Hawaii State Guide

Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is situated in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the mainland, at 21°18'41"N, 157°47'47"W. During roughly 1778–1898, Hawaii was also known as the Sandwich Islands.

Hawaii was first inhabited in roughly AD 1000, by foreign Polynesians who came from islands in the South Pacific, most likely the Marquesas. By colonizing Hawaii, these originally foreign settlers in effect became Hawaiian people. For about 800 years, these people were sometimes at peace and sometimes at war with each other, while they expanded their colonial territory throughout the eight main islands. During this time, the Hawaiian people also developed a complex caste society governed by an extensive system of religious and social taboos called the kapu system. When British explorer James Cook chanced upon the Hawaiian archipelago in 1778, a Hawaiian warrior known as Kamehameha was beginning a gradual ascent to power. Before his death in 1819, Kamehameha had succeeded in conquering (through military force, or in the case of Kauai and Niihau, by other political means) all of the major Hawaiian islands.

The kingdom established by Kamehameha lasted until 1893, when the last Hawaiian monarch, Liliuokalani, was overthrown and replaced by a Provisional Government, and later a Republic. During the kingdom and republic era, Hawaii's economy transitioned from that of an isolated state into that of a state integrated into the world's free market, producing and exporting more than two hundred thousand tons of sugar annually. In 1898, Hawaii was annexed to the United States of America and attained statehood in 1959.

Hawaii State Guide - Geography

Location, topography, and geology

Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States, and would be the westernmost, if not for Alaska. It is one of the only two states (Alaska being the other) that are outside the contiguous United States, and do not share a border with another U.S. state. Hawaii is the only state that: (1) lies completely in the tropics; (2) is without territory on the mainland of any continent; (3) is completely surrounded by water; and (4) continues to grow in area because of active extrusive lava flows, most notably from Kilauea. Except for Easter Island, Hawaii is the furthest from any other body of land in the world. Hawai'is tallest mountain stands over 13,000 feet.

The Hawaiian Archipelago comprises eighteen islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Of these, eight high islands are considered the "main islands" and are located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. The latter is by far the largest, and is very often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle". The use of that alternative name is often motivated by a desire to avoid ambiguity with "Hawaii" meaning the entire state (all of the islands), as opposed to only that one island.

All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor from a magma source described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Big Island are presently active.

The last volcanic eruption outside the Big Island happened at Haleakala (Haleakala) on Maui in the late 18th century (though recent research suggests that Haleakala's most recent eruptive activity could be hundreds of years older). The newest volcano to form is Loihi Seamount, deep below the waters off the southern coast of the Big Island.

The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion created impressive geological features. The Big Island is notable as the world's fifth highest island. If the height of the island is measured from its base, deep in the ocean, to its snow-clad peak on Mauna Kea, it can be considered one of the tallest mountains in the world.

Because of the islands' volcanic formation, native life before human activity is said to have arrived by the "3 W's": wind, waves, and wings. The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of environments to be found on high islands located in and near the tropics, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna. Hawaii has more endangered species per square mile than anywhere else.

Areas under the control and protection of the National Park Service include:

* Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on the Big Island
* Haleakala National Park in Kula
* Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island
* Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa
* Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona
* Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park in Honaunau
* Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site in Kawaihae
* USS Arizona Memorial at Honolulu

Hawaii State Guide - Climate

The climate of Hawaii is atypical for a tropical area, and is regarded as more subtropical than the latitude would suggest, because of the moderating effect of the surrounding ocean. Temperatures and humidity tend to be less extreme, with summer high temperatures seldom reaching above the upper 80s (°F) and winter temperatures (at low elevation) seldom dipping below the mid-60s. Snow, although not usually associated with tropics, falls at high elevations on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months. Snow only rarely falls on Maui's Haleakala. Mount Waialeale, on the island of Kauai, is notable for rainfall, having the second highest average annual rainfall on Earth: about 460 inches (38 ft. 4 in., or 11.7 m).

Local climates vary considerably on each island, grossly divisible into windward and leeward (Kona) areas based upon location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides face the Northeast Trades and receive much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier, with less rain and less cloud cover. This fact is utilized by the tourist industry, which concentrates resorts on sunny leeward coasts.

Hurricanes are a rare occurrence in Hawaii, although it is probable that all the islands of Hawaii have been hit by a hurricane in the past. Until the 1950's with the advent of satellites, many of the tropical cyclones which hit Hawaii were thought to be Konas, as the Kona and hurricanes seasons overlap. The worst hurricane to hit Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which showed that Hawaii was indeed vulnerable to a direct hit from a hurricane.

Hawaii State Guide - Important Cities and Towns

The movement of the Hawaiian royal family from the island of Hawaii to Maui, and subsequently to Oahu, explains why certain population centers exist where they do today. The largest city, Honolulu, was the one chosen by King Kamehameha III as the capital of his kingdom because of the natural harbor there, the present-day Honolulu Harbor.

The largest city is the capital, Honolulu, located along the southeast coast of the island of Oahu. Other populous cities include Hilo, Kaneohe, Kailua, Pearl City, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Kihei, and Lihue.

Hawaii State Guide - Notable Features

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument was proclaimed by President George W. Bush on June 15, 2006 under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The monument covers roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 km²) of reefs, atolls and shallow and deep sea (out to 50 miles offshore) in the Pacific Ocean — larger than all of America's National Parks combined.

Hawaii State Guide - Earthquake

On Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 7:07 am local time, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7, off the northwest coast of the island of Hawaii, near the Kona / Waikoloa area of the big island. The initial earthquake was followed approximately seven minutes later by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock. Minor-to-moderate structural damage was reported on most of the big island, with effects felt as far away as Oahu and Honolulu, nearly 150 miles from the epicenter, including power outages and water main ruptures. The governor of Hawaii made a state-wide disaster declaration several hours after the earthquake struck. A tsunami alert was issued, but quickly canceled after sensor buoys failed to detect significant wave activity. Several major roadways on the big island were rendered impassable by rock slides. All airports were closed immediately following the earthquake, with most reopening within several hours in a very limited capacity. No deaths or life-threatening injuries were initially reported.

Hawaii State Guide - History

Hawaiian antiquity

Anthropologists believe that Polynesians from the Marquesas and Society Islands first populated the Hawaiian Islands at some time after AD 300-500, although recent evidence has pointed to an initial settlement of as late as 800-1000. It is not resolved whether there was only one extended or two isolated periods of settlement. The latter view of an initial Marquesan settlement, followed by isolation and Tahitian settlers in approximately 1300 who conquered and eliminated the original inhabitants of the islands, is hinted at in folk tales, like the stories of Hawaiiloa, Paao, and menehunes. There is a theory that: (1) there was only one extended period during which groups of immigrants repeatedly arrived; and (2) contact with their former homelands was not lost until the early 2nd millennium. This theory has become more accepted among some scientists, as direct evidence for a massive conquest and a sudden replacement of cultural practices has not been found in the archaeological record.

Voyaging between Hawaii and the South Pacific apparently ceased with no explanation several centuries before the arrival of the Europeans (although at that time, there seems to have been a general decline in overseas trade and voyaging across Polynesia; see Henderson Island). Local chiefs, called alii, ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Warfare was endemic. The general trend was toward chiefdoms of increasing size, even encompassing whole islands.

Vague reports by various European explorers suggest that Hawaii was visited by foreigners well before the 1778 arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook. Historians credited Cook with the discovery after he was the first to plot and publish the geographical coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands. Cook named his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and reported the native name as Owyhee. His visit is confirmed by Hawaiian legends that called for a fair-skinned man — the god Lono — to return to the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiians initially believed Cook to be this legendary visitor. It is possible that Portuguese or Spanish ships could have previously visited the islands, leading to the tale that Lono had promised to return to the islands.

Hawaiian kingdom

After a series of battles that ended in 1795 and peaceful cession of the island of Kauai in 1810, the Hawaiian Islands were united for the first time under a single ruler who would become known as King Kamehameha the Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty that ruled over the kingdom until 1872.

The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V—who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election of King Lunalilo over Kalakaua. After Lunalilo's death, in a hotly contested and allegedly fraudulent election by the legislature in 1874 between Kalakaua and Emma (which led to riots and the landing of U.S. and British troops to keep the peace), governance was passed on to the House of Kalakaua.

In 1887, citing maladministration, a group of primarily American and European businessmen, including members of the Hawaiian government forced King Kalakaua to sign the derisively nicknamed "Bayonet Constitution" which stripped the king of administrative authority, eliminated voting rights for Asians and set minimum income and property requirements for American, European and native Hawaiian voters, essentially limiting the electorate to wealthy elite Americans, Europeans and native Hawaiians. King Kalakaua reigned until his death in 1891.

His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him to the throne and ruled until her overthrow in 1893.

Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy

Prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in 1778, the Native Hawaiian people lived in a highly organized, self-sufficient, subsistent social system based on communal land tenure with a sophisticated language, culture, and religion; A unified monarchical government of the Hawaiian Islands was established in 1810 under Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii;

From 1826 until 1893, the United States recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Hawaii, extended full and complete diplomatic recognition to the Hawaiian Government, and entered into treaties and conventions with the Hawaiian monarchs to govern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 1887; The Congregational Church (now known as the United Church of Christ), through its American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, sponsored and sent more than 100 missionaries to the Kingdom of Hawaii between 1820 and 1850;

On January 14, 1893, John L. Stevens (hereafter referred to in this Resolution as the "United States Minister"), the United States Minister assigned to the sovereign and independent Kingdom of Hawaii conspired with a small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, including citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and lawful Government of Hawaii; In pursuance of the conspiracy to overthrow the Government of Hawaii, the United States Minister and the naval representatives of the United States caused armed naval forces of the United States to invade the sovereign Hawaiian nation on January 16, 1893, and to position themselves near the Hawaiian Government buildings and the Iolani Palace to intimidate Queen Liliuokalani and her Government;

On the afternoon of January 17,1893, a Committee of Safety that represented the American and European sugar planters, descendants of missionaries, and financiers deposed the Hawaiian monarchy and proclaimed the establishment of a Provisional Government; The United States Minister thereupon extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional Government that was formed by the conspirators without the consent of the Native Hawaiian people or the lawful Government of Hawaii and in violation of treaties between the two nations and of international law;

Soon thereafter, when informed of the risk of bloodshed with resistance, Queen Liliuokalani issued a statement yielding her authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional Government.

Without the active support and intervention by the United States diplomatic and military representatives, the insurrection against the Government of Queen Liliuokalani would have failed for lack of popular support and insufficient arms; On February 1, 1893, the United States Minister raised the American flag and proclaimed Hawaii to be a protectorate of the United States; The report of a Presidentially established investigation conducted by former Congressman James Blount into the events surrounding the insurrection and overthrow of January 17, 1893, concluded that the United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government;

As a result of this investigation, the United States Minister to Hawaii was recalled from his diplomatic post and the military commander of the United States armed forces stationed in Hawaii was disciplined and forced to resign his commission;

In a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown; President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy;

Republic of Hawaii

The Provisional Government protested President Cleveland's call for the restoration of the monarchy and continued to hold state power and pursue annexation to the United States; The Provisional Government successfully lobbied the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate (hereafter referred to in this Resolution as the "Committee") to conduct a new investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the monarchy; The Committee and its chairman, Senator John Morgan, conducted hearings in Washington, D.C., from December 27,1893, through February 26, 1894, in which members of the Provisional Government justified and condoned the actions of the United States Minister and recommended annexation of Hawaii; Although the Provisional Government was able to obscure the role of the United States in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, it was unable to rally the support from two-thirds of the Senate needed to ratify a treaty of annexation; On July 4, 1894, the Provisional Government declared itself to be the Republic of Hawaii; On January 24, 1895, while imprisoned in Iolani Palace, Queen Liliuokalani was forced by representatives of the Republic of Hawaii to officially abdicate her throne; In the 1896 United States Presidential election, William McKinley replaced Grover Cleveland;

Hawaiian territory

When William McKinley won the presidential election in November of 1896, the question of Hawaii's annexation to the U.S. was again opened. The previous president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliuokalani. He had remained opposed to annexation until the end of his term, but McKinley was open to persuasion by U.S. expansionists and by annexationists from Hawaii. He agreed to meet with a committee of annexationists from Hawaii, Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney. After negotiations, in June of 1897, McKinley agreed to a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaii. The president then submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for approval.

Despite some opposition in the islands, the Newlands Resolution was passed by the House June 15, 1898, by a vote of 209 to 91, and by the Senate on July 6, 1898, by a vote of 42 to 21, formally annexing Hawaii as a U.S. territory. Although its legality was questioned by some at the time because it was a resolution, not a treaty, both houses of Congress carried the measure with two-thirds majorities, whereas a treaty would have only required two-thirds of the Senate vote (Article II, Sec. 2, U.S. Constitution).

The power of the plantation owners was finally broken by activist descendants of original immigrant laborers. Because they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. Expecting to gain full voting rights, they actively campaigned for statehood for the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1900, Hawaii was granted self-governance and retained Iolani Palace as the territorial capitol building. Though several attempts were made to achieve statehood, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners, such as the Big Five, found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in various states of the U.S.

Hawaiian statehood

In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a plebiscite was held asking residents of Hawaii to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. On August 21, church bells throughout Honolulu were rung upon the proclamation that Hawaii was the 50th state of the Union.

After statehood, Hawaii quickly became a modern state with a construction boom and rapidly growing economy. The Hawaii Republican Party, which was strongly supported by the plantation owners, was voted out of office. In its place, the Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated state politics for forty years.

In recent decades, the state government has implemented programs to promote Hawaiian culture. The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention of 1978 incorporated as state constitutional law specific programs such as the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to promote the indigenous Hawaiian language and culture.

Controversy has erupted within the last decade over the extent of the Hawaiian cultural programs creating a new political dialogue within the state. Pitting the strong emotions of both integrationists and separatists, high rhetoric has been employed by both groups including the use of propaganda materials of dubious provenance. A much criticized example includes the Hui Aloha Aina and Hui Kalaiaina petitions allegedly rediscovered in 1998. According to their proponents, the petitions are contemporaneous to the annexation of Hawaii with one petition purportedly containing 22,000 signatures in opposition to the annexation while a second petition purportedly contains 17,000 signatures in favor of reinstating the monarchy. The validity of the petitions has been criticized by Lorrin Thurston in an analysis which indicates significant fraud.

Hawaii State Guide - Demographics

As of 2005, Hawaii has an estimated population of 1,275,194, which is an increase of 13,070, or 1.0%, from the prior year and an increase of 63,657, or 5.3%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 48,111 people (that is 96,028 births minus 47,917 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 16,956 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 30,068 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 13,112 people. The center of population of Hawaii is located in directly between the two islands of Oahu and Molokai.

Hawaii has a de facto population of over 1.3 million due to military presence and tourists. Oahu, which is aptly nicknamed "The Gathering Place", is the most populous island (and the one with the highest population density), with a resident population of just under one million in 597 square miles, about 1,650 people per square mile. New Jersey with 8,717,925 people in 7,417 square miles is considered the most-densely populated state with 1,134.4 people per square mile. Hawaii's 1,275,194 people, spread over 6,423 square miles (including many unpopulated islands) results in an average population density of 188.6 persons per square mile, which makes Hawaii less densely populated than rural states like Ohio and Illinois.

Hawaii may be an especially healthy place to live. Hawaiians born in the year 2000 can expect to live 79.8 years (77.1 years if male, 82.5 if female), longer than the residents of any other state. Mississippi came in 50th, living 73.6 years (70.4 male and 76.7 female), but the District of Columbia was dead last, living 72.6 years (68.5 male and 76.1 female).

Hawaii State Guide - Languages

The State of Hawaii has two official languages recognized in its constitution adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention: English and Hawaiian. Article XV, Section 4, specifies that "Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions only as provided by law". Hawaiian Creole English is the first language of many born-and-raised residents, and is a second language for many other residents. After English, the second- and third-most spoken individual languages are Tagalog and Japanese, respectively. Significant European immigrants and descendants also speak their native languages; the most popular are Portuguese, then German and Spanish.

As of 2000, 73.4% of Hawaii residents age 5 and older speak only English at home, and 7.9% speak Pacific Island languages. Tagalog speakers make up 5.4%, followed by Japanese at 5.0%, and Chinese at 2.6%.

Hawaii State Guide - Education

Hawaii is currently the only state in the union with a unified school system statewide. It is also the oldest public education system west of the Mississippi River. Policy decisions are made by the fourteen-member state Board of Education, with thirteen members elected for four-year terms and one non-voting student member. The Board of Education sets statewide educational policy and hires the state superintendent of schools, who oversees the operations of the state Department of Education. The Department of Education is also divided into seven districts, four on Oahu and one for each of the other counties.

The structure of the state Department of Education has been a subject of discussion and controversy in recent years. The main rationale for the current centralized model is equity in school funding and distribution of resources: leveling out inequalities that would exist between highly populated Oahu and the more rural Neighbor Islands, and between lower-income and more affluent areas of the state. This system of school funding differs from many localities in the United States where schools are funded from local property taxes.

Policy initiatives have been made in recent years toward decentralization. Current Governor Linda Lingle is a proponent of replacing the current statewide board with seven elected district boards. The Democrat-controlled state legislature opposed her proposal, instead favoring expansion of decision-making power to the schools and giving schools more discretion over budgeting. Political debate of structural reform is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Schools and academies

As stated above, the Hawaii State Department of Education operates all of the public schools in the State of Hawaii.

Hawaii has the distinction of educating more students in independent institutions of secondary education than any other state in the United States. It also has four of the largest independent schools: Mid-Pacific Institute, Iolani School, Kamehameha Schools, and Punahou School. The second Buddhist high school in the United States, and first Buddhist high school in Hawaii, Pacific Buddhist Academy, was founded in 2003. (The first Buddhist high school in the United States was Developing Virtue Secondary School founded in 1981 in Ukiah, California.)

Other popular independent schools include Hawaii Baptist Academy, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Maryknoll School, St. Andrew's Priory, and Saint Louis School.

Both independent and charter schools can select their students, while the regular public schools must take all students in their district. For a comprehensive list of independent schools, see the list of independent schools in Hawaii. For a comprehensive list of public schools, see the list of public schools in Hawaii.

Colleges and universities

Graduates of institutions of secondary learning in Hawaii often either enter directly into the work force or attend colleges and universities. While many choose to attend colleges and universities on the mainland or elsewhere, most choose to attend one of many institutions of higher learning in Hawaii.

The largest of these institutions is the University of Hawaii System. It consists of: (1) the flagship research university at Manoa (Manoa); (2) two comprehensive campuses Hilo and West Oahu; and (7) seven Community Colleges. Students choosing private education attend Brigham Young University Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, or University of the Nations.

The Saint Stephen Diocesan Center is a seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. For a comprehensive list of colleges and universities, see the list of colleges and universities in Hawaii.

Hawaii State Guide - Economy

The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood was achieved in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry in Hawaii, contributing 24.3% of the Gross State Product (GSP) in 1997. New efforts are underway to diversify the economy. The total gross output for the state in 2003 was US$47 billion; per capita income for Hawaii residents was US$30,441.

Industrial exports from Hawaii include food processing and apparel. These industries play a small role in the Hawaii economy, however, due to the considerable shipping distance to markets on the west coast of the United States and ports of, coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugar cane. Agricultural sales for 2002, according to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service, were US$370.9 million from diversified agriculture, US$100.6 million from pineapple, and US$64.3 million from sugarcane.

Hawaii is known for its relatively high per capita state tax burden. In the years 2002 and 2003, Hawaii residents had the highest state tax per capita at US$2,757 and US$2,838, respectively. This rate can be explained partly by the fact that services such as education, health care and social services are all rendered at the state level — as opposed to the municipal level as all other states.

Millions of tourists contribute to the collection figure by paying the general excise tax and hotel room tax; thus not all the taxes collected come directly from residents. Business leaders, however, have often considered the state's tax burden as being too high, contributing to both higher prices and the perception of an unfriendly business climate. See the list of businesses in Hawaii for more information on commerce in the state.

Until recently, Hawaii was the only state in the U.S. that attempted to control gasoline prices through a Gas Cap Law. The law was enacted during a period when oil profits in Hawaii in relation to the Mainland U.S. were under scrutiny, and sought to tie local gasoline prices to those of the Mainland. The law took effect in September 2005 amid price fluctuations caused by Hurricane Katrina. The Hawaii state legislature suspended the law in April 2006.

Article Source: Wikipedia