequently criticized him for failing to expand U.S. territory, but he consistently upheld the stance he deemed just.

Now, with the appearance of East Africa, the same approach could avoid some domestic discontent since East Africa could share part of the burden.

The secretary nervously said from the side, "Mr. President, what about the Hawaii Republic? And even if we don't support this illegal organization, should we just let East Africans annex the entire Hawaiian Islands?"

His words did indeed provoke Cleveland's concern. While Cleveland did not support U.S. annexation of Hawaii, it did not mean he would cede influence over Hawaii.

Especially considering the strategic importance of Hawaii's location, the presence of other nations there would inevitably impact U.S. national security.

Cleveland supported the robust development of U.S. naval power, and given his Democratic identity, he was in favor of foreign expansion, with Hawaii being an exception. Now, with East Africa stirring up the situation in Hawaii, negotiations with East Africa became essential.

"I don't want it, but neither can you take it," this was Cleveland's attitude. If Cleveland's approach to the Hawaiian Islands were not somewhat "self-contradictory," there wouldn't be these troubles.

"Contact the East African embassy in the U.S.; we need to communicate with the East African officials. After all, East Africa is a great power. We can't start a war with them over Hawaii, but we can't just hand over the Hawaiian Islands either," Cleveland said.

Currently, it's not just about Cleveland's and the Hawaii Republic's respective stances, but also the attitude of this third-party country, East Africa. If East Africa does not agree to withdraw its troops, Cleveland and the Hawaii Republic's plans cannot proceed.

This was the most troublesome issue for Cleveland, as he was completely morally coerced by the Hawaii Republic. After all, the Hawaii Republic was entirely an independent action by the minister and merchant group on the island without his authorization. Yet, these people, being his own, could not be ignored.

At the same time, with the East African factor involved, mishandling it could become an international dispute, so understanding the East African government's attitude was most important for Cleveland.