Was Hawaii Too Communist?

Hawaii officially became the 50th state in the United States of America on August 21, 1959, but the actual vote took place on March 12, 1959.


Despite opposition from Southern Democrats, Hawaii’s 58-year bid to move from territory to statehood ended successfully as Hawaii became to the first island state in the U.S. and its 585,000 residents became citizens.
Debate About Hawaiian Statehood

With the entrance of Alaska into the United States at the 49th state in January 1959, the outlook for Hawaii to follow soon improved. However, it was not without some contention.

Hawaii had once been an independent kingdom of 20 islands. It was annexed into the United States in 1898 and became a territory in 1900.
During the debate about whether Hawaii should become a state or not, four questions apparently arose according to newspaper reports of the time.
Was Hawaii Too Communist?

The biggest worry seemed to be that allowing Hawaii to become a state would allow Communist-controlled legislators to become members of the U.S. government.

Communists were said to control the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union in Hawaii. This union held a lot of political power in the territory because it essentially controlled the island’s economy.

“Granting statehood, they say, would be like inviting soviet agents to sit in the U.S. Congress,” UPI reported in an analysis of the situation.
Other people pointed to the fact that politicians opposed to the union had been elected in the territory so the union’s control was not total. Also, the state constitution would prohibit Communist’s from holding office.
The Race Issue

Another issue that was raised was that some people believed that the state was too different culturally and racially to be a good match with the mainland United States.

In 1959, the population of Hawaii was 35 percent Japanese, 25 percent Caucasian, 18 percent Hawaiian, 12 percent Filipini, 6 percent Chinese and 4 percent mixed or other races.

“They claim the racial objections stems from the feat of Southern politicians that Hawaiian congress men would vote for integration legislation,” UPI reported.
Was Hawaii a Practical Choice For A State?

Some opponents argued that with Hawaii being more than 2,000 miles away from the mainland United States, it simply wasn’t practical to be considered as a state.

Others argued that with modern transportation and communications being in Hawaii wouldn’t be that much different from being at distant points on the mainland.

“Hawaiians receive news of world events just as fast as any mainlander does. Statehood backers also point out that when California was admitted to the Union, a traveler to Washington had to go through hundreds of miles of hostile Indian territory or travel 13,355 miles around Cape Horn,” UPI reported in its analysis.
Fairness to Other States

The final argument used against Hawaii statehood was that it wouldn’t be fair to larger states. The basis of this argument was that adding two senators from a small state would dilute the political power of the more-populous states in the United States Senate. Also, admitting Hawaii had no benefit like acquiring the natural resources of Alaska did when that state was admitted.

On the other hand, it was noted that if Hawaii was admitted five other states would be smaller in population.

“Backers argue that creating the 50th state would strengthen U. S diplomacy and status in the Far East. Accepting an area containing such a variety of Asian races would effectively demonstrate democracy in action,” UPI reported.

The pros to admission outweighed the negatives and Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959.