Wednesday, August 22, 2007

August 21:


1959 : Hawaii becomes 50th state

The modern United States receives its crowning star when President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the
Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an
American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five
six-star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official
July 4, 1960.

The first known settlers of the Hawaiian Islands were Polynesian
voyagers who arrived sometime in the eighth century. In the early 18th
century, American traders came to Hawaii to exploit the islands'
sandalwood, which was much valued in China at the time. In the 1830s,
the sugar industry was introduced to Hawaii and by the mid 19th
century had become well established. American missionaries and
planters brought about great changes in Hawaiian political, cultural,
economic, and religious life. In 1840, a constitutional monarchy was
established, stripping the Hawaiian monarch of much of his authority.

In 1893, a group of American expatriates and sugar planters supported
by a division of U.S. Marines deposed Queen Liliuokalani, the last
reigning monarch of Hawaii. One year later, the Republic of Hawaii was
established as a U.S. protectorate with Hawaiian-born Sanford B. Dole
as president. Many in Congress opposed the formal annexation of
Hawaii, and it was not until 1898, following the use of the naval base
at Pearl Harbor during the Spanish-American War, that Hawaii's
strategic importance became evident and formal annexation was
approved. Two years later, Hawaii was organized into a formal U.S.
territory. During World War II, Hawaii became firmly ensconced in the
American national identity following the surprise Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

In March 1959, the U.S. government approved statehood for Hawaii, and
in June the Hawaiian people voted by a wide majority to accept
admittance into the United States. Two months later, Hawaii officially
became the 50th state.

history.com/tdih.do


1831 : Slave revolt erupts in Virginia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5278

1858 : Lincoln-Douglas debates begin
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5279

1961 : Kenyatta freed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6996

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