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HAWAII - USA
Hawaii (Hawaiian/Hawaiian English: Hawai‘i, with the ‘okina) is the
archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii constitutes
the 50th state of the United States, and as of the 2000 U.S. Census had a
population of 1,211,537 people. Honolulu is the largest city and the state
capital. Hawaii, the
state most recently admitted into the Union, has many distinctions. In
addition to having the southernmost point in the United States, it is the
only state that lies completely in the tropics. As one of two states outside
the contiguous United States, it is the only one without territory on the
mainland of any continent and is the only state that continues to grow due
to active lava flows, most notably from Kīlauea. Ethnically, it is one of
only two states that do not have a Caucasian majority and has the largest
percentage of Asians. Ecologically and agriculturally, it is the endangered
species capital of the world and is the only industrial producer of coffee
in the nation.
Geography
The state is comprised of nineteen major islands and atolls in the Central
Pacific Ocean. The government also includes within its territoriality minor
offshore islands and individual islets found in each atoll in its official
count of 137 islands. The inhabited islands are those that lie between
Ni‘ihau and the Big Island of Hawai‘i, but the island chain extends another
1000 miles (1600 kilometers) to the northwest.
The most important cities and towns Hilo, Līhu‘e, and Wailuku, as well as
the largest city and state capital, Honolulu.
All of the islands were formed by volcanic activity; current volcanic
activity is limited to the Island of Hawai‘i (see: Hawaii Volcanoes National
Park and Loihi). The last volcanic eruption elsewhere in the archipelago was
on the southwest flank of East Maui Volcano, near the end of the 18th
Century.
The main Hawaiian Islands and the counties of the state are shown on the map
to the right. The larger islands are listed below.
Hawai‘i
Maui
Kaho‘olawe
Lāna‘i
Moloka‘i
O‘ahu
Kaua‘i
Ni‘ihau
Languages
The state of Hawai‘i has two official languages as prescribed by the
Constitution of Hawai‘i adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention:
Hawaiian and English. Article XV, Section 4 requires the use of Hawaiian in
official state business such as public acts, documents, laws and
transactions. Standard Hawaiian English, a subset of American English, is
also commonly used for other formal business.
Origins
Before the arrival of Captain James Cook, the Hawaiian language was a spoken,
not written language. The first written form of Hawaiian was developed by
American Protestant missionaries in Hawai‘i during the early 19th century.
The missionaries assigned letters to Hawaiian sounds identical to English
sounds. Later, additional characters were added to clarify pronunciation.
The ‘okina indicates a glottal stop while the macron called kahakō signifies
a long vowel sounds When a Hawaiian word is spelled without any necessary
‘okina and kahakō, it is impossible for someone who does not already know
the word to guess at the proper pronunciation. Omission of the ‘okina and
kahakō in printed texts can even obscure the meaning of the word. For
example, the word lanai means stiff-necked. However, when spelled as lānai
it means veranda while Lāna‘i refers to an island. This can be a problem in
interpreting 19th century Hawaiian texts recorded in the older orthography.
For these reasons, careful writers use the modern Hawaiian orthography.
Revival
As a result of the constitutional provision, interest in the Hawaiian
language was revived in the late 20th century. Public and independent
schools throughout the state began teaching Hawaiian language standards as
part of the regular curricula as early as the kindergarten grade level. With
the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, also created by the 1978
constitutional convention, specially designated Hawaiian language immersion
schools were established where students would be taught in all subjects
using Hawaiian. Also, the University of Hawai‘i System developed the only
Hawaiian language graduate studies program in the world. Municipal codes
were altered in favor of Hawaiian place and street names for new civic
developments.
Pidgin
Over the course of Hawaiian history, a third language was developed that is
in common use throughout the state today. Originally considered a mere
dialect of Hawaiian English, cultural anthropologists have recently reached
consensus that Hawaiian Pidgin is a distinct language on its own. Hawaiian
Pidgin finds its origins in the sugarcane and pineapple plantations as
laborers from different cultures were forced to find their own ways of
communicating and understanding each other. Laborer emigrants from different
countries — China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Portugal — began composing
their own words and phrases based on their own language traditions merged
with Hawaiian and Hawaiian English.
Debates
An increasingly divisive political issue that has arisen since the
Constitution of Hawai‘i adopted Hawaiian as an official state language is
the exact spelling of the state's name. As prescribed in the Admission Act
of 1959 that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government recognizes
Hawaii to be the official state name. However, many state and municipal
entities and officials have recognized Hawai‘i to be the correct state name.
Official government publications, as well as department and office titles,
use the traditional Hawaiian spelling. Private entities, including local
mass media, also have shown a preference for the use of the ‘okina. While in
local Hawaiian society the spelling and pronunciation of Hawai‘i is
preferred in nearly all cases, even by standard English speakers, the
federal spelling is used for purposes of interpolitical relations between
other states and foreign governments.
The delicate nuances in the Hawaiian language debate are often not obvious
or well-appreciated outside Hawai‘i. The issue has often been a source of
friction in situations where correct naming conventions are mandated, as
people frequently disagree over which spelling is correct or incorrect, and
where it is correctly or incorrectly applied.
Symbols
The Constitution of Hawaii and various other measures of the Hawaii State
Legislature established official state symbols. Such symbols are meant to
embody the distinctive culture and heritage of Hawaii:
The state languages are Hawaiian and Hawaiian English. Hawaiian Pidgin is
considered an unofficial state language.
The state motto is Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono, meaning "The life of
the land is perpetuated in righteousness." It was the motto of Kamehameha
III and the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
The state flag is called Ka Hae Hawai‘i, influenced by the Union Jack and
features eight horizontal stripes, each representing one of the eight major
islands.
The state song is Hawai‘i pono‘i written by David Kalākaua and composed by
Henri Berger. Hawai‘i Aloha is considered an unofficial state song and is
used often in formal events.
The state bird is the Hawaiian Goose (nēnē)
The state fish is the Reef Triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuapua‘a)
The state flower is the endemic yellow hibiscus (Hawaiian ma‘o hau hele,
scientific name Hibiscus brackenridgei).
The state gem is black coral (‘ēkaha kū moana).
The state tree is the candlenut (Hawaiian kuku‘i, scientific name Aleurites
moluccana) introduced by early Polynesians.
The state statues are of Kamehameha the Great and Father Damien.
History
Hawaiian history can be divided into the following episodes: ancient Hawai‘i
under the rule of local chiefdoms; consolidation and establishment of the
Kingdom of Hawai‘i; overthrow of the monarchy by the Provisional Government
of Hawai‘i, followed by governance as the Republic of Hawai‘i; from 1898 to
1959, governance as the Territory of Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i becomes the State of
Hawaii of the United States in 1959.
Hawaiian antiquity
Anthropologists believe that the Hawaiian Islands were first populated by
Polynesians from the Marquesas and Society Islands approximately 1500 years
ago. Memories of the early migrations were preserved orally through
genealogies and folk tales, like the stories of Hawai‘iloa and Pa‘ao.
Relations with other Polynesian groups were sporadic during the early
migratory periods and Hawai‘i grew from small settlements to a complex
society in near isolation. Local chiefs called ali‘i ruled their settlements
and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory
rivals. Warfare was endemic. The general trend was towards chiefdoms of
increasing size, even encompassing whole islands.
Vague reports by various European explorers suggest that Hawai‘i was visited
by foreigners well before the 1778 arrival of British explorer Captain James
Cook. Cook was credited for the discovery after having been the first to
plot and publish the geographical coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands. Cook
named his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors,
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.
Hawaiian kingdom
After a series of battles that ended in 1795 and peaceful cession of the
island of Kaua‘i in 1810, the Hawaiian Islands were united for the first
time under a single ruler who would become known as King Kamehameha the
Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty that ruled over the
kingdom until 1872. That year, bachelor King Kamehameha V had died without
having named a formal heir. After the election and death of King Lunalilo,
governance was passed on to the House of Kalākaua. However, the power of the
monarchy was made impotent with the promulgation of the Bayonet Constitution,
stripping the king of his administrative authorities and depriving the
rights of native Hawaiians in elections. The dynasty of King Kalākaua
reigned until the overthrow of the kingdom in 1893, a coup d'état
orchestrated by American plantation owners with the help of an armed militia
and the United States Marine Corps. Governance was again passed, this time
into the hands of a provisional government and then to an independent
Republic of Hawaii.
Hawaiian territory
The Newlands Resolution was passed on July 7, 1898 formally annexing Hawai‘i
as a United States territory. In 1900, it was granted self-governance.
Though several attempts were made to achieve statehood, Hawai‘i remained as
a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners like those that comprised the
Big Five found territorial status convenient, granting them the ability to
continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in
various other states of the Union. The power of plantation owners was
finally broken by activist descendants of original immigrant laborers.
Because they were born in a United States territory, they were legal
American citizens and expected full voting rights. They campaigned for
statehood for the Hawaiian Islands. On March 18, 1959, President Dwight
Eisenhower signed the Admission Act which made Hawai‘i the 50th state of the
Union, a law that became effective on August 21, 1959.
Hawaiian statehood
Upon achieving statehood, Hawai‘i was accelerated through modernization with
a construction boom and burgeoning economy. The Hawai‘i Republican Party,
supported by the plantation owners was voted out of office and the Hawai‘i
Democratic Party dominated state politics for forty years. The state also
worked its way to achieving a restoration of the native Hawaiian culture
that was suppressed after the overthrow. The Hawai‘i State Constitutional
Convention of 1978 heralded what some called a Hawaiian renaissance. Its
delegates created programs that sought to revive the indigenous Hawaiian
language and culture, as well as having promoted native control over
Hawaiian issues with the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Prevalent in post-statehood Hawai‘i was an increase in combative attitudes
by some native Hawaiians towards the federal government, seen by some as an
occupying power. Regrets over the demise of the Hawaiian monarchy produced
several political organizations that are collectively known as the Hawaiian
sovereignty movement. The movement's most prominent success was the passage
of the Apology Resolution of 1993 that made redress for American actions
leading to the overthrow of the kingdom. The resolution was passed by
Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton.
Government
The state government of Hawaii is modeled after the federal government with
adaptations originating from the kingdom era of Hawaiian history. As
codified in the Constitution of Hawai‘i, there are three branches of
government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led
by the state governor who oversees the major agencies and departments. The
legislative body consists of the 25-member Hawai‘i State Senate and the
51-member Hawai‘i State House of Representatives. The judicial branch is led
by the highest state court, the Hawai‘i State Supreme Court. Lower courts
are organized as the Hawai‘i State Judiciary.
Unique to Hawai‘i is the way it has organized its municipal governments.
There are no incorporated cities in Hawai‘i except the City & County of
Honolulu. All other municipal governments are administered at the county
level.
Hawaii is the only state that does not have a Department of Motor Vehicles
or a Registry of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle registration and driver licensing
are performed by county governments.
Governor of Hawai‘i is Linda Lingle (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Hawai‘i is James Aiona (Republican)
Senior United States Senator is Daniel K. Inouye (Democrat)
Junior United States Senator is Daniel K. Akaka (Democrat)
First District Congressman is Neil Abercrombie (Democrat)
Second District Congressman is Ed Case (Democrat)
Economy
The total gross output for the state in 1999 was USD $41 billion, placing
Hawaii 40th compared to the other states. Per capita income for Hawaii
residents was USD $28,221.
Historically, Hawaii is known for having a high amount of state taxes per
capita. In 2002 and 2003, it had the highest amount of state taxes per
capita, with $2,757 and $2,838 in state taxes per capita respectively. This
can partly be explained by the fact that some services such as education,
health care, and social services, are rendered at the state level, as
opposed to the local level as in many states. Also, hundreds of thousands of
tourists contribute to the figure by paying Hawaii's general excise and
hotel room taxes. However, many business leaders in the state still consider
Hawaii's tax burden to be too high. [1]
(http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/21/news/story1.html)
Historically, the history of modern Hawaii can be traced through a
succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane,
pineapple, military, tourism and education. Tourism is currently the state's
largest industry while efforts are being made toward the diversification of
the economy. Industrial exports include food processing and apparel.
However, because of the considerable shipping distance to markets on the
West Coast United States or Japan, they play a small role in the island
economy. The main agricultural exports are nursery stock and flowers,
coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugar cane. Agricultural
sales for 2002 (according to the Hawai‘i Agricultural Statistics Service)
were USD $370.9 million from diversified agriculture, USD $100.6 million
from pineapple, and USD $64.3 million from sugarcane.
Culture
List of Hawaii state parks
List of Hawai‘i State Landmarks
List of Hawai‘i politicians
List of Hawai‘i-related topics
Customs and etiquette in Hawai‘i
Hawaiian alphabet
Music of Hawai‘i
Tourism of Hawai‘i
Polynesian mythology
Hawaiian mythology
Literature in Hawaii
Media
Two major competing Honolulu-based newspapers serve all of Hawai‘i. The
Honolulu Advertiser is owned by Gannett Pacific Corporation while the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin is owned by Black Press of British Columbia in
Canada. Both are two of the largest newspapers in the United States, in
terms of circulation. Other locally published newspapers are available to
residents of the various islands. The Hawai‘i business community is served
by the Pacific Business News and Hawai‘i Business Magazine. The largest
religious community in Hawai‘i is served by the Hawai‘i Catholic Herald.
Honolulu Magazine is a popular magazine that offers local interest news and
feature articles. Apart from the mainstream press, the state also enjoys a
vibrant ethnic publication presence with newspapers for the Chinese,
Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Native Hawaiian communities.
Television
All the major television networks are represented in Hawai‘i through KFVE
(WB network affiliate), KGMB (CBS network affiliate), KHET (PBS network
affiliate), KHNL (NBC network affiliate), KHON (FOX network affiliate) and
KITV (ABC network affiliate), among others. From Honolulu, programming at
these stations are rebroadcast to the various other islands via networks of
satellite transmitters. The various production companies that work with the
major networks have produced television series and other projects in
Hawai‘i. Most notable were police dramas like Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O.
A comprehensive list of such projects can be seen at the list of Hawai‘i
television series.
Film
Hawai‘i has a growing film industry administered by the state through the
Hawai‘i Film Office. Several television shows, movies and various other
media projects were produced in the Hawaiian Islands taking advantage of the
natural scenic landscapes as backdrops. Notable films produced in Hawai‘i or
were inspired by Hawai‘i include: Jurassic Park, Waterworld, From Here to
Eternity, George of the Jungle, 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Blue Crush and
Lilo & Stitch. A comprehensive list of such projects can be seen at the list
of Hawai‘i films.
Education
Hawaii is currently the only state in the union with a unified school system
statewide. It is also the oldest public education system west of the
Mississippi River. Policy decisions are made by the fourteen-member state
Board of Education, with thirteen members elected for four-year terms and
one non-voting student member. The Board of Education sets statewide
educational policy and hires the state superintendent of schools, who
oversees the operations of the state Department of Education. The Department
of Education is also divided into seven districts, four on O‘ahu and one for
each of the other counties.
The structure of the state Department of Education has been a subject of
discussion and controversy in recent years. The main rationale for the
current centralized model is equity in school funding and distribution of
resources: leveling out inequalities that would exist between highly
populated O‘ahu and the more rural Neighbor Islands, and between
lower-income and more affluent areas of the state. This system of school
funding differs from many localities in the United States where schools are
funded from local property taxes.
However, policy initiatives have been made in recent years toward
decentralization. Current Governor Linda Lingle is a proponent of replacing
the current statewide board with seven elected district boards. The
Democrat-controlled state legislature opposed her proposal, instead favoring
expansion of decision-making power to the schools and giving schools more
discretion over budgeting. Political debate of structural reform is likely
to continue for the foreseeable future.
Colleges and universities
The following are some of the most notable, colleges and universities in
Hawai‘i. The list of colleges and universities in Hawai‘i is more
comprehensive.
Brigham Young University of Hawai‘i
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Hawai‘i Pacific University
University of the Nations at Kona
University of Hawai‘i System
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
University of Hawai‘i at West O‘ahu
Academies and secondary schools
The following are some of the most notable academies and secondary schools
in Hawai‘i. The list of public schools and independent schools in Hawai‘i is
more comprehensive.
Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School
Hawaii Baptist Academy
Iolani School
Kamehameha Schools
Maryknoll School
Moanalua High School
President Theodore Roosevelt High School
President William McKinley High School
Punahou School
Saint Louis School
Demographics
The population of Hawaii (Hawai‘i) is approximately 1.2 million, while the
de facto population is over 1.3 million due to military presence and
tourists. O‘ahu is the most populous island, with a population of just under
one million.
According to the 2000 Census, 6.6% of Hawaii's population identified
themselves as Native Hawaiian, 24.3% were White or Caucasian, including
Portuguese and 41.6% were Asian, including 0.1% Asian Indian, 4.7% Chinese,
14.1% Filipino, 16.7% Japanese, Okinawan, 1.9% Korean and 0.6%Vietnamese.
1.3% were other Pacific Islander which includes Tongan, Tahitian, Maori and
Micronesian, and 21.4% described themselves as mixed (two or more
races/ethnic groups). 1.8% were Black or African American and 0.3% were
American Indian and Alaska Native.
The second group of foreigners to arrive upon Hawaii's shores, after the
Europeans, were the Chinese who jumped off of trading ships in 1789. In 1820
the first American missionaries arrived in Hawaii to preach Christianity and
teach the Hawaiians what the missionaries considered "civilized" ways. A
large proportion of Hawaii's population has become a people of Asian
ancestry (especially Chinese, Japanese and Filipino), many of whom are
descendants from those waves of early foreign immigrants brought to the
islands in the nineteenth century, beginning in the 1850's, to work on the
sugar plantations. The first Japanese arrived in Hawaii on February 9, 1885.
The largest city is the capital, Honolulu, located along the southeast coast
of the island of O‘ahu. Other populous cities include Hilo, Kāne‘ohe,
Kailua, Pearl City, Kahului, and Kailua-Kona.
Famous people from Hawai‘i
The following are some of the most notable, nationally-renowned people from
Hawai‘i. Wikipedia's list of famous people from Hawaii is more
comprehensive. A separate register of members of the Hawaiian royal family
and Hawaii politicians is also available.
Benny Agbayani, professional baseball player
Dan Akaka, first Native Hawaiian US Senator
Akebono, sumo wrestler
George Ariyoshi, first Japanese American governor
Angela Perez Baraquio, Miss America 2001
Hiram Bingham III, Connecticut politician and explorer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop, princess and philanthropist
Charles Reed Bishop, banker and philanthropist
Tia Carrere, actress
Steve Case, former Chairman and CEO of America Online
Alexander Cartwright, father of American baseball
Benjamin J. Cayetano, first Filipino American governor
Herbert Young Cho Choy, first Asian-American federal judge in US history,
served on the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, born on Kauai in 1916 to
Korean immigrants
Father Damien, Catholic missionary
James Dole, pineapple magnate
Hiram Fong, first Chinese American US Senator
Don Ho, entertainer
Dan Inouye, first Japanese American US Senator
Dwayne Johnson, professional wrestler and actor known as "The Rock"
Jack Johnson, singer
Duke Kahanamoku, Olympic athlete
Henry J. Kaiser, industrialist
Victoria Kaiulani, princess
David Kalākaua, king
Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole, singer
Kamehameha the Great, king
Nicole Kidman, actress
Konishiki, sumo wrestler
Brook Mahealani Lee, Miss Universe 1997
Lili‘uokalani, queen
Bette Midler, actress
Musashimaru, sumo wrestler
Barack Obama, Illinois politician
Ellison Onizuka, astronaut
Eric Shinseki, US Army general
Claus Spreckels, industrialist
John Waihee, first Native Hawaiian governor
Michelle Wie, Korean-American golfer
Miscellaneous information
Hawaii, being one of the United States, is included in the North American
Numbering Plan; its area code within that plan is 808. It is also one of
only three U.S. states that do not observe Daylight Saving Time, and the
only one of those three that does not use DST anywhere in its territory.
‘Iolani Palace, the only royal residence in the United States, was once the
home of King Kalākaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last monarchs of Hawai‘i.
It is open to visitors.
Hawai‘i is the only U.S. state without a state police force.
Hawai‘i is home to two of the largest independent schools in the United
States: Punahou School and the Kamehameha Schools.
Pele is the well-known goddess of Hawaiian volcanoes. Local legends and
ghost stories often revolve around her visits, as well as sightings of
Menehune and Nightmarchers.
Local directions in Hawai‘i are not expressed in terms of compass points
(i.e., north-south-east-west) but by a radial system that uses local
landmarks. For example, mauka means inland (literally, "towards the
mountain"), while makai means the opposite ("towards the sea"). In Honolulu
"Diamond Head" is equivalent to "east," because that's the main landmark on
the coast east of downtown Honolulu, and "‘Ewa" is equivalent to "west,"
because that place is on the coast west of Honolulu. So instead of saying
something was on the north-west corner of an intersection in Honolulu, it
might be described as the "mauka and ‘ewa" corner of that intersection.
Hawai‘i is home to a number of endemic plant and animal species that are
vulnerable to outside threats. Among the rarest is the Po‘ouli, a Hawaiian
honeycreeper with only three surviving members, all of which live on the
island of Maui.
Hawai‘i is known for its many people of multiracial and multiethnic
heritage, or hapa ancestry.
Mount Wai‘ale‘ale (rippling waters), Kaua‘i is the wettest spot on earth,
averaging 460 inches of rain a year.
Hawaii (Hawai‘i) has an array of colorful beaches, with sand colors of
white, black, red, grey, brown-black and green.
Famous Crimes and superstitions Diane Suzuki, Morgan's Corner, Seven Bridges
of Manoa, The Kahala Graveyard.
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