Imperialism and the Commodification of Hawaii During the age of imperialism, the United States began to emerge as a rising imperial power in the nineteenth century. As a rising power, the United States was interested in expanding their territorial claims. The islands of Hawaii became appealing as a potential expansion target when business relations were established and the sugarcane plantations were created. As business relations with the sugarcane industry became successful, the United States wanted more control over the Hawaiian Kingdom. Inevitably, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy led to annexation of Hawaii as an official territory of the United States. The motives for territory expansion of the United States were driven by imperialism, which retained the similar motives of early industrialization. The economic success of early industrialization is the foundation that reflects the desire of the United States to annex Hawaii in order to protect their financial investments.
As industrialization was taking place, the foundation of the modern corporation demonstrates the economic ambitions for establishing control over a rising industrial society. The United States began industrialization in the 1820s when a cotton textile industry was created. As the cotton textile industries became successful, it led to an increase in diverse and mass production of other items such as uniforms, shoes, clocks, etc. (Bentley, Ziegler & Streets-Salter, 2010). As factories were undergoing rapid industrialization, these modified factories needed a structured business organization in order to manage these changes. Thus, the foundation of a modern corporation was integrated into industrial societies. The benefits of the modern corporation is that it allowed business to be more organized for growth on a larger scale, thus allowing more profit and investments in more