On this date (Aug 21), in 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the proclamation that made Hawaii the 50th state in the Union.
You’ve heard the phrase, “Third time’s the charm,” right? Well, in this case, apparently it was the fifth time that was the charm. Congress saw its first statehood bill for Hawaii back in 1919. Then in 1935, 1947, and in 1950. Finally, in ’59, it worked.
Of course, it wasn’t Congress that kept it from happening earlier. Most Hawaiians wanted statehood – they wanted the benefits they would attain…most specifically, they wanted full voting rights.
Unfortunately, the desires of the people were overshadowed by ‘the man.’ Plantation owners controlled the islands through a group of corporations called The Big Five. This oligarchy had a lot to gain by keeping Hawaii as an annexed territory. Eliminated tariffs, exclusion from anti-trust and price-fixing laws, and a lack of regulations regarding foreign labor – all of these were advantages to the corporations. If Hawaii became a state, they’d be forced to actually obey US laws – which wasn’t good for crooked business.
Unfortunately for the oligarchy, demographics eventually defeated them. By the mid-50s, most of the native labor force had been born after Hawaii had become a US territory… and most of the foreign labor force had come from Puerto Rico – also a US territory. People born in a US territory were legal US citizens. Finally, the Hawaii Republican Party, who had strongly supported the plantation owners and Big Five, were voted out of office. The Democratic Party of Hawaii began to push for statehood. When the referendum asked Hawaiian residents to vote, 94% supported immediate admission into the Union. As a result, with Eisenhower’s signature, our 50th state was finally adopted.
And I’m happy about it. I should be happy because of the politics involved – the little guy’s triumph over the big bully, the populist victory against the forces of oppression.
But really, I’m just happy because this means that Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, and Masi Oka get to have jobs working on a show that is one of my favorite escapist avenues… Mahalo, Hawaii Five-0!!