Booker T. Washington was against the annexation of Hawaii by the United States, He saw it as American imperialism triumphing over justice and democracy. Speaking in 1898 in Ashfield,Massachusetts , Washington stated: "We went to the Sandwich Islands* with the Bible and prayer book in our hands to win the soul of the natives ; we ended up taking their country without giving them the privilege of saying yea or nay." Washington also spoke out against the acquisition of the Philippines after the Spanish American War , He stated in 1900
" My opinion is that the Philippines should be given the opportunity tto govern themselves." His comments on both of these events created considerable and raucorous debate.
Washington saw the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom as part of American westward expansion including the Philippines, Eastern Samoa(now known as American Samoa), and Guam.