With a POD stretching back to the 1860's in the U.S and back to 1800 around the world, can there be a chance for the United States to not engage in some Pacific island-grabbing? At least an independent Kingdom of Hawaii with an independent or European-controlled Philippines until the First World War?
For Hawaii, I need to make King Lunalilo live longer and not have the Bayonet Constitution, among other things. That will at least make it last until WWI.
For the Philippines, I'm not so sure. The whole thing got into American hands because of the Spanish-American War, and that's harder to get rid of. Any ideas?