Hawaii, Hawaii

Only Hawaii and Alaska are outside the contiguous United States and do not share a border with any other U.S. state.

The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of environments to be found on high islands located in and near the tropic, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna (see Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands). Hawaii has more endangered species and has lost a higher percentage of its endemic species than anywhere in the United States.

Other areas under the control of the National Park Service include Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on the island of Hawaii and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oahu.

Summer highs are usually in the upper 80s F, (around 31C) during the day and mid 70s, (around 24 C) at night. Winter temperatures during the day are usually in the low to mid 80s, (around 28 C) and (at low elevation) seldom dipping below the mid 60s (18 C) at night. Snow, although not usually associated with tropics, falls at on Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months. Snow rarely falls on Maui's Haleakal. Mount Waialeale, on the island of Kauai, is notable for rainfall, as it has the second highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about . Most of Hawaii has only two seasons: summer from May to October, and winter from October to April.

This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paao. Other authors have argued that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Tahitian settlers, and that Paao must be regarded as a myth. However, this seems very unlikely due to the fact that the Kapu system and the practice of human sacrifice were only common in Tahitian culture., King of Hawaii bringing presents to Captain Cook. Illustrated by John Webber, artist aboard Cook's ship. Regardless of the question of Paao and the history of the Royal Hawaiian lineage, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of the Kapu chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called alii, ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. This was conducted in a system of allies of various ranks similar to the tribal systems before Feudalism.

A number who came to Hawaii during this period took a more earthly view of the islands and their people, and over the years began to exert influence on politics and society.

There was much controversy in the following years as the queen tried to re-establish her throne. The administration of President Grover Cleveland commissioned the Blount Report, which concluded that the removal of Liliuokalani was illegal. The U.S. Government first demanded that Queen Liliuokalani be reinstated, but the Provisional Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland's referral with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report by the U.S. Senate on February 26, 1894, which found all parties (including Minister Stevens) with the exception of the queen "not guilty" from any responsibility for the overthrow. Kuykendall, R.S. (1967) The Hawaiian Kingdom, 1874-1893. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 648.

The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands Resolution in Congress in which the Republic was annexed to the United States and became the Territory of Hawaii on July 7, 1898.

The previous president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliuokalani. He had remained opposed to annexation until the end of his term, but McKinley was open to persuasion by U.S. expansionists and by annexationists from Hawaii. He agreed to meet with a committee of annexationists from Hawaii, Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney. After negotiations, in June 1897, McKinley agreed to a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaii.

Though several attempts were made to achieve statehood, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners and key capitalists, who maintained control through financial institutions, or "factors," known as the Big Five, found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in various states of the U.S.

Because they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. Expecting to gain full voting rights, they actively campaigned for statehood for the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaii voted at a ratio of 17 to 1 to accept. There has been criticism, however, of the Statehood plebiscite, because the only choices were to accept the Act or to remain a territory, without addressing the issues of legality surrounding the overthrow.

In its place, the Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated state politics for 40 years.

This includes a natural increase since the last census of 48,111 people (that is 96,028 births minus 47,917 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 16,956 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 30,068 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 13,112 people. The center of population of Hawaii is located directly between the two islands of Oahu and Molokai.

Chinese employees serving on Western trading ships disembarked and settled starting in 1789. In 1820 the first American missionaries arrived in Hawaii to preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians what the missionaries considered modern ways. They were instrumental in convincing Chiefs to end the practice of human sacrifice. 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 1850s, to work on the sugar plantations. The first 153 Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii on June 19, 1868. They were not "legally" approved by the Japanese government established after the Meiji Restoration because the contract was between a broker and the Tokugawa shogunate, by then terminated. The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrived in Hawaii on February 9, 1885 after Kalkaua's petition to Emperor Meiji when Kalkaua visited Japan in 1881.

It began to develop around 1000 A.D., when Marquesans or Tahitians of that era colonized Hawaii. Those Polynesians remained in the islands, thereby becoming the Hawaiian people. Consequently, their language developed into the Hawaiian language.

The written form of Hawaiian was developed mainly by American Protestant missionaries during 18201826. They assigned letters from the Latin alphabet that corresponded to the Hawaiian sounds.

Also, the University of Hawaii developed a Hawaiian language graduate studies program. Municipal codes were altered in favor of Hawaiian place and street names for new civic developments.

However, in texts written mainly for Hawaiian-language pedagogy, especially since 1950, the modern Hawaiian-language spelling used is Hawaii , with an okina written between the final two vowels. The modern spelling is pushed mainly by teachers of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaii. However, traditional native speakers of Hawaiian generally never use okinas nor kahakos in their own writing. For this reason, some teachers of Hawaiian language, such as NeSmith , are advocating greater appreciation for the traditional native spellings with no okinas nor kahakos.

HCE speakers can use some Hawaiian words without those words being considered archaic. Most place names are retained from Hawaiian, as are some names for plants or animals. For example, tuna fish are often called "ahi". HCE speakers have modified the meanings of certain English words. For example, the terms "aunty" and "uncle" can be used to refer to any adult who is a friend, or a friend to the family. It is also used as a sign of respect for elders. Throughout the surfing boom in Hawaii, HCE has influenced surfer slang. Some HCE expressions, such as brah and da kine , have found their way to other places.

As prescribed in the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government recognizes Hawaii to be the official state name.

In Article XV therein, Section 1 uses "The State of Hawaii", Section 2 "the island of Oahu", Section 3 "The Hawaiian flag", and Section 5 specifies the state motto as "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono". Since these documents predate the modern use of the okina and the kahak in Hawaiian orthography, the disputed spelling conventions were not used in these cases.

New efforts are underway to diversify the economy. The total gross output for the state in 2003 was US$47 billion; per capita income for Hawaii residents was US$30,441.

In the years 2002 and 2003, Hawaii residents had the highest state tax per capita at US$2,757 and US$2,838, respectively. This rate can be explained partly by the fact that services such as education, health care and social services are all rendered at the state level, as opposed to the municipal level in all other states.

Heavy regulation of insurance companies helps keep the cost to employers down. In addition, due in part to the system's emphasis on preventive care, Hawaiians require hospital treatment less frequently than their counterparts in the rest of the United States, while total health care expenses (measured as a percentage of state GDP) are substantially lower. Given these achievements, proponents of universal health care elsewhere in the U.S. have sometimes used Hawaii as a model for proposed federal and state health care plans. Critics, however, claim that Hawaii's success is due at least in part to its mild climate and to its status as a chain of islands whose economy is heavily based on tourism: features that make it more difficult for businesses unhappy with paying the plan's premiums to relocate elsewhere.

It consists of: (1) the flagship research university at Mnoa; (2) two comprehensive campuses Hilo and West Oahu; and (7) seven Community Colleges. Students choosing private education attend Brigham Young UniversityHawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, or University of the Nations.

As codified in the Constitution of Hawaii, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.

The governor, in residence at the grounds of Washington Place, is the only public official elected for the state government in a statewide race; all other administrators and judges are appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor is concurrently the Secretary of State of Hawaii. Both the governor and lieutenant governor administer their duties from the Hawaii State Capitol. The governor and lieutenant governor oversee the major agencies and departments of the executive of which there are twenty.

They are the senior and junior United States Senators, the representative of Hawaii's 1st congressional district and the representative of Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. Many Hawaii residents have been appointed to administer other agencies and departments of the federal government by the President of the United States. All federal officers of Hawaii administer their duties locally from the Prince Khi Federal Building near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor.

Obama had earlier won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. Obama was the third Hawaii-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee to be from Hawaii.

There are no incorporated cities in Hawaii except Honolulu County. All other municipal governments are administered at the county level. The county executives are the Mayor of Hawaii, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauai and Mayor of Maui. All mayors in the state are elected in nonpartisan races.

Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele Airlines, and go! use jets to travel between the larger commercial airports in Honolulu, Lhue, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo, while Island Air and Pacific Wings serve smaller airports. These airlines also provide air freight service between the islands.

Source: Wikipedia > Hawaii