Final answer:
American missionaries in Hawaii were focused on converting locals to Christianity as part of a broader goal to assimilate them into Western culture and social norms, as reflected in the establishment of schools and churches.
Step-by-step explanation:
Goal of American Missionaries in Hawaii
The American missionaries in Hawaii worked with determination to convert the local population to Christianity. Despite sometimes being portrayed as sympathetic, their overarching goal involved not just spreading religious beliefs but also the underlying cultural and moral values they deemed superior. This work often entailed constructing schools and churches, which not only provided education and religious guidance but also aimed to assimilate the Hawaiian people into Western ways of life.
Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is that the American missionaries worked hard to convert locals to Christianity. This was part of their broader objective of instilling Western social structures and cultural norms, which included monogamous marriage and dress traditions seen as evidencing a civilized society. They were instrumental in the imperialist endeavor to 'gift' civilization to the colonized peoples, consistent with the prevailing ethos of the time that colonization provided benefits through the spread of Christianity and Western cultural norms.