Hawaii, state, United States: Government, Politics, and Higher Education

Hawaii's constitution was drafted in 1950 and became effective with statehood in 1959. The governor is elected every four years. The legislature has a senate with 25 members and a house of representatives with 51 members. The state elects two representatives and two senators to the U.S. Congress and has four electoral votes. Multicultural Hawaii has long been a Democratic state, but Republicans have made recent gains.

Hawaii's institutions of higher learning include the Univ. of Hawaii, with campuses at Honolulu, Hilo, and Pearl City; Chaminade Univ. and Hawaii Pacific Univ., at Honolulu; and the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young Univ., at Laie, Oahu.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• World War II and Statehood
• The Overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and Annexation
• Development of the Sugar Industry
• Influence of the Missionaries
• The Rule of Kamehameha I
• Early Settlers and Explorers
• Government, Politics, and Higher Education
• Economy
• Land and People
• Facts and Figures

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography