These American planters wanted the United States to annex the islands for economic reasons. The Senate had been studying a treaty for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. According to the Constitution and laws of the United States, the expansion of the limits of the United States is a manifestation of the highest attribute of sovereignty. If the annexation had ever been stipulated as an executive act, everything concerning the operation must have been clear and beyond suspicion. Grover Cleveland was president at the time and was completely opposed to the treaty and annexation, and would not allow it to continue. Cleveland also had a message accompanying the treaty, declaring that "...the overthrow of the monarchy has in no way been promoted by this government" (Grover Cleveland