he was a strong supporter of the annexation of hawaii and visited hawaii in 1897 in support of annexation. he believed that the history of the u.s. clearly indicated it was unnecessary to hold a plebiscite in hawaii as a condition for annexation. he was appointed by president william mckinley in july 1898 to the commission created by the newlands resolution to establish government in the territory of hawaii. a strong advocate for a central american canal, morgan was also a staunch supporter of the cuban revolutionaries in the 1890s.