Hawaii Statehood
Hawaii entered the Union in 1959 after a long territorial period, giving the United States a permanent state presence deep in the Pacific.
How This State Entered The Union
Statehood is where constitutional structure meets regional history: the point where a place entered the Union as an equal state.
Admission To The Union
Hawaii became the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959, the most recent state admitted to the Union.
Path To Statehood
Its path ran through annexation, territorial administration, strategic military significance, and eventually popular and congressional support for statehood.
Why It Matters
Hawaii matters because it expanded the Union decisively into the Pacific and gave state-level political belonging to a place with a distinct island history and identity.
Read Next
Go back to the state page, then return to the larger constitutional story that made equal state membership possible.
Larger Context
Federalism and the founding era give the admission story its larger constitutional frame.