AllHawaii-Cruises.com - The Statehood of Hawaii

Efforts by some of the territory’s political leaders to gain statehood for Hawaii began as early as 1903, but Congress did not give serious consideration to the issue until the 1930s. In 1935 and 1937 congressional committees held hearings in Hawaii on the statehood question, but they did not recommend statehood. In 1940 a vote on the issue was held in Hawaii, and more than two-thirds of the electorate voted for statehood.

As a territory, Hawaii had a governor appointed by the U.S. president, but its residents could not vote in presidential elections; they paid taxes, but their elected delegate had no vote in the U.S. Congress. Opponents of statehood, including members of Southern states, had used race and national origin as an argument for years; they questioned the loyalty of foreign-born residents of Hawaii and objected to granting equal status to a predominantly nonwhite population.

Statehood efforts, suspended during World War II, were intensified after 1945. Supporters argued that Hawaii deserved full equality as a state: Hawaii’s residents had taken the first blow of the war, had endured long years of martial law, and had proven in battle the loyalty of its Japanese American citizens. Also, by 1950, 90 percent of Hawaii’s residents were U.S. citizens, most born on American soil.

Hawaii’s effort to gain congressional approval for statehood eventually became linked to the similar campaign for the territory of Alaska. In 1958 a bill granting statehood to Alaska was approved, largely by means of deft political maneuvering by the advocates of Alaskan and Hawaiian statehood. In March 1959 a Hawaiian statehood bill was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Eisenhower. In a referendum on June 27 Hawaii’s electorate voted 17 to 1 in favor of joining the Union; most of the opposition came from white districts.

Hawaii was proclaimed the 50th state on August 21, 1959. A state constitution, which had been approved by the territory’s voters in 1950, went into effect, and newly elected officials took office. William Francis Quinn, a Republican and the last governor of the territory of Hawaii, was elected the first governor of the state. Hiram L. Fong, a Chinese American Republican, became the first person of Asian ancestry to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Daniel K. Inouye, a war hero and a Democrat, became the first person of Japanese ancestry to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He later was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Hawaii entered the Union with only one member in the U.S. House of Representatives, but gained a second representative after reapportionment based on the 1960 national census. In 1962 Quinn was succeeded as governor by Burns, a Democrat, who was reelected in 1966 and 1970. Democrats held the office continuously from then through 1996. In 1974 George R. Ariyoshi became the first Japanese American governor of the state.

After 1959 tourism greatly expanded as a result of the widespread publicity attending statehood and the introduction of jet airline service to the islands. The construction industry prospered with the increased demand for hotel space and other tourist facilities. As investments and visitors from Japan poured into the islands, tourism generated jobs and a higher standard of living for Hawaii’s fast-growing population.

In addition to tourism, efforts were made to spur industrial development and diversification and to expand overseas trade. Hawaii’s economic development reached a milestone in 1965 when a foreign trade zone was established at Honolulu. The zone permits goods to be imported and processed for reexporting to foreign countries without becoming subject to U.S. customs. Agriculture continued to decline in importance, while the military remained a significant economic factor. By 1980, one out of every seven people living in the islands was a military employee or dependent.

Development itself continued to be a major issue in the politics of the state. How to accommodate the tourist boom and other economic growth while preserving the islands’ natural beauty posed one of the state’s major challenges, as high-rise hotels and condominiums crowded scenic areas and automobile traffic created congestion and air pollution. Yet Hawaii remained one of the most beautiful populated areas of the world.

International education in Hawaii has grown as a minor industry. The University of Hawaii expanded tremendously in the years immediately following statehood, setting up satellite campuses on the outer islands and adding a medical and law school to the main campus on Oahu. Creation of the East-West Center by President Lyndon Johnson and the Congress led some to see Hawaii’s economic future in the selling and buying of skills and knowledge in the world, especially Pacific, markets. Independent planning and engineering consultants, architects, and others associated with the development of tourism in the Pacific made Hawaii their base. By the 1990s more than 200 island firms took an active role in Pacific trade, and many mainland corporations established Pacific regional headquarters in Honolulu.

One of the most important developments in Hawaii since statehood has been the rapid social and economic progress of its Asian American population. Asian Americans led whites in educational attainment, employment, occupational status, median income, and home ownership. A higher proportion of Asian Americans than whites were born in Hawaii and had strong roots there. Most Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans were born locally, despite recent immigration from China and Taiwan. Most white residents were born on the mainland.

Asian Americans have moved increasingly into upper middle class positions. Following the practice of well-to-do whites, they began sending their children to prestigious private schools in the islands and to mainland colleges. Hawaii faced the potential of a two-class educational system, leaving the public schools to Hawaiians, Portuguese, Samoans, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, and the children of poorer Whites, and Chinese and Japanese, in addition to refugees from Southeast Asia.

Tension among ethnic groups exists in Hawaii, although compared to much of the U.S. mainland, Hawaii remains a remarkable example of inter-ethnic cooperation. Continuing prejudice is most apparent in public schools, where local children often tease white boys and girls, and where newly arrived immigrant children are not always welcomed.

The most troubling ethnic grievance in Hawaii remained that of the native Hawaiians, who frequently expressed resentment against Japanese Americans as well as whites. The sense of loss shared by the small number of pure Hawaiians who remain and by many part-Hawaiians was reinforced by the continuing gap in income and health; compared with whites and Asians, part-Hawaiians had the highest infant death rate, the most difficulty in school, the highest rates of serious illness, and high rates of crime.

All groups have expressed a great interest in ancient Hawaiian culture, and in 1978 the state agreed to promote the study of native Hawaiian traditions, history, and language. However, occasional examples of prejudice against Hawaiians still arise. In 1974 the Native American Programs Act was amended to add Hawaiians as a category of native peoples, enabling them to qualify for various federal assistance programs.

In May 1995 the Hawaii legislature committed $600 million to compensate for misuse or wrongful sale of about 16,000 hectares (39,000 acres) of trust lands set aside for native Hawaiians under the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Act of 1920. The money will be used to develop the parcels, which native Hawaiians can lease for $1 a year, by paving roads and setting up water and electricity. The 1920 law, which was supposed to encourage native Hawaiians’ self-sufficiency through homesteading, eventually put about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) in trust. But much of the land was not suitable for agriculture, and some was taken for such public uses as parks, airports, schools, and military bases.

Some native Hawaiians have called for reparations to be made for the overthrow of the monarchy; some have asked for a return to the Hawaiian Kingdom on land set aside for Hawaiians. In the summer of 1996 native Hawaiians voted to create a native Hawaiian government. The vote enables native Hawaiians to hold a constitutional convention. Whatever the outcome, native Hawaiians born in the United States will be U.S. citizens and remain under U.S. jurisdiction.

The patterns of ethnic relations in Hawaii are complicated, but it is remarkable that so much harmony exists. Rates of intermarriage are high for all groups, and Hawaii is still an example for many places trying to build a more compassionate and just multi-ethnic society.

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History of Hawaii

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