Hawaii is a state in the western United States, made up of 8 main islands and many smaller ones. Its first settlers were Polynesians, and it was later visited by Europeans. Hawaii became a US territory in 1898 and a state in 1959. Its state motto is “The life of the earth continues in righteousness,” and its nickname is the “Aloha State.” The state flag features a Union Jack and eight stripes, while the state seal includes King Kamehameha and the Goddess of Liberty. The state flower is the Yellow Hibiscus, the state bird is the Hawaiian goose, and the state tree is Kukui.
Hawaii is one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America and one of the western states, along with Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. It is made up of 8 main islands and many smaller ones and is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu is the capital. Other major cities in Hawaii are Hilo, Kailua, Kaneohe and Waipahu.
Hawaii is 47th among the 50 states by size with an area of 6,422.62 square miles (16,634.51 sq km), and ranks 42nd by population with 1,211,537 people in the 2000 census. It is 14th among the states by population density. The proper noun for a resident of Hawaii is Hawaiian.
Hawaii’s first settlers are believed to have been Polynesians, who may have migrated from the Marquesas Islands around AD 400, followed by an influx from Tahiti some 500 years later. Europeans first came to the islands some six or seven hundred years later in 1778 when Captain Cook found them, ending centuries of isolation. During the 19th century, the British, the French and the United States vied for connections and control.
The state motto of Hawaii, stated in 1843, is Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono, which means “The life of the earth continues in righteousness,” and is a quote from King Kamehameha III. The king spoke these words after a complicated situation had been resolved: a British sea captain, claiming that the Hawaiian gentry was in large debts, in effect ceded the islands to England, thought he lacked the authority to do so. The government of Hawaii was officially returned by Admiral Richard Thomas and the king’s comments were part of his response.
The United States supported the transformation from a kingdom to a republic in 1893, but the United States Congress annexed Hawaii in 1898 and established it as a territory in June 1900. It is worth noting that the attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II, occurred before the state of Hawaii, which occurred in 1959, when Hawaii became the 50th state.
The state flag of Hawaii is unusual for a U.S. state flag in that it features a Union Jack in the upper left corner, recognizing the United Kingdom’s role in Hawaii’s history. There are eight red, white and blue stripes across the rest of the flag, representing the eight major islands. The flag features neither the state seal nor the motto, as is often the case: rather, the seal features the flag and the motto.
The state seal displays the state date, a rising sun, and King Kamehameha and the Goddess of Liberty hold the Hawaiian flag together. There are stripes to represent the eight islands, and the tabu ball and stick, the signs of the king’s authority. There are also a star to represent the state, a phoenix to represent Hawaii’s rebirth as a state, and taro leaves, banana leaves, and ferns to represent the islands’ flora. The state motto also appears.
Hawaii’s nickname is the “Aloha State”. Other state emblems include the following:
State Flower: Yellow Hibiscus
State bird: Hawaiian goose
State tree: Kukui
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