1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
Before statehood became effective on Aug. 21, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Admission Act to formally make Hawaii part of the Union on March 18 of that year, thereby dissolving the Territory of Hawaii. In 1946 the United Nations had listed Hawaii as a non-self-governing territory of the U.S. Hawaii was first settled by humans from 124-1120 AD and was not inhabited by Europeans until the late 1700s. From then it was settled by waves of arrivals, a unified kingdom was established, and disease and plantations changed the landscape as well as the population. The campaign for annexation effectively began with the overthrow of Hawaii’s last monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani, in 1893. The Admission Act passed with about 93% support from registered voters, which, with a turnout of nearly 140,000 of the state’s 155,000 registered voters was the highest Hawaii had ever seen. Opposition to statehood came notably from Native Hawaiians and Southern U.S. lawmakers, especially for racial reasons considering Hawaii had a large percentage of Asian Americans.
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