They were looking for the "Northwest Passage" to the sea. Or basically seeing where America ended in the northwest side of the country.
Hope this helps :)
<span>Hot summers led to a long growing season for cash crops such as tobacco and cotton which were labor intensive.</span>
Big fruit businesses helped overthrow the kingdom of Hawai'i with the help of the American government. The famous company Dole (which sells pineapples) wanted to make Hawai'i do the Bayonet Constitution, the Queen Liliuokalani refused, and after the Dole company started producing in Hawai'i, they had to surrender after American militia and marines threatened them, causing the queen to surrender her island over to the American government.