Hawai'i's Great Statehood Petition

Hawai’i’s Great Statehood Petition of 1954 -- 120,000 Signatures Gathered in 2 Weeks On a Petition for Statehood for Hawai'i

SUMMARY

On February 24, 1954 a petition containing 120,000 signatures left Hawai'i for Washington D.C. on a UAL Stratocruiser. "We, the undersigned people of Hawaii, hereby petition the Congress of the United States to act favorably on Statehood for Hawaii now."

The first day for signing was February 10 in Honolulu. A huge roll of newsprint was partly unrolled down the middle of Bishop Street the entire long block from Hotel to King. People lined up many rows deep on both sides, all day, waiting to sign what was then called the "Honor Roll." Bricks placed on the paper kept it from blowing and were used as stepping-stones. When fully unrolled the main segment had signatures running more than a mile. Segments of newsprint, and additional legal-size pages with lines for 32 signatures, were circulated throughout the islands. Some additional signatures were obtained as the plane made stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver.

The Advertiser published articles and photos every day. One especially memorable photo of an elderly man signing the petition has the caption: "Jack Paoakalani Heleluke, 74, retired member of the Royal Hawaiian Band who was born under the reign of King Kalakaua. Under his name he wrote '100 per cent Hawaiian.' "

On February 24 the 250 pound petition was wrapped and taken to the steps of 'Iolani Palace for a ceremonial sendoff including the Hawaiian civic clubs presenting chants, songs, hula, kahili and torch bearers. A heavenly blessing was also provided (rain).

In Washington the petition was delivered to the Senate office of Vice President Nixon as an official document held on display for members of Congress. Later it went to the National Archives where it now rests on a cradle in stack area 8e2a of the National Archives Building.

The Great Statehood Petition of 1954 was a proud chapter in Hawai'i's 110 year struggle to achieve Statehood. In 1849 King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III, responding to pressures from Britain and France, prepared a provisional deed to cede the Kingdom of Hawai'i to the United States, and gave it to the United States Commissioner, but it was never implemented because the pressures abated. In 1854 the same King signed an order directing his Minister of Foreign Relations to take steps to ascertain the views of the United States regarding annexation of the Hawaiian islands and the terms and conditions under which such annexation could be obtained, and a treaty was drafted by the Hawaiian government in August, 1854 providing for the admission of Hawai'i into the United States with the status of full statehood, but during informal negotiations the United States did not agree. Over the next 105 years there were dozens of attempts to achieve Statehood, which finally succeeded in 1959.

The following sections are included on this webpage, in this order, and may be found by scrolling down to them.

(1) Honolulu Advertiser coverage of the "Honor Roll" petition process from February 10 through February 25, 1954. Selected quotes from articles and photo captions are provided on this webpage. Complete microfilm copies of the newspaper including full text and photos are available at the Hawai'i Public Library main branch.

(2) Comments describing the petition from archivist Charles E. Schamel, Center for Legislative Archives, The National Archives, Washington, DC

(3) All 32 names and addresses from the one signature-page that Mr. Schamel was able to photocopy and sent through the mail

(4) Governor Cayetano's Statehood Day Message to the People of Hawai'i August 16, 2002 was printed in at least one newspaper. Fortunately he also made the extra effort to publish it on the Governor’s website. The website version included his signature, and the State Seal. The message is very strongly worded, and is greatly treasured by all who support unity, equality, and aloha for all. Governor Cayetano’s message is copied exactly as it appeared on the Governor’s website. The message has also been preserved as a freestanding webpage at: http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/statehdgovmsg081602.html

(5) On August 15, 2003 Governor Linda Lingle issued a Statehood Day message. This was her first Statehood Day since taking office as Governor. Her message relied heavily upon the words of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose recent speech to a joint session of Congress had cited some of the reasons why Americans should feel entitled to proclaim their pride in being Americans. It is interesting that Governor Lingle's rambling message dwells on a foreigner's speech telling Americans why they should be proud to be Americans, rather than directly telling our own people of Hawai'i in her own words why we should celebrate our status as a state. Governor Lingle mentioned "equality" only once, and did not mention "unity" or "aloha" at all. Perhaps that's because she strongly favors and actively lobbies for the Native Hawaiian Recognition bill, and realizes that legislation establishing a race-based government to protect racially exclusionary benefits is not consistent with equality, unity, or aloha for all. Governor Cayetano's message on August 16, 2002 was much stronger, more personal, and considerably shorter and to the point.

(6) Some milestones along the 110 year path to Statehood, from 1849 to 1959, showing how the 1954 Great Statehood Petition fits into that history.

(7) Challenges to the statehood of Hawai'i by today's Hawaiian sovereignty independence activists, including resolutions in the state Legislature both for and against statehood

(8) Hawaiian Independence, Puerto Rican Independence, Guam Independence -- Conceptual Similarities, Political Cooperation, and Puerto Rican Terrorism Against U.S. Congress http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/puertoricoguam.html

Honolulu Advertiser coverage of the "Honor Roll"

(1) Honolulu Advertiser coverage of the "Honor Roll" petition process from February 10 through February 25, 1954. Selected quotes from articles and photo captions are provided on this webpage. Complete microfilm copies of the newspaper including full text and photos are available at the Hawai'i Public Library main branch. Unfortunately those articles and photographs were printed long before there was an internet, and the editor of this website does not have the technical skill, permission, or funds to transfer those documents to this webpage. What follows are some summaries, and excerpts copied from photocopies of microfilm available in the library.

The Honolulu Advertiser petition drive included unrolling a huge roll of newsprint for several blocks down the middle of Bishop Street, where people lined up several rows deep on both sides to sign their names to a petition to Congress to approve a Hawai'i Statehood bill in 1954. Approximately 120,000 signatures were gathered during a two-week period starting February 10, 1954, and continuing through a big sendoff at 'Iolani Palace reported in the February 25 newspaper. It is interesting to note that in the Statehood plebiscite on June 27, 1959, five years later, only140,744 ballots were cast. Thus the 120,000 signatures on the petition five years earlier was probably close to the number of voters at the time.

The February 11, 1954 Advertiser has a full page of photos taken February 10, the first day of collecting signatures. There's a spectacular photo showing a block-long segment of unrolled newsprint down the middle of Bishop St. from King to Hotel, with wall-to-wall people on both sides of it standing maybe 15 deep in places, waiting to sign. That file photo, greatly reduced in size, was reprinted in an article by Bob Krauss in the Honolulu Advertiser of February 25, 2004 (article copied below). Here is that reprinted small-size photo, whose URL was: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/dailypix/2004/Feb/25/lna.jpg