Hawaii annexed by United States

American Minute with Bill Federer Hawaii became a U.S. Territory JULY 7, 1898, as President McKinley signed the Treaty of Annexation. In 1778, British Captain James Cook discovered the islands, and in 1779, he was killed there. The Hawaiian Islands were united by King Kamehameha I in 1810. In 1819, King Kamehameha I died. His wife, Kaʻahumanu, and his son, Liholiho (King Kamehameha II), abolished the pagan religion with its kapu rules and human sacrifice.