When was Hawaii Formed?
Hawaii is an archipelago that is found in the central Pacific Ocean. It is located southwest of continental United States, southeast of Japan and north East of Australia. The capital city of Hawaii is Honolulu and it is the 50th state of the United States of America. It has a warm, tropical environment and is well known for its beautiful beaches, monstrous surfing waves and active volcanoes. There are hundreds of small islands that are part of the archipelago but, the eight main islands are (from the northwest to southeast) Ni’ihau, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, L’na’i, Kaho’olawe, Maui, and Hawai’i (often called the Big Island to avoid confusion).
The Formation of Hawaii as the 50th State
For over a century the islands of Hawaii have been under the rule of the United States. After a peaceful but controversial coup the American Colonists that lived on Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Hawaii became the territory of the United States in 1898. Much political and social unrest followed in the years after. In 1890 Hawaii was granted the right to self-governance and started action to become a state. However, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years as it was advantageous to big business owners. During the 1950’s the Hawaii Republican Party was voted out of office and the Democratic Party of Hawaii controlled politics in Hawaii for the next 40 years. The residents of Hawaii campaigned for statehood to occur. In March 1959 Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act which granted Hawaii the right to become a state. A referendum was held on June 27, 1959 asking the people if they wanted to become a state. The vote was 17 to 1 in favor of becoming a state. On August 21, 1959 Hawaii officially became the 50th state of the United States of America.
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