As Americans we often believe that everyone wants to be a part of our great country and all it has to offer. But in reality, there are times in our history when we've forced our way of life on people without regard for their feelings. The many tribes of Indians that inhabited America long before we came is a perfect example. Another is the state of Hawaii. Did you know that in the late 1800s many Hawaiians did not want to become a part of the United States?

The diary of Kaiulani tells the tragic story of a young princess who was to be Queen of Hawaii. At the age of 13, Kaiulani was sent to an English boarding school to advance her education. England was a big adjustment from her beautiful tropical paradise with it's warm, sunny climate. She was terribly lonely and missed her island home of Oahu, but she knew her family wanted her to receive the best education possible to prepare her for becoming the future ruler of Hawaii. While she was in England her aunt, Liliuokalani, became the Queen but she wasn't a very wise monarch and there was soon a movement to overthrow her. The white Americans that became powerful in local government wanted the United States to annex Hawaii as part of their territory. The Hawaiian people were angry because they wanted to remain their own country. So at age seventeen, Princess Kaiulani became their last hope. She left England and sailed to the United States to represent her people and plead with President Cleveland not to annex her beloved Hawaii. Unfortunately for Kaiulani, the annexation was completed and she never became Queen as she had been destined to do.