Contesting US Policy through US Ideals: Sarah Winnemucca and Queen Lili’uokalani’s Appeals to American Identity

• In Event: Racism in U.S. America: Contemporary and Historical Manifestations

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny justified U.S. expansion by calling upon Christian and civilized sensibilities to organize lands and people peaceably under the American flag. The expansion, however, did not occur without resistance, including from the new populations who would come to be called “American.” In the late nineteenth century two indigenous women, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins and Queen Lili’uokalani, broke American expectations by powerfully appealing to U.S. ideals to argue for their people.

Author

• Una Kimokeo-Goes, Penn State University