Editing Hawaii (section)

===Political changes of 1954 – State of Hawai{{okina}}i (1959–present)===
{{Main|Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954|Hawaii Admission Act|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
{{See also|List of Hawaiian sovereignty movement groups#Modern – Sovereignty Organizations (1960s–present)}}
[[File:Food-Hawaii-Canning. Native girls packing pineapple into cans. - NARA - 522863.tif|thumb|alt=Three young women pack pineapples into cans in 1928.|Prior to the postwar labor movement, Hawaii was governed by plantation owners. Here, three young women pack pineapples into cans in 1928.]]

In the 1950s, the plantation owners' power was broken by the descendants of immigrant laborers, who were born in Hawai{{okina}}i and were U.S. citizens. They voted against the [[Hawaii Republican Party|Hawai{{okina}}i Republican Party]], strongly supported by plantation owners. The new majority voted for the [[Democratic Party of Hawaii|Democratic Party of Hawai{{okina}}i]], which dominated territorial and state politics for more than 40 years. Eager to gain full representation in Congress and the Electoral College, residents actively campaigned for statehood. In Washington, there was talk that Hawai{{okina}}i would be a Republican Party stronghold. As a result, the admission of Hawaii was matched with the admission of Alaska, which was seen as a Democratic Party stronghold. These predictions proved inaccurate; as of 2017, Hawai{{okina}}i almost always votes Democratic, while Alaska typically votes Republican.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/188969/red-states-outnumber-blue-first-time-gallup-tracking.aspx|title=Red States Outnumber Blue for First Time in Gallup Tracking|website=gallup.com|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104092539/http://www.gallup.com/poll/188969/red-states-outnumber-blue-first-time-gallup-tracking.aspx|archive-date=January 4, 2017|url-status=live|date=February 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>[ 2016 election result—Politico]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/interest-groups-7/modern-political-parties-59/red-states-vs-blue-states-337-4262/|title=Red States vs. Blue States|last=Boundless|date=August 8, 2016|website=Boundless.com|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112151613/https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/interest-groups-7/modern-political-parties-59/red-states-vs-blue-states-337-4262/|archive-date=November 12, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/all/president/|title=2012 Presidential Race—Election Results by State—NBC News|date=December 2, 2011|website=nbcnews.com|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106174223/http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/all/president/|archive-date=January 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the Cold War,  Hawai{{okina}}i became an important site for U.S. [[cultural diplomacy]], military training, research, and as a staging ground for the U.S. [[Vietnam War|war in Vietnam]].<ref name=":Cheng2">{{Cite book |last=Cheng |first=Wendy |title=Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752051 |location=Seattle, WA}}</ref>{{Rp|page=105}}

In March 1959, Congress passed the [[Hawaii Admission Act|Hawai{{okina}}i Admissions Act]], which U.S. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] signed into law.<ref>{{cite video  |title=Video: Aloha Hawaii. islanders Celebrate Long-Sought Statehood, 1959/03/16 (1959) |url=https://archive.org/details/1959-03-16_Aloha_Hawaii |url-status=live |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |year=1959 |access-date=February 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515045750/https://archive.org/details/1959-03-16_Aloha_Hawaii |archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> The act excluded [[Palmyra Atoll]] from statehood; it had been part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawai{{okina}}i. On June 27, 1959, a referendum asked residents of Hawai{{okina}}i to vote on the statehood bill; 94.3% voted in favor of statehood and 5.7% opposed it.<ref name="celebrating-50-years-of-statehood">{{cite web |url=http://archive.lingle.hawaii.gov/govgallery/news/files/2009/march/celebrating-50-years-of-statehood |title=Commemorating 50 Years of Statehood |website=archive.lingle.hawaii.gov |publisher=State of Hawaii |date=March 18, 2009 |access-date=March 21, 2014 |quote=On June 27, 1959, a plebiscite was held to allow Hawai{{okina}}i residents to ratify the congressional vote for statehood. The 'yes for statehood' garnered 94.3 percent (132,773 votes) while the 'no' ballots totaled 5.7 percent (7,971 votes). |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321081230/http://archive.lingle.hawaii.gov/govgallery/news/files/2009/march/celebrating-50-years-of-statehood |archive-date=March 21, 2014}}</ref> The referendum asked voters to choose between accepting the Act and remaining a U.S. territory. The United Nations' [[Special Committee on Decolonization]] later removed Hawai{{okina}}i from [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|its list of non-self-governing territories]].

After attaining statehood, Hawai{{okina}}i quickly modernized through construction and a rapidly growing tourism economy. Later, state programs promoted Hawaiian culture.{{which|date=March 2015}} The [[1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention|Hawai{{okina}}i State Constitutional Convention of 1978]] created institutions such as the [[Office of Hawaiian Affairs]] to promote indigenous language and culture.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Van Dyke |first=Jon |title=The Constitutionality of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uhawlr7&div=9&id=&page= |url-status=live |journal=University of Hawaiʻi Law Review |volume=7 |page=63 |date=1985 |access-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921094007/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fuhawlr7&div=9&id=&page= |archive-date=September 21, 2020}}</ref>