Hawaii statehood
Hawaii statehood refers to the process through which Hawaii transitioned from a U.S. territory to the fiftieth state of the United States. This journey began with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and the islands' annexation as a U.S. territory in 1898. Early efforts to gain statehood faced significant challenges, including geographical concerns and opposition from various groups on the mainland. After World War II, momentum grew for statehood, fueled by Hawaii's strong economy and the demonstrated loyalty of its diverse population during the war.
In 1959, following years of advocacy and political maneuvering, Congress approved Hawaii's statehood bill, which was overwhelmingly supported by local voters. The official admission of Hawaii into the Union occurred on August 21, 1959. The statehood brought significant economic opportunities and positioned Hawaii as a vital cultural and commercial link to the Pacific Rim. However, it is important to note that native Hawaiians have often felt marginalized in the benefits of statehood. Hawaii's unique demographic mix, with a majority of residents being of Asian or mixed ancestry, has played a significant role in shaping its identity within the broader context of the United States.
Hawaii statehood
The Event Admission of Hawaii as the fiftieth state in the Union
Date August 21, 1959
Hawaii’s entrance into the United States made it the second of the nation’s noncontiguous states (along with Alaska) and the only state with a predominantly nonwhite citizenry.
Even before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and the islands’ annexation as a U.S. territory in 1898, Hawaiian statehood was debated on the U.S. mainland and among the haole (white) businessmen whose ancestors had come to the islands as Christian missionaries. Since territorial acquisition often implied eventual statehood, for most Americans the question was not if, but when.
The first Hawaiian statehood bill was presented to the U.S. Congress in 1919 by Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, Hawaii’s first delegate. Similar bills were also introduced in 1920, 1931, and 1935, but they found little congressional support; however, by the mid-1930’s, statehood for Hawaii had become a national issue. Opponents claimed geographical distance as an impediment, along with the absence of a strong middle class, the excessive economic and political power of five corporate families, and the large proportion of islanders of Japanese ancestry as barriers to admission. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on December 7, 1941, and the subsequent entry of the United States into World War II, discussions of statehood were temporarily silenced.
The Postwar Years
After World War II, the platforms of both national parties routinely supported “eventual statehood.” The economy of Hawaii was robust, bolstered by extensive military spending, a newly diversified industrial base, and a rapidly expanding tourist industry. The loyalty of residents of Asian ancestry to the United States had been clearly demonstrated in World War II and the Korean War. Air travel became available to a growing American middle class, with Hawaii a favored destination. Hollywood films, radio and television programs, popular music, and sports advertising created appealing images of Hawaii as an exotic paradise.
Hawaii Democrats led the campaign for immediate statehood. Southern Democrats, who associated Hawaiian statehood with Civil Rights legislation promising full citizenship for people of color, led congressional opposition. Cold War fears of communist infiltration of labor unions, combined with memories of the sugar workers’ strike of 1946, the waterfront strike in 1949, and an associated concern regarding the growing power of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) became rallying points for opponents to statehood, both in the islands and on the mainland. Nevertheless, statehood bills for Hawaii passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1947 and 1950, only to die in the Senate.
By 1950, migration patterns to Hawaii had changed drastically from early twentieth century trends, when immigrants were primarily Asian nationals. Mid-century newcomers were mostly European Americans. By 1950, almost 90 percent of Hawaii’s residents were U.S. citizens; many were of Asian descent, born in the islands. A local haole and former police detective, John A. Burns, led working-class Americans of Japanese ancestry and native Hawaiians into an alliance that resulted in the Democratic Revolution of 1954. In 1956, Burns was elected as Hawaii’s delegate to Congress. Risking his political career in the islands, Burns agreed to let Alaska go first for statehood consideration, although Alaska’s qualifications for statehood were generally thought inferior to those of Hawaii. Alaska was admitted to the Union in January, 1959.
Admission to Statehood
In the first session of the Eighty-sixth Congress, the Senate led the way for Hawaii’s statehood. Burns persuaded a powerful Texas senator, Lyndon B. Johnson , to support statehood, although even Johnson’s influence could not sway staunch segregationists: Fourteen of the fifteen “nay” votes in the Senate came from southern Democrats. In March, 1959, the U.S. Congress approved the statehood bill, and it was signed into law. Ninety percent of voters in a special election in Hawaii supported statehood. Opposition came mostly from haole-dominated districts. (Decades later, Hawaiian sovereignty activists would challenge the legitimacy of this plebiscite because voting residents of Hawaii were not offered a means to support free association or independence. Support for statehood, or rejection of statehood—and implied support of continued territorial status—were the only ballot choices.)
In July, 1959, Hawaii elected its first congressional delegates; two were Asian American. Hiram Fong became the first U.S. senator of Asian ancestry; Daniel Inouye was the first Japanese American elected to the House. After sixty-one years as a territory, Hawaii became the fiftieth state when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order on August 21, 1959.
In the first election after statehood, Democrats split their support between Burns and a younger, more liberal and educated opponent, Thomas Gill. Consequently, the appointed territorial governor, Republican William F. Quinn, became the first elected governor of Hawaii. However, affection for the centrist Burns remained; he was elected in 1962, reelected for two more terms, and oversaw a reconfiguration of racial relations that became a model for the United States. Another Republican governor would not be elected in Hawaii until the twenty-first century.
Impact
Publicity surrounding statehood and the introduction of jet airline service to Hawaii led to a huge expansion of tourism, which in turn resulted in tremendous growth in the construction and service industries. Because of Hawaii’s location and population, it became a vital link for U.S. contacts with Pacific Rim nations and cultures. Statehood created many educational and economic opportunities for citizens of Hawaii, but native Hawaiians have benefited least from statehood.
As the first state with a white minority and a large population of citizens of Asian, Polynesian, and mixed-race ancestry, Hawaii during the 1950’s foreshadowed the multiracial and multicultural landscape that would characterize much of the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Bibliography
Bell, Roger. Last Among Equals: Hawaiian Statehood and American Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984. Chronicles the struggle for statehood.
Coffman, Tom. The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003. Details critical events within Hawaii in the twentieth century, including those surrounding the statehood issue.