Annexation Of Hawaii

Superior Essays
Hawaii was the 50th and the latest state to be added to the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in August of 1959. The population of Hawaii is about 1,404,054 people with 50.2 percent male and 49.8 percent female. It has a total area of 10,931 square miles and made up of five counties. Hawaii is the eighth smallest state and the 11th least populated state, but it is 13th in population density (). According to the United State Census, the racial makeup of Hawaii is way more diverse than any other state in the United States. Hawaii is the only state in the Union that is not predominately white or Caucasian. The state of Hawaii holds a Caucasian population of about 24.3% with the number of Caucasians increasing slowly. The same …show more content…
In June of 1897, secretary of State John Sherman agreed to a treaty of annexation with a few representatives from people who were from Hawaii. There was huge opposition from the Hawaiian Natives when it came to annexation. They wanted nothing to do with the United States. They liked their independence. In 1898, Pearl Harbor was used during the Spanish-American war and the United States realized how important Hawaii’s geographical location was. Annexation was then approved in 1901 and it became an United States territory. In 1941, during world war two, Hawaii’s identity became more apparent and they established the American national identity following the attacks on Pearly Harbor. After the war, in March of 1959, The United State government approved statehood for the Republic of Hawaii. A few months later, the Hawaiian people voted by a huge majority to accept admittance into the country. Then in August of 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared Hawaii the 50th state of the Union (Silva).
Tourism in Hawaii is the main employer in the state and they is the foundation of their economy. Hawaii is a very wealthy state. Hawaii has the fourth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States ("10 States With the Most Millionaires Per Capita"). The main industries in Hawaii
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Polarization is defined in the textbook titled, Governing States and Localities by Smith and Greenblatt, as a split among elected officials or an electorate along strictly partisan lines (152). Tourists pay a huge amount of taxes in the state. There are taxes on everything in the state such as hotel rooms and gasoline. Some of these tax burdens affects its residents as well. The average Hawaiian resident pays $63 in taxes on gasoline, $32 on alcohol, $90 on utilities, $57 on tobacco products, and $61 in taxes on insurance. In just these five areas, that is $303 annually in taxes on Hawaiian residents. That is a lot of money for just these things. Business leaders say that taxes in the state are too high. They say that this “leads to higher prices and unfriendly business climate”. According to the article, the national average of per capita taxes collected by states was $1,884. The state with the highest per capita taxes is Hawaii at $2,838 per year. The next four states are Connecticut, Minnesota, Delaware, and Vermont. I noticed that these states are mostly in the individualistic in culture. Minnesota and Vermont are moralistic, but they do have individualistic tendencies. I noticed that the States mentioned article vote for democrats more religiously any other state ("Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii

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