Road to statehood

From left, Hawai'i statehood supporters John Burns, delegate from Hawai'i; Mrs. Dolores Martin, Democratic committeewoman from Hawai'i; Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash.; and Hawai'i Gov. William F. Quinn. March 11, 1959

Road to Statehood

After 61 years of resolutions, legislation and endorsements, Hawaii finally becomes the 50th state

By Rich Budnick

April 30, 1900: President William McKinley signs the Hawaiian Organic Act to create the Territory of Hawai'i.

June 14, 1900: The Organic Act takes effect, and Hawai'i officially becomes a U.S. territory. Thousands of Native Hawaiians are now eligible to vote after they had been denied by the Republic of Hawai'i. The law also establishes English as the official language, prohibits any Chinese from entering the Mainland U.S. from Hawai'i, and abolishes all plantation-labor contracts.

Feb. 27, 1901: The first resolution asking Congress for statehood is introduced in the Hawai'i Legislature. It does not pass.

March 6, 1903: Gov. Sanford Dole signs the first joint resolution seeking statehood.

Feb. 11, 1919: Congressional delegate Jonah Kuhio introduces the first bill in Congress for Hawai'i statehood.

Feb. 4, 1920: U.S. Rep. Charles Curry, chairman of the Territories Committee, says Hawai'i statehood means Japanese control.

April 30, 1931: Gov. Lawrence Judd vetoes a joint resolution asking Congress for statehood because "the time is not opportune ... unwise."

May 15, 1933: Legislation to allow the president to appoint a non-Hawai'i resident as territorial governor is defeated by a Senate filibuster after passing the House of Representatives. This was an attempt to punish Hawai'i for the Massie court verdict. On May 22, President Franklin Roosevelt asks Congress for a law to allow the president to appoint an "absolutely impartial" non-Hawai'i resident as governor. Federal law requires the nominee to be a three-year Hawai'i resident.

May 9, 1934: President Roosevelt signs the Jones-Costigan Act to protect Mainland sugar cane growers and make Hawai'i a "foreign area." Sugar and pineapple account for 40 percent of Hawai'i's employment, so Hawai'i's leaders decide to push for statehood.

May 20, 1935: Gov. Joseph Poindexter signs a law to create the Hawaii Equal Rights Commission to obtain equal treatment in federal laws, and support statehood in Congress.

Oct. 7, 1935: In Hawai'i, the House Committee on Territories holds the first-ever U.S. congressional hearing on Hawai'i statehood. The committee says further study is needed.

Oct. 8, 1937: The first Joint Committee on Hawai'i of the U.S. House and Senate holds statehood hearings in Hawai'i. On Oct. 19, several witnesses such as schools superintendent and future Gov. Oren Long support statehood and say Japanese are loyal to America. On Feb. 15, 1938, the joint committee reports, "Hawai'i has fulfilled every requirement for statehood" but does not recommend statehood until there is a public vote by Hawai'i voters.

July 16, 1940: The Democratic National Convention votes to "favor a larger measure of self-government leading to (Hawai'i) statehood." On June 27, 1944, the Republican national party platform "looks toward" Hawai'i statehood. From 1944 to 1952, both political parties endorse statehood before making a "pledge" for it in 1956.

Nov. 5, 1940: Hawai'i residents get their first opportunity to vote for statehood. The general election vote is 46,174-22,438 for statehood.

Dec. 22, 1945: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes officially recommends statehood for Hawai'i. Hawai'i is administered by the Department of the Interior.

Jan. 7, 1946: A U.S. House Committee on Territories holds statehood hearings in Hawai'i, and recommends legislation to admit Hawai'i as a state.

Jan. 21, 1946: In his State of the Union speech, President Harry Truman is the first president to endorse Hawai'i statehood.

Feb. 9, 1946: United Nations Charter says nations with territories are obligated to help their territories achieve self-government or independence. The United Nations drops Hawai'i from this list in 1959 after statehood. Many Hawaiians say the 1959 vote for statehood was illegal because the ballot did not include an option for independence.

Aug. 9, 1946: 4,000 people welcome the first large group of 241 soldiers of the 442nd Regiment returning to Hawai'i. Gov. Ingram Stainback says, "By your heroic deeds, you have done more to bring statehood for Hawai'i within the realm of near possibility than all the words of all the politicians during the last 40 years."

May 15, 1947: Gov. Ingram Stainback signs a law to establish a Hawai'i Statehood Commission to promote statehood from an office in Washington, D.C. By 1959, this organization spends $845,000 of public money and receives several million dollars in private donations to support statehood.

June 30, 1947: U.S. House of Representatives passes a Hawai'i statehood bill for the first time, 196-133.

Nov. 15, 1947: Former ILWU leader Ichiro Izuka publishes a critical 31-page brochure, "The Truth About Communism." He admits he was a Communist for nine years, identifies local Communists by name, urges union workers to "wake up," and says Communists are loyal to Russia, not the U.S.

Jan. 5, 1948: U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands holds the first-ever Senate statehood hearings in Hawai'i.

May 20, 1948: U.S. Senate votes 51-20 to prevent a House resolution for statehood from reaching the Senate floor.

Oct. 29, 1948: After 33 days of hearings, the Territorial School Commission fires Dr. John and Aiko Reinecke. Despite 37 combined years of teaching in Hawai'i, they are considered "untrustworthy" as teachers and disloyal because they are alleged Communist Party members.

November 1, 1948: U.S. Sen. Hugh Butler, chairman of the Senate Interior Committee, holds 12 days of secret interviews in Honolulu with 77 people about communism. He is a "one-man committee" without public hearings. He wants to defer Hawai'i statehood "until the Communist menace is brought under control."

May 4, 1949: The first of 50 "Dear Joe" letters appear prominently on the front page of The Honolulu Advertiser. The letters allegedly are written by publisher Lorrin Thurston to call attention to the Communist influence of Hawai'i's labor unions, and to accuse the ILWU of serving Russian dictator Josef Stalin. The letters may have backfired when national publicity made politicians believe Hawai'i is influenced or run by Communists. The local fear of communism and growing union strength delays statehood.

May 20, 1949: Gov. Stainback signs a law to hold a territorial convention to draft a state constitution. This approach had been used by 15 territories that obtained statehood.

May 31, 1949: 300 women, nearly all Caucasian, establish a "broom brigade" to protest the ILWU dockworker strike by picketing ILWU headquarters for two months. Their brooms symbolize a desire to "clean out" the alleged Communist control of unions. Many picketers are the wives of Big 5 managers.

June 25, 1949: U.S. Sen. Hugh Butler releases his "Butler Report" that opposes statehood because "Communism has a firm grip on the economic, political and social life in the territory."

March 7, 1950: U.S. House of Representatives passes a statehood bill, 262-110.

April 20, 1950: The last day of HUAC (U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee) hearings. Many ILWU members invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked whether they are Communists. For refusing to testify, they are known as the "Reluctant 39," and are charged with contempt of Congress. They are acquitted in January 1951.

July 22, 1950: After 110 days, the Hawai'i Constitutional Convention approves a state constitution to take effect when Congress OKs statehood.

August 28, 1951: FBI arrests the "Hawaii 7" on charges of being Communist agents or advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. They are convicted on June 19, 1953. On July 3, they are sentenced to five years in jail, but the guilty verdicts are reversed by a federal appeals court in 1958.

Feb. 2, 1953: President Dwight Eisenhower is the second president to support Hawai'i statehood. In his State of the Union speech, he says statehood "should be granted promptly."

March 10, 1953: U.S. House passes a statehood bill, 274-138.

Feb. 10, 1954: In a one-day effort, 116,000 people stand outside the Alexander Young Hotel to sign a mile-long petition known as the "Statehood Honor Roll" urging Congress to grant statehood. "Midget" honor rolls are signed on Neighbor Islands. On Feb. 26, the petitions are delivered to Vice President Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C.

April 1, 1954: By a 57-28 vote, the U.S. Senate passes a statehood bill that combines Alaska and Hawai'i into one bill. This is the first time the Senate passes a Hawai'i statehood bill. From 1947 to 1954, the House passed three statehood bills. Before the favorable Senate vote, the Senate defeated an amendment 60-24, to give Hawai'i commonwealth status, like Puerto Rico.

July 15, 1954: Former Gov. Stainback, now a Hawai'i Supreme Court justice, rejects Hawai'i statehood and prefers a commonwealth government like Puerto Rico has. He writes four editorial articles in the Honolulu Advertiser from July 15 to July 18.

May 10, 1955: U.S. House of Representatives votes 218-170 to reject a bill to grant statehood to both Hawai'i and Alaska.

Jan. 5, 1956: President Eisenhower "urgently" requests statehood for Hawai'i. He says, "Statehood would be a shining example of the American way to the entire earth" and Hawai'i is "a unique example of a community that is a successful laboratory in human brotherhood."

Nov. 10, 1956: ILWU chief Harry Bridges tells his 23,000 union members that U.S. Sen. James Eastland wants to destroy the ILWU and deny statehood for Hawai'i. Bridges asks workers to protest the upcoming Senate hearings by walking off their jobs and attending Eastland's committee hearings. About 6,200 ILWU workers, or one-third of Oahu's members walk off their jobs.

July 7, 1958: President Eisenhower signs a law to make Alaska the nation's 49th state. Granting statehood to Alaska first is a compromise strategy negotiated by Hawai'i congressional Delegate John Burns, because it will improve Hawai'i's chances for statehood.

Jan. 3, 1959: Alaska becomes the 49th state, and Hawai'i gains two more Senate votes to ensure statehood.

March 11, 1959: U.S. Senate passes a Hawai'i statehood bill, 76-15.

March 12, 1959: The U.S. House of Representatives passes a statehood bill, 323-89.

March 18, 1959: President Eisenhower signs the Hawai'i Admission Act to make Hawai'i the 50th state, effective on Aug. 21. The U.S. transfers former Hawaiian government and crown lands to the State of Hawai'i, and puts the land in a public trust for Native Hawaiians and for specific public purposes. It took 61 years for Hawai'i to become a state. Only New Mexico waited longer for statehood. From 1935 to 1959, Congress held 22 statehood hearings, 15 in Washington, D.C., and seven in Hawai'i. Since 1919, 63 Hawai'i statehood bills were introduced in Congress.

June 23, 1959: The Honolulu Advertiser publishes a 300-page statehood issue that weighs 4 pounds. It is Hawai'i's largest newspaper.

June 27, 1959: Hawai'i voters approve a statehood referendum by 132,938 to 7,854.

July 28, 1959: Hawai'i's first statehood general election has a 93 percent turnout of registered voters. President Eisenhower says that this is U.S. democracy at work. Incumbent Territorial Gov. William Quinn is Hawai'i's first elected state governor, and James Kealoha is elected lieutenant governor. Hiram Fong and Oren Long are elected to the U.S. Senate; Daniel Inouye is elected to the U.S. House.

Rich Budnick is the author of "Hawaii's Forgotten History: the good ... the bad ... the embarrassing," which provides information about more than 2,000 events from 1900-1999. The information was compiled from 8,000 newspapers and 300 books. Reach him at AlohaPress@HawaiianTel.net.