America Adds 50th State – Hawaii 

U.S. #799 pictures King Kamehameha I who led a 28-year conquest to unite the islands of Hawaii.

On August 21, 1959, America became the 50-state nation we know today with the addition of Hawaii.

For centuries, the islands of Hawaii were ruled separately by local chiefs. In 1782, Chief Kamehameha began a bloody war to unite the islands into one kingdom. He achieved his goal of unification in 1810 and proclaimed himself King Kamehameha I.

U.S. #C46

Hawaii adopted its first constitution in 1840 and was recognized as an independent government in 1842. King Kalakaua gave the U.S. the right to use Pearl Harbor as a naval base in 1887 in return for trading privileges. In 1891, Kalakaua died and his sister was crowned Queen Liliuokalani.

Liliuokalani attempted to establish a new constitution that would increase her power. In 1893, a group of business leaders and residents formed the Committee of Safety with the goal of overthrowing Queen Liliuokalani and annexing the islands to the United States. The following year, the queen was overthrown and the Republic of Hawaii was formed, with American lawyer Sanford B. Dole becoming president.

U.S. #2080

On August 12, 1898, the islands were officially annexed, and finally became a U.S. territory on June 14, 1900. Hawaiians became U.S. citizens, though their congressional representative could not vote, which allowed the U.S. Congress to veto any law passed by their legislature. Hawaiian attempts at statehood began as early as 1919, but repeatedly stalled.

In 1950, Hawaii adopted a constitution in preparation for statehood. Congress approved the appropriate legislation in 1959 and President Eisenhower signed the bill. When it was brought before the Hawaiian people, they voted 17 to 1 in favor of statehood. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the United States of America.

Click the images to add this history to your collection.

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30 Comments

  1. Muy interesante yo tengo ese sello original y no sabia su significado ni quien es la persona que se encuentra en el mismo
    Gracias

  2. I just love the daily lesson from your great
    New Idea. I have learned so much
    I thought I already knew. Pls keep it up.
    I’m 74 and only wish something like this was available when I started collecting 69 years ago
    KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

  3. I absolutely love learning about the history of our world & nation. It leaves me with a good feeling knowing something new to me anyway. All people need to know about history to provide for a better tomorrow. It’s great to be reminded too. Thank You & read ya soon. ha! ha!
    Mrs. Monica Krasniak

  4. I do not know who’s idea this was but they certainly deserve a nice raise in salary. This was a great idea. It could be a great tool to teach a lot of young people and older folks to about the great history of our country. I would suggest that some time in the future you would consider putting them together in a book or booklet form.

    1. I agree with Robert…It is a great idea and I enjoy reading on a daily basis…I hope it continues for a long time….I have my young 15 year old grand daughter watching
      and she enjoys it !!!! Thanks…Mystic…………….

  5. That’s how Hawaii was born as state of US,like other many states,either won in battlefield or bought.That is history.

  6. Somebody wrote that he didn’t know Hawaii was such a young state and that other people probably didn’t know that either. Maybe I know because I remember when it happened. I’m hoping that teachers still teach American history and geography at the grade school level.

  7. Thank you for the history of Hawaii. We came to know how US annexed an independent island nation which ultimately became the 50th state..

  8. Mystic’s daily stamp history is a great idea. I use it to interest my nieces and nephews in history and stamp collecting. Not to mention I enjoy it myself!

  9. I have been reading ‘On This Day….’ for some time but are still quite few for me to go back and read. Oh, how interesting and informative! This one about Hawaii needs to be in a class room. How many young people will never see ‘the rest of the story’. Thank you. I’ll have my 79th birthday in September and look forward to reading many more ‘This Day In History’.

  10. I saw Hawaii with my wife and baby son when on R&R from Vietnam. It was beautiful and the people were so nice to us. I will carry Hawaii in my heart for the rest of my life.

  11. all of your posts are AWESOME…. thank you for sharing and caring and making me realize my hobby isn’t just for kids…

  12. Brings back memories…because there was so much information in the news due to this event I decided to make Hawaii the subject of my 4th grade report. It was probably the only A+ I received in my school days!

  13. I developed my life-long interest in history and geography by collecting stamps in the 1950s and 1960s. All the stamps were from engravings and beautiful then. Mystic’s publishing of these historical vignettes both revives and adds to my stamp-collecting knowledge and pleasant memories. Thanks!

  14. I wonder if the Hawaiians today are happy as U.S. citizens or were they better off living under a queen?

  15. You already know how WRONG this is!! “America Adds 50th State – Hawaii” should be “USA Adds 50th State – Hawaii”

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