Interest in HAWAII<span> began in America as early as the 1820s, when New England missionaries tried in earnest to spread their faith. Since the 1840s, keeping European powers out of Hawaii became a principal foreign policy goal. Americans acquired a true foothold in Hawaii as a result of the </span>SUGAR TRADE<span>. The United States government provided generous terms to Hawaiian sugar growers, and after the Civil War, profits began to swell.</span>
