Hawaii
Hawaii was a valuable region, for it was a great provisioning point, and a huge producer of cane sugar. As a result, many American planters wanted to annex Hawaii when the McKinley tariff raised prices of sugar. However, Queen Liliuokalani, who is depicted as a pear tree in the political cartoon, disagreed with annexation, and wanted the Hawaiians to retain control over the island. A revolt ensued, and the American minister of Honolulu, who is the monkey in the picture, assisted the revolt with troops. He even says, "The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe" in his letter to Washington. Also, this is why Hawaii is depicted as a pear in this picture. Fortunately for Hawaii, President Grover Cleveland, who is the man standing in front of the pear tree, opposed the annexation, therefore protecting Hawaii.