Technically, every state has a statehood day, the day that the particular state was accepted into the United States, receiving all of the benefits that such a title holds and incorporating its people into the great country of America. The difference is the extent to which people in each state go to recognize the anniversary of the historic day. Nowadays, the majority of people living in the United States would be hard-pressed to tell when their statehood day, but it was only recently where the statehood day of Hawaii was the most important day in the island state’s modern history. Every third Friday in August is a state holiday in Hawaii to commemorate the day that it became the 50th state in the union, a day that was a long time in coming for Hawaiians who valiantly served in World War II, bore the brunt of the repercussions of the Pearl Harbor tragedy, and yearned to be part of the United States since its annexation in 1900.

Previous to its first interaction with European explorers in 1778, Hawaii was a society that was organized into chiefdoms. Tribes led by chieftains lived on the island, following practices such as human sacrifice that are considered barbaric by today’s standards. Much immigration from other islands in Polynesia and the archipelago of Hawaii took place in its early history, creating a society that had several levels and a complex system of organization that is not completely understood by historians and archeologists. Throughout the pre-European era of the island, population growth was slow but steady and the size of the more important chiefdoms grew and grew, until some powerful chieftains controlled entire islands. Rival tribes would fight against each other for land and power, using a sort of class system that resembles the medieval idea of feudalism, where those in power would have a society of serfs under them that would complete menial tasks like farm the land. When the island was first discovered by James Cook in 1778, he named it the Sandwich Islands because one of his sponsors was the Earl of Sandwich. On James Cook’s second visit to the island, he was killed in a failed attempt to kidnap an island chief as ransom for return of a boat that was stolen by a different tribe’s minor chief. When the kidnapped chief’s supporters fought back, Cook was killed.

Encouraged by the accounts of James Cook’s interaction with the islands, many European entrepreneurs found their way to Hawaii for a variety of reasons. Some wanted the thrill of exploring the untamed new land while others aimed to profit off of the natives by trading goods. The whaling industry had an outpost in Hawaii because one of the islands in Hawaii had a convenient, safe port with an abundance of food nearby, in addition to a profusion of whales. During this time, the Hawaiian populace was influenced in many ways by the Europeans, most notably by way of the diseases the Europeans brought, decimating much of the population for lack of immunity to the illnesses. Because of this, Protestant missionaries from America were eventually able to convert much of the island in 1820. Hawaii’s history is heavily shaped by the House of Kamehameha, a ruling dynasty that subjugated the entire archipelago under one ruler, Kamehameha, in 1810. It ruled over the kingdom until 1872, when a series of conflicted elections paved the way for the House of Kalakaua to control the islands until the monarchy’s overthrow 1893.

American intervention in the politics of Hawaii resulted in the monarchy being overthrown in 1893, when Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown. Although the queen tried to regain her throne, American military intervention made it unfeasible for the native troops to defend her stake to the throne and resulted in the adoption of a republican form of government. This was only in place for four years, from 1894 to 1898, when the Newlands Resolution was passed in Congress, annexing Hawaii as a U.S. territory amidst dissent from the islands. Although the importance of annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States was unknown to most citizens of the country, it quickly became clear as the military presence in Pearl Harbor became such that the Japanese launched their infamous surprise attack in 1941. The courage that the Hawaiians showed on that fateful day, and as soldiers throughout the rest of World War II, was seen as proof on the part of everyone involved that Hawaii should be part of the Union, but a lack of initiative on Congress’s part delayed the passing of the Hawaii Admission Act many years. When the act was finally passed in 1959, a referendum in Hawaii showed that citizens of Hawaii favored the act 17 to 1, and by August they had become a state in the Union. Their rapid rise to modernity and a large construction boom resulted in much interest in the newest state.

On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower made Hawaii’s statehood official by signing the bill in Congress, which was the cause for much celebration on the part of Hawaii’s natives. Amidst dancing in the street, business closed, banners were waved from Iolani Palace, and schoolchildren marched about reciting the newly-learned Pledge of Allegiance. Although the day was long in coming for most Hawaiians who wondered why it had not happened earlier, there was much cause for celebration. Today, however, emotions are mixed on Hawaii statehood day. While 93% of Hawaiians voted to become a state back in 1959’s referendum on the topic, the number has dwindled to 78% of Hawaiian’s who would like to continue to be part of the Union. While that is certainly still a majority of the islands, there is a strong minority that feels that Hawaii’s statehood was never legal in the first place because of the way that the United States went about annexing the islands as a territory at the turn of the 20th century. Also controversial is the usage of Iolani Palace as part of the celebration of the holiday, because of the fact that it is a symbol of the monarchy that was overthrown as part of the road to Hawaii’s statehood and the location of the last monarch’s house arrest.

Actual celebration of Hawaii statehood day is noticeably scarce. Banks close and such, but it is rather difficult for an outsider to even notice that the day is a holiday otherwise. Part of this is because celebration of the holiday could be seen as controversial by native Hawaiians who question the legitimacy of statehood, and rather than to perpetuate conflict between those in favor of statehood and those against it, it is better to keep things at a low key. Still, there is much debate on whether or not this practice of not celebrating the day is valid because of the message it sends to the rest of the country as well as to the next generation of Hawaiians who may be confused by the fact that a state holiday is avoided because of its contextual implications. Regardless whether or not you choose to acknowledge Hawaii statehood day, you have to acknowledge the effect that August 21, 1959 had on an entire country and a group of people.