Since I am going to complete my last county on Labor Day, I am often asked what next on my list of things to accomplish. Well, I have plenty and the good news is my blog site will not go away.
In addition to completing the Army 10 Miler in Washington, D.C. (October 11, 2015) in support of the USO and continuing to promote the Constitution by dedicating my run as the Bill of Rights; I will start a "Did You Know" fact page about an important event that happened during the month that impacted a major change in our nation.
I will start this month by sharing with you some facts about "HAWAII" and how this important moment in our history help shaped our nation.
This event actually happened after I was born, therefore, it is not ancient history!
The Admission Act was enacted on March 18, 1959 by Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower then signed a proclamation naming Hawaii as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.
Hawaii joined the Union on this day in 1959, an act that remains historically significant but not without controversy.
The Admission Act was enacted on March 18, 1959 by Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower then signed a proclamation naming Hawaii as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.Since then, there have been few attempts to add a 51st state, although Puerto Rico has considered a referendum. Hawaii received a big assist from Alaska in its drive toward statehood.
It took Alaska 13 years to become a state, with the approval of Congress, after it passed its referendum in the wake of World War II. That came only after Hawaii, which was seen as a GOP-leaning state, was added to the bargain.
Hawaii took a different path, because it had a tradition of independence and a Republican presence. There were also southern politicians who were concerned about adding the territory’s multiethnic population to the Union.
The Democrats during the 1950s favored Alaska as the 49th state, while the Republicans wanted Hawaii admitted by itself. The reason was that each new state gets two U.S. senators and at least one new House member, and the admission of a new state can swing votes in Congress.
Two powerful politicians, Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn, adopted a strategy to get Alaska admitted first, which led to the Republicans to lobby for Hawaii as the 50th state.
The Constitution is vague about the whole process of how a territory becomes a state, delegating the task to Congress. (we will discuss this point in detail after the completion of my 27 -67 project on Labor Day)
In Article IV, Section 3, Congress is given the power to decide what states and territories are, but state legislatures would have to approve any act that would combine two existing states or form a new state from parts of other states. (So reuniting Pennsylvania and New Jersey, or Virginia and West Virginia, would be a very difficult task.)
After Hawaii became the 50th state in August 1959, the controversy over its admission didn’t go away. There are still those in Hawaii who want to see the state become an independent nation again.
Special thanks goes out to the National Constitution Center (NCC) for submitting this article to the public "It was 56 years ago today we added the 50th state" by .
A very special thanks to Cory Vasek, my great friend and outstanding James Madison Fellow from Nebraska, for posting this article on his Face Book page.
Finally, I want to thank my very special friend Virginia Bailey who made sure her relatives in Hawaii had copies of the Liberty Day Institute Constitution booklet and one of my Constitution bracelets.
Therefore, I had a very easy task when selecting the State of Hawaii as my focus point for my first
"DID YOU KNOW..."
Joseph
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