Statehood Day or Admission Day is a legal holiday in the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is celebrated annually on the third Friday in August to commemorate the anniversary of the state's 1959

admission to the Union Admission to the Union is provided by the Admissions Clause of the United States Constitution in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, which authorizes the United States Congress to admit new states into the Union beyond the thirteen states that ...

. It was first celebrated in 1969.State Observed Holidays (State of Hawaii)
/ref> Statehood bills for Hawaii were introduced into the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

as early as 1919 by

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, the non-voting delegate sent by the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

to the

. Additional bills were introduced in 1935, 1947 and 1950. In 1959, the U.S. Congress approved the statehood bill, the

Hawaii Admission Act The Admission Act, formally An Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union () is a statute enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President of the United States, President Dwight D. Eisenhower whi ...

. This was followed by a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in which Hawaiian residents voted 94% in support of statehood (the ballot question was: "Shall Hawaii immediately be admitted into the Union as a state?"), and on August 21, 1959 (the third Friday in August), President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

signed a proclamation making Hawaii the 50th state.

References

External links

Holidays to be Observed by the HAWAII STATE GOVERNMENT
to organize a celebration for Admission Day 2003. Includes many details of the history of the admission of Hawai'i into the Union. Celebrations in Hawaii State holidays in the United States 1969 establishments in Hawaii August observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) {{Hawaii-stub

See also

References

External links