1898 JOINT RESOLUTION to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States National Archives and Records Administration [ Transcript | First Page PDF ]

King Kalakaua, called the Merry Monarch, came to the throne in 1874. During his reign, sugar cane became a dominant industry. Most of the sugar cane crop was shipped to the United States, especially San Francisco. This was good for American businessmen, but...

American businessmen were nervous about nations in Europe and their eagerness to add Hawaii to their empires. They looked to the United States government for help and security and in 1875, a treaty of reciprocity was negotiated with the Kingdom of Hawaii, leading the way to an influx of American investment.

In 1891, King Kalakaua died. His sister, Liliuokalani, assumed the throne. Queen Liliuokalani tried to create a new constitution that would increase her power and change the balance of political power in the kingdom. Business interests were not happy with the queen's direction and a revolt forced Liliuokalani from her position in 1893. The leaders of the revolt formed the Republic of Hawaii in 1894. American business executives controlled the government of the new republic and wanted the islands to become a territory of the United States. In 1898, they succeeded in getting the United States to annex Hawaii. The islands became a U.S. territory on July 7, 1898 when President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution.

In the early 1900's U.S. Navy started to build a base at Pearl Harbor. The Army established camps on Oahu. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to visit Hawaii. On Dec. 7, 1941, planes of the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor and airfields on Oahu. The United States suffered heavy losses in lives, ships, and aircraft and entered into World War II in response.

The first bill for Hawaiian statehood was introduced by Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, Hawaii's Territorial Delegate to Congress, in 1919. Many more statehood bills followed, but most were not even voted on. In 1950, Hawaii adopted a constitution to go into effect when the territory became a state. Finally, in March 1959, Congress approved legislation to admit Hawaii as a state. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill on March 18. In June, the people of Hawaii voted almost 17 to 1 for statehood and Hawaii became the 50th state to join the Union on August 21, 1959.

King Kamehamena III introduced the first Hawaii Constitution Courtesy of Henry Soszynski

PREAMBLE: We, the people of Hawaii, grateful for Divine Guidance, and mindful of our Hawaiian heritage and uniqueness as an island State, dedicate our efforts to fulfill the philosophy decreed by the Hawaii State motto, "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono."

We reserve the right to control our destiny, to nurture the integrity of our people and culture, and to preserve the quality of life that we desire.

We reaffirm our belief in a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and with an understanding and compassionate heart toward all the peoples of the earth, do hereby ordain and establish this constitution for the State of Hawaii. [Am Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]

[ HAWAII CONSTITUTION ]

Kamehameha III, educated as a traditional Hawaiian chief and in the ways of Westerners by Protestant missionaries, presided over several important occurrences in the kingdom. He began to modernize the laws that had governed the islands for over a thousand years he introduced the first Hawaii Constitution in 1840. He also presided over the division of lands between the king and the chiefs in 1848. Prior to this time, all land belonged to the king.

In the 1840's the French and British were very interested in expanding their empires and were anxious to lay claim to Hawaii. On February 10, 1843, Lord Paulet of the Royal Navy sailed into Honolulu harbor and captured the town. Intense negotiations followed and eventually, Admiral Richard D. Thomas disapproved Lord's Paulet's actions and on July 31, 1843, the Hawaiian flag was again raised over Hawaii. It is on this day that Kamehameha III is said to have proclaimed "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono," translated, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

The Hawaiian motto is declared in Article XV, Section 5. of the Hawaii Constitution. "The motto of the State shall be, 'Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono'" and in the Hawaii Revised Statutes. The motto also appears on the State seal of Hawaii.

In the executive branch, the Governor is the head of the State of Hawaii and is responsible for the execution of laws and the supervision of the executive departments. He (or she) sees that all the laws of the state are executed and governs most state agencies. The Governor establishes the goals of the state and outlines ways to reach those goals.

The major task of the Legislature is to create and maintain laws. The members of the Legislature also conduct investigations on various matters, consider requests or petitions from the public, confirm certain officers appointed by the governor, participate in amending the Hawaii Constitution, and exercise authority to punish people for certain offenses against the Legislature or its members.

Hawaii's Judicial system, under the administration of a chief justice, operates on two levels. One level, called the appellate level, consists of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and hears appeals from other courts. It may choose to review cases or assign them to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The other level, the trial level, consists of the Circuit Courts and the District Courts. This level presides over civil and criminal cases and is where jury trials are held.

In general, the state government provides those services that are statewide in nature, such as education, transportation networks, public health and welfare, and public works, and which require a uniformity of standards and regulations.

Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige Courtesy of the State of Hawaii

[ GOVERNOR'S PAGE ]   [ FORMER STATE GOVERNORS ]
[ WASHINGTON PLACE ]   [ SITES TO SEE ]
[ HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN STORY 1 ]
[ HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN STORY 2 ]
[ WALKING TOUR ]

• The two legislative chambers are cone-shaped, like volcanoes, symbolizing the geological origin of the Hawaiian Islands, which rose upward from the sea floor over eons.
• The columns are representative of the graceful palm trees of Hawaii, so important to the early Hawaiians as a source of food and building material.
• The mosaic design in the center of the rotunda, "Aquarius," was created by island artist Tadashi Sato and shows the changing colors and patterns of Hawaii's seas.
• The chandeliers in the legislative chambers were designed by artist Otto Piene. "Moon, " in the Senate is made of polished aluminum and chambered nautilus shells; "Sun, " in the House of Representatives, of gold-plated copper and brass.
• The tapestries hanging in the chambers, composed of warm earth colors in the House and cool sea and sky colors in the Senate were designed, by Ruthadell Anderson.
• A vast pool of water surrounding the State Capitol, symbolizes Hawaii as the only island-state in the nation.

[ ABOUT ]   [ SLIDE SHOW ]   [ TOURS ]

[ LEGISLATIVE BRANCH ]

[ CITIZEN'S GUIDE ]
[ HOW A HOUSE BILL BECOMES LAW ] (PDF)
[ ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS, TERMINOLOGY ]

[ CURRENT LEGISLATION ]

[ HAWAII REVISED STATUTES ]

United States Capitol Building Washington, DC

[ THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION ]

Each state elects people to represent them in the United States Congress in Washington, DC. The citizens of each state elect two senators to represent them in the Senate. They also elect representatives to represent them in the House of Representatives. The number of representatives each state sends to the House of Representatives is not a specific number like the Senate, but is based on the population of the state. The people, that are elected to represent the state's citizens in the United States Congress, are referred to as the congressional delegation.

There are 100 senators in the U.S. Senate. Each is elected to a term, in the Senate, of six years. There are 435 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. Each is elected to a term, in the "House," of two years.

The citizens of Hawaii elect two people, like every other state, to represent them in the Senate and two people, based on Hawaii's population, to represent them in the House of Representatives.

U.S. Senate (2):

State senators Mazie Keiko Hirono (Democrat) Brian Emanuel Schatz (Democrat)

U.S. House of Representatives (2):

State representatives Colleen Wakako Hanabusa (Democrat - 1st District) Tulsi Gabbard (Democrat - 2nd District)

broken links to us. We really appreciate it.

Source: eHawaiiGov, (http://www.state.hi.us/), April 14, 2004
Source: Hawaii Legislature, (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/), April 14, 2004
Source: National Park Service, (http://www.nps.gov), April 15, 2004
Source: National Association of Counties, (http://www.naco.org), April 14, 2004
Source: National Governor's Association, (http://www.nga.org), April 14, 2004

[ HOME || INTRO || SYMBOLS || ALMANAC || ECONOMY || GEOGRAPHY || STATE MAPS || PEOPLE || GOVERNMENT ]
[ FORUM || NEWS || COOL SCHOOLS || STATE QUIZ || BOOK STORE || MARKETPLACE || STATE LINKS ]
|| GUESTBOOK || CONTACT US || PRIVACY STATEMENT ]

NETSTATE.COM is a Trademark of NSTATE, LLC.
Copyright © 2003- by NSTATE, LLC. All rights reserved.
No copyright is claimed on non-original or licensed material.
Support NETSTATE

Top