Statehood

The people of the Hawaiian Islands carried on a long campaign for admission to the Union as a state. In 1903 the territorial legislature requested statehood, but the first statehood bill was not introduced into Congress until 1921. The support of the war effort by the Hawaiian people in World War II helped win sympathy for the statehood movement on the mainland. In 1950 the citizens of Hawaii ratified a proposed constitution. Finally in 1959 Congress passed the Hawaii Statehood Bill and Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union on August 21, 1959.

After statehood, Hawaii's population increased rapidly, and Hawaii underwent an economic boom. The island of Oahu and the city of Honolulu were the major beneficiaries of the new state's growth and expansion, but some development of the other islands also was undertaken.

In the 1970's, tourism displaced the pineapple and sugar industries as the state's most important source of revenue. In 1978 a special government department was established to deal with the concerns of Hawaiians of Polynesian descent and to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture.

In the 1980's, such issues as urban sprawl, land shortage, and environmental protection and problems associated with the continuing tourist boom caused the government to enact controls on development. In September, 1992, Hurricane Iniki caused the state more damage than any other storm during the 20th century.

As part of the renewed interest in Polynesian culture, some Hawaiians are seeking sovereignty for the state. The proposals call for a relationship with the U.S. government that is similar to the nation-within-a-nation relationship of Native Americans on the mainland.

The state's first female governor, Linda Lingle, was elected to terms both in 2002 and 2006.

In June, 2006, President George W. Bush established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, which covers about 140,000 square miles of ocean and includes several small islands, reefs, and the home area of over 7,000 ocean species. This is the world's largest marine conservation area. It is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.