Statehood 1959

Hawaii

Polynesian peoples arrived in the Hawaiian Islands between 940 and 1200 AD, developing a caste-based society governed by local chiefs called aliʻi. Following British explorer James Cook's first recorded contact with the islands in January 1778, Kamehameha I unified the islands as the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1795, a sovereign state internationally recognized by multiple powers. In 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown by the Committee of Safety with U.S. military support, leading to the short-lived Republic of Hawaii before annexation by the United States in 1898 via the Newlands Resolution. Hawaii was formally organized as the Territory of Hawaii on April 30, 1900, and became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959.

Statehood
1959
Admitted as
State of Hawaii
Historic sites
383
Military engagements
29

Pre-contact era

The history of Hawaii began with the arrival of Polynesian peoples to the Hawaiian Islands between 940 and 1200 AD. The islands experienced slow, steady growth in population and the size of chiefdoms, with local chiefs called aliʻi ruling their settlements and launching wars to extend their influence. Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste-based society sustained by ecological and agricultural practices including upland agriculture, ocean fishing, fishponds, and gardening systems upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs such as the lokahi.

Colonial history

The Kingdom was an internationally recognized sovereign state, recognized by the United States, Japan, Great Britain, France, Spain, and other powers through treaties and diplomatic exchanges beginning in the 1820s. In 1887, King Kalākaua was forced to accept a new constitution after a coup d'état by the Honolulu Rifles, a volunteer military unit recruited from American settlers.

President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat opposed to imperialism, refused to annex Hawaii at this stage. The Blount Report concluded that the United States had carried out unauthorized partisan activities, including the landing of U.S. Marines, to support the anti-royalist conspirators.

The Republic of Hawaii was a short-lived one-party state. Its leaders were Hawaii-born descendants of American settlers who spoke the Hawaiian language but had strong financial, political, and family ties to the United States.

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Geology
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Conflict & War
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Native Heritage
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Historical Maps
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Explore Hawaii records

383
National Register historic sites
National Register listings ›
29
Military engagements
Military history records ›
1
Indigenous groups
Heritage records ›
8
Notable figures
Born in Hawaii ›
24
Colonial-era events
1492 to early statehood ›
Hawaii counties
Census population history ›
Sources

State history content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Historic sites data: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

About Hawaii

When did Hawaii become a state?
Hawaii was admitted to the Union in 1959 as the State of Hawaii.
What European powers colonized Hawaii?
The territory that became Hawaii passed through several colonial periods. The Kingdom was an internationally recognized sovereign state, recognized by the United States, Japan, Great Britain, France, Spain, and other powers through treaties and diplomatic exchanges beginning in the 1820s. In 1887, King Kalākaua was forced to accept a new constitution after a coup d'état by the Honolulu Rifles, a volunteer military unit recruited from American settlers. President Grover
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