Grover Cleveland was an honest and forthright president during a period marked by scandal and political patronage. His rapid political success was the result of his reputation as a reformer willing to oppose elites and special interest groups. He was not a great orator, but he had a strong moral code that was reflected in his public statements and papers. His Message to Congress on Hawaiian Sovereignty, delivered in December 1893, asked the U.S. legislature to develop a solution to the unrest in Hawaii, where American planters had overthrown the islands’ monarchy, set up a provisional government, and signed a treaty of annexation with the United States.