-
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
http://wn.com/African_American -
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a demonym for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or subregion of Asia. Though usage may be based on residence, it is usually considered an ethnicity or race.
http://wn.com/Asian_people -
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.
http://wn.com/Barack_Obama -
Brian Schatz
Brian Emanuel Schatz (born October 20, 1972) is an American politician who was Chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2008 to 2010. He served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1999 to 2006, where he represented the 25th legislative district.
http://wn.com/Brian_Schatz -
Buddhism
Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: बौद्ध धर्म Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.
http://wn.com/Buddhism -
China
China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity.
http://wn.com/China -
Chinese American
Chinese Americans (; ) are Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of Overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans. Within this community, the term Chinese American is often broadly defined to include not only immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and their descendants but also immigrants and descendants of Overseas Chinese people who migrated to the United States from places as diverse as Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
http://wn.com/Chinese_American -
Colleen Hanabusa
Colleen Wakako Hanabusa (born May 4, 1951) is a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate, representing the 21st District since 1998. She served as the Senate Majority Leader, before being elected Hawaii's first woman President of the Senate in 2006 – making her the first Asian American woman to preside over a state legislative chamber in the United States. She is the 2010 Democratic nominee for United States Representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district.
http://wn.com/Colleen_Hanabusa -
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka (; born September 11, 1924) is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry. With the departure of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, and death of Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, he became the third oldest member of the United States Senate after Frank Lautenberg and Daniel Inouye.
http://wn.com/Daniel_Akaka -
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye (;, Inoue Ken; born September 7, 1924) is an American politician who is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. A Democrat, Inouye is the chairman of the influential United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.
http://wn.com/Daniel_Inouye -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower ( ; October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas – March 28, 1969), at Walter Reed Army Hospital, in Washington D. C. was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961, and the last to be born in the 19th century. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45, from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO.
http://wn.com/Dwight_D_Eisenhower -
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. ( or '; January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889), born Jozef De Veuster''', was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order. He won recognition for his ministry to people with leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease), who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on the island of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
http://wn.com/Father_Damien -
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", reside mainly in the continental United States and form significant populations in California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Washington, Florida, Alaska, Guam, and Northern Marianas.
http://wn.com/Filipino_American -
French American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of French descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.
http://wn.com/French_American -
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (; born July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut) was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th Governor of Texas, serving from 1995 to 2000.
http://wn.com/George_W_Bush -
German American
German Americans comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group. California, Texas and Pennsylvania have the largest numbers of German origin, although upper Midwestern states, including Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and The Dakotas, have the highest proportion of German Americans at over one-third.
http://wn.com/German_American -
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for president three times—in 1884, 1888, and 1892—and was the only Democrat elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to 1912.
http://wn.com/Grover_Cleveland -
Hiram Bingham I
Hiram Bingham (1789–1869), was leader of the first group of Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.
http://wn.com/Hiram_Bingham_I -
Hiram Fong
Hiram Leong Fong (zh|, Kuàng Yǒuliáng), born Yau Leong Fong (October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004), was an American businessman and politician from Hawaii. He is most notable for his service as Republican United States Senator from 1959 to 1977, and for being the first Asian American and Chinese American to be elected as such. In 1964, Fong became the first Asian American to run for his party's nomination for President of the United States. As of 2008, he is the only Republican to ever hold a Senate seat from Hawaii and the only Asian American to actively seek the Presidential nomination of the Republican Party. He would be followed by Patsy Mink, also from Hawaii, who sought the nomination of the Democratic Party in 1972.
http://wn.com/Hiram_Fong -
indigenous peoples
http://wn.com/indigenous_peoples -
Irish American
Irish Americans () are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. An estimated total of 36,278,332 Americans—11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey. The only self-reported ancestral group larger than Irish Americans are German Americans. In addition another 3.5 million Americans identify more specifically with Scots-Irish ancestry. The Irish are widely dispersed in terms of geography, and occupations. Irish American political leaders have played a major role in local and national politics since before the American Revolutionary War; eight Irish Americans signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and 22 American Presidents, from Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama, have been at least partly of Irish ancestry. (See "American Presidents with origins in Ireland" below.)
http://wn.com/Irish_American -
Italian American
An Italian American ( singular, plural) is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.
http://wn.com/Italian_American -
James Cook
Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean during which he achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands as well as the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
http://wn.com/James_Cook -
Japanese American
are Americans of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity. In the 2000 census, the largest Japanese American communities were in California with 394,896, Hawaii with 296,674, Washington with 56,210, New York with 45,237, and Illinois with 27,702. Each year, about 7,000 new Japanese immigrants enter United States ports, making up about 4% of immigration from Asia.
http://wn.com/Japanese_American -
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as . The term "Japanese people" may also be used in some contexts to refer to a locus of ethnic groups including the Yamato people, Ainu people, and Ryukyuans.
http://wn.com/Japanese_people -
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
http://wn.com/John_Kerry -
John L. Stevens
John Leavitt Stevens (August 1, 1820 – February 8, 1895) was the United States Department of State Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 when he was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B. Dole – the first Americans attempting to overthrow a foreign government under the auspices of a United States government officer. John L. Stevens, journalist, author, minister, newspaper publisher and diplomat, was also a Maine State Senator who was a founder of the Republican Party in Maine.
http://wn.com/John_L_Stevens -
John Webber
John Webber (1751 – 29 May 1793) was an English artist best known for his images of early Alaska and Hawaii.
http://wn.com/John_Webber -
Kalaniopu`u
http://wn.com/Kalaniopu`u -
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (ca. 1758 – May 8, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kanawai Mamalahoe, the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.
http://wn.com/Kamehameha_I -
Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II (c. 1797–July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu Iolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laamea i Kauikawekiu Ahilapalapa Kealii Kauinamoku o Kahekili Kalaninui i Mamao Iolani i Ka Liholiho when he took the throne.
http://wn.com/Kamehameha_II -
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli), (1813–1854) was the King of Hawaii from 1824 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.
http://wn.com/Kamehameha_III -
Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (1830–1872), born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief. His full Hawaiian name prior to his succession was Lota Liholiho Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Kalanikapuapaikalaninui Ali`iolani Kalani-a-Kekūanaō‘a.
http://wn.com/Kamehameha_V -
Korean American
Korean Americans (Korean: , Hanja: , Hangukgye Migukin) are Americans of Korean descent (both South and North). The Korean American community is the fifth largest Asian American subgroup, after the Chinese American, Filipino American, Indian American, and Vietnamese American communities. The United States is home to the second largest Korean diaspora community in the world after China.
http://wn.com/Korean_American -
Liliuokalani
Liliuokalani (2 September 1838 – 11 November 1917), born Lydia Kamakaeha Kaola Malii Liliuokalani, was the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was also known as Lydia Kamakaeha Pākī, with the chosen royal name of Liliuokalani, and her married name was Kaolupoloni K. Dominis.
http://wn.com/Liliuokalani -
Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin Andrews Thurston (July 31, 1858–May 11, 1931) was a lawyer, politician, and businessman born and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The grandson of two of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii, Thurston played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom that replaced Queen Liliuokalani with the Republic of Hawaii, dominated by American interests. He published the Pacific Commercial Advertiser (forerunner of the present-day Honolulu Star-Advertiser), and owned other enterprises. From 1906 to 1916 he and friends lobbied with national politicians to create a National Park to preserve the Hawaiian Volcanoes.
http://wn.com/Lorrin_A_Thurston -
Mazie Hirono
is an American politician. She was the second Asian immigrant elected lieutenant governor of a state of the United States. A lifelong Democrat, she ran against Linda Lingle for governor of Hawaii in 2002, one of the few gubernatorial races in United States history where two major parties nominated women to challenge each other. Hirono is currently the congresswoman for . She considers herself a non-practicing Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, and is often cited with Hank Johnson (D-Georgia), as the first Buddhist to serve in the United States Congress. She is the third woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii (after Patsy Mink and Pat Saiki).
http://wn.com/Mazie_Hirono -
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent or Mexicans who have obtained American citizenship. Mexican Americans account for more than 12.5% of the United States' population: 30.7 million Americans listed their ancestry as Mexican as of 2006, forming about 64% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The United States is home to the second largest Mexican community in the world, second only to Mexico itself. Most Mexican Americans are the descendants of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico and/or Europeans, especially Spaniards. Mexican American settlement concentrations are in metropolitan and rural areas across the United States.
http://wn.com/Mexican_American -
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (in Hawaiian, kānaka ōiwi, kānaka maoli or Hawaii maoli) refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to prehistoric Marquesan, Tahitian, Samoan (and potentially Tongan) settlers of Hawaii (possibly as early as AD 400), before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778.
http://wn.com/Native_Hawaiians -
Neil Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician. He was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Hawaii's 1st congressional district ([http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/hi01_109.gif map]) from 1991 until his resignation in 2010. He is currently the Democratic Candidate candidate in the 2010 Hawaii gubernatorial election; polls in mid-August showed him with a 5% lead over Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. On September 18, 2010, Abercrombie won the nomination by a margin of 60 to 38 percent.
http://wn.com/Neil_Abercrombie -
Portuguese American
Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira.
http://wn.com/Portuguese_American -
Scottish American
Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: Ameireaganaich Albannach) are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. According to American Community Survey in 2008 data, Americans reporting Scottish ancestry made up an estimated 1.9% of the total U.S. population. Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry represent 3.1% of the U.S. population in 2008.
http://wn.com/Scottish_American -
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. (January 29, 1843 September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to that office.
http://wn.com/William_McKinley
-
Alaska () is the largest state of the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately half of Alaska's 698,473 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. As of 2009, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S.
http://wn.com/Alaska -
{{Infobox country
http://wn.com/Australia -
Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 ft). The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born"; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th century accounts, is Bolabolla or Bollabolla.
http://wn.com/Bora_Bora -
California (pronounced ) is the most populous state in the United States and the third-largest by land area, after Alaska and Texas. California is also the most populous sub-national entity in North America. It's on the U.S. West Coast, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and by the states of Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, Baja California, Mexico, to the south. Its 5 largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Long Beach, with Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose each having at least 1 million residents. Like many populous states, California's capital, Sacramento is smaller than the state's largest city, Los Angeles. The state is home to the nation's 2nd- and 6th-largest census statistical areas and 8 of the nation's 50 most populous cities. California has a varied climate and geography and a multi-cultural population.
http://wn.com/California -
The California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, is the name used for a revolt against Mexico proclaimed by California settlers on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma in the then-Mexican province of California. Declared during the Mexican–American War, the "republic" was a popular revolt; the participants never formed a government, and the "republic" was never recognized by any nation. The revolt lasted 26 days, at which time the U.S. Army took control of the area. It is most notable for creating the "Bear Flag", with insignia that appear on the modern state flag.
http://wn.com/California_Republic -
China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity.
http://wn.com/China -
Easter Island (, ) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile annexed in 1888, Easter Island is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai (), created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a cautionary tale about the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists now argue that the introduction of diseases carried by European colonizers and the slave raiding that devastated the population in the 1860s had a much greater social than environmental impact.
http://wn.com/Easter_Island -
England () is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
http://wn.com/England -
Florida () is a state of the United States. It is located in the Southeastern United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. Much of the state's land mass is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean to the south. Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state in 1845, after a three hundred year period of European colonization.
http://wn.com/Florida -
{{Infobox Country
http://wn.com/France -
Germany (), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (, ), is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357.021 km2 and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state of the European Union, and home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.
http://wn.com/Germany -
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island ( in English and or in Hawaiian), is a volcanic island (the eastern-most and southern-most in the Hawaiian islands chain) in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,432 km²), it is larger than all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined and is the largest island in the United States.
http://wn.com/Hawaii_(island) -
The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches administer their duties in the governance of the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—composed of the twenty-five member Hawaii State Senate led by the President of the Senate and the fifty-one member Hawaii State House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House—convenes in the building. Its principal tenants are the Governor of Hawaii and Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, as well as all legislative offices.
http://wn.com/Hawaii_State_Capitol -
http://wn.com/Hilo -
Hilo () is the second-largest CDP in the State of Hawaii and the largest settlement on the island of Hawaii with a population of 40,759 during the 2000 census and 47,345 according to a 2007 estimate.
http://wn.com/Hilo_Hawaii -
Honolulu () is the capital of and the most populous census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and the county are consolidated, known as the City and County of Honolulu, and the city and county is designated as the entire island. The City and County of Honolulu is the only incorporated city in Hawaii, as all other local government entities are administered at the county level. The population of the CDP was 371,657 at the 2000 census, while the population of the City and County was 909,863, making it the 57th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Honolulu is also the most populous state capital relative to state population. In the Hawaiian language, Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter".
http://wn.com/Honolulu -
http://wn.com/Honolulu_Hawaii -
Illinois ( {{respell|-i-), is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. It is the most populous state in the Midwest region, however with 65% of its residents concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, most of the state has either a rural or a small town character. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. As the "most average state", Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics, though the latter has not really been true since the early 1970s.
http://wn.com/Illinois -
:''Iolani redirects here. For the palace see ʻIolani Palace.
http://wn.com/Iolani_School -
Ireland (,; , ; Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the northwest of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from it by the Irish Sea. The island is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.2 million people. Just under 4.5 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
http://wn.com/Ireland -
Italy (; ), officially the Italian Republic (), is a country located in south-central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia — the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea — and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, whilst Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.4 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country in Europe, and the twenty-third most populous in the world.
http://wn.com/Italy -
Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon), officially the State of Japan ( or Nihon-koku), is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin" (because it lies to the east of nearby countries), which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
http://wn.com/Japan -
Kahoolawe ( in English and in Hawaiian) is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located 7 miles (11.2 km) southwest of Maui and southeast of Lānai and is long by wide, with a total area of . The highest point is the crater of Lua Makika at the summit of Puu Moaulanui, which is above sea level. The island is relatively dry (average annual rainfall is less than ) because the low elevation fails to generate much orographic precipitation from the northeastern trade winds and it is located in the rain shadow of east Maui's high volcano, Haleakalā. More than one quarter of Kahoolawe has been eroded down to saprolitic hardpan.
http://wn.com/Kahoolawe -
http://wn.com/Kahului -
Kahului is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, on the island of Maui, in the U.S. state of Hawaii, and the third-largest census-designated place (CDP) of the State of Hawaii. The largest community on the island, it lies on the north shore of central Maui. Kahului hosts Maui's main airport (Kahului Airport), deep-draft harbor, light industrial areas, and commercial shopping centers. The population was 20,146 at the 2000 census.
http://wn.com/Kahului_Hawaii -
Kauai or Kauai,
http://wn.com/Kauai -
Kīhei is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 16,749 at the 2000 census.
http://wn.com/Kihei_Hawaii -
Korea ( Hanguk or Joseon – South and North Korea, respectively (cf. etymology)) is a territory of East Asia that was formerly unified under one state, but now divided into two separate states and a region in northeastern Asia. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
http://wn.com/Korea -
http://wn.com/Kāne'ohe_Hawai'i -
Lahaina is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States, and the gateway to the famous Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts north of the community. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a resident population of 9,118. Lahaina encompasses the coast along Hawaii Route 30 from a tunnel at the south end, through Olawalu up the CDP of Napili-Honokowai is to the north. During the heavy tourist seasons, the population can swell to nearly 40,000 people. Until permanently moving to Honolulu, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In the 1800s, Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry with many sailing ships anchored in at its waterfront; today a score of pleasure craft make their home there.
http://wn.com/Lahaina_Hawaii -
Lānai or Lanai ( in English and or in Hawaiian) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement.
http://wn.com/Lanai -
Lihue or Līhue is a census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a total population of 5,674 .
http://wn.com/Lihue_Hawaii -
The Marquesas Islands ( or Archipel des Marquises or Marquises; Marquesan: Te Henua (K)enana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua `Enata (South Marquesan), both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W. The highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pu island at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.
http://wn.com/Marquesas_Islands -
The island of Maui ( in English, in Hawaiian) is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1883.5 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2000, Maui had a population of 117,644, third-most populous of the Hawaiian islands, behind that of Oahu and Hawaii. Kahului is the largest town on the island with a population of 20,146. Wailuku is the seat of Maui County. Other significant towns include Kīhei, Lahaina, Makawao, Pāia, Kula, Haikū, Hāna, Kāanapali, Wailea, Makena, and Kapalua.
http://wn.com/Maui -
http://wn.com/Maui_County -
Mexico, (pronounced ; ), officially known as the United Mexican States (), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Hispanophone country on Earth. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
http://wn.com/Mexico -
Molokai or Molokai ( in English and in Hawaiian) is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile (40 km) wide Kaiwi Channel and north of Lānai, separated from it by the Kalohi Channel. The lights of Honolulu are visible at night from the west end of Molokai, while nearby Lānai and Maui are clearly visible from anywhere along the south shore of the island.
http://wn.com/Molokai -
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, ) is an Executive Branch agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research."
http://wn.com/NASA -
New Mexico() is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also part of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth- most sparsely inhabited U.S. state.
http://wn.com/New_Mexico -
Nihoa ( in English and in Hawaiian), also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu, is a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands located northwest of the island of Niihau and northwest of Honolulu. Nihoa is , surrounded by a coral reef.
http://wn.com/Nihoa -
Niihau or Niihau ( in English and in Hawaiian) is the smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies across the Kaulakahi Channel, southwest of Kauai. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the Hawaiian Duck. The island is designated as critical habitat for Brighamia insignis, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. The United States Census Bureau defines Niihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of Lehua as Census Tract 410 of Kauai County, Hawaii. Its 2000 census population was 160; As of June 2009, the population was 130.
http://wn.com/Niihau -
Owyhee County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. In area it is the second largest county in Idaho, behind Idaho County in the north central region of the state. As of the 2000 Census, Owyhee County had a population of 10,644 (2008 estimate: 10,877). The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale.
http://wn.com/Owyhee_County_Idaho -
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.
http://wn.com/Pacific_Ocean -
Palmyra Atoll () is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as a unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government. The variable temporary population of 4–20 'non-occupants' are essentially staff and scientists employed by various departments of the U.S. federal government and The Nature Conservancy, as well as a rotating mix of Palymra Atoll Research Consortium scholars pursuing research.
http://wn.com/Palmyra_Atoll -
Pearl City is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a total population of 30,976. Pearl City is located along the north shore of Pearl Harbor. ʻAiea borders Pearl City to the east, while Waipahu borders the west. The U.S. postal code for Pearl City is 96782.
http://wn.com/Pearl_City_Hawaii -
The Philippines ( ), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (), is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
http://wn.com/Philippines -
Portugal (, ), officially the Portuguese Republic (; ), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.
http://wn.com/Portugal -
Puerto Rico ( or ), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( — literally Associated Free State of Puerto Rico), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.
http://wn.com/Puerto_Rico -
Punchbowl Crater is an extinct volcanic tuff cone located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the location of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
http://wn.com/Punchbowl_Crater -
Raiatea (or '''Ra'iatea'''), is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the 'center' of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the organised migrations to Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and other parts of East Polynesia started at Ra'iatea. A traditional name for the island is believed to be '''Havai'i'''.
http://wn.com/Raiatea -
The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled 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 the United States Congress in which the Republic was annexed to the United States and became the Territory of Hawaii on July 7, 1898.
http://wn.com/Republic_of_Hawaii -
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa and German Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city Apia and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.
http://wn.com/Samoa -
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland includes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
http://wn.com/Scotland -
Tonga (pronounced ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited. The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles) in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.
http://wn.com/Tonga -
The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
http://wn.com/United_States -
Waipahu is a former sugar plantation town and now census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District on the island of Oahu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP population was 33,108. The U.S. postal code for Waipahu is 96797.
http://wn.com/Waipahu_Hawaii -
Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii. It is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 2007. The current governor's residence is located on the same grounds as Washington Place.
http://wn.com/Washington_Place
- 1790 Footprints
- 2010 U.S. Census
- 300 CE
- ACT (examination)
- Africa
- African American
- agnosticism
- air pollution
- airline
- Alaska
- Ali'i
- Aliiolani Hale
- Aloha
- Aloha Stadium
- Aloha Tower
- Apology Resolution
- archaeological
- archipelago
- Arizona
- Asian people
- Associated Press
- atheism
- Australia
- Bahá'í Faith
- Barack Obama
- Bicameralism
- Big Five (Hawaii)
- Black coral
- Blount Report
- Bora Bora
- Brian Schatz
- Buddhism
- California
- California Republic
- Candlenut
- Canonization
- Catholic Church
- China
- Chinese American
- Chinese language
- Christianity
- coffee
- cognates
- Colleen Hanabusa
- Confucianism
- Cook Islands Maori
- cruise ship
- da kine
- Daniel Akaka
- Daniel Inouye
- Daoism
- daylight saving time
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Earth Observatory
- earthquake
- Easter Island
- education
- Emperor Meiji
- Endemism
- England
- English American
- English language
- ethnonym
- Eurasian American
- excise
- Father Damien
- fauna
- favorite son
- Filipino American
- Filipino language
- Flag of Hawaii
- flora
- Florida
- Folklore in Hawaii
- France
- French American
- French language
- Gallup poll
- Gas Cap Law
- George W. Bush
- German American
- German language
- Germany
- GLBT
- glottal stop
- go! (airline)
- Gold dust day gecko
- Governor of Hawaii
- Grover Cleveland
- Haleakalā
- Han Chinese
- Hawai'i Pono'i
- Hawaii (island)
- Hawaii Admission Act
- Hawaii Pono'i
- Hawaii Senate
- Hawaii State Capitol
- Hawaii Superferry
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Hawaiian eruption
- Hawaiian Goose
- Hawaiian hibiscus
- Hawaiian Islands
- Hawaiian language
- Hawaiian mythology
- Hawaiian Pidgin
- Hawaiian religion
- Hawaiki
- heiau
- Hilo
- Hilo (soil)
- Hilo, Hawaii
- Hinduism
- Hiram Bingham I
- Hiram Fong
- Ho'oponopono
- Honolulu
- Honolulu Harbor
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- hotspot (geology)
- House of Kalākaua
- House of Kamehameha
- hula
- Human migration
- human sacrifice
- humanism
- Humpback whale
- Hurricane Katrina
- hydrofoil
- igneous rock
- Illinois
- Ilocano language
- Ilokano language
- Imperial Japan
- independent school
- indigenous peoples
- industry
- influenza
- Iolani Palace
- Iolani School
- Ireland
- Irish American
- Irreligion
- Islam
- Island Air
- Italian American
- Italy
- James Cook
- Japan
- Japanese American
- Japanese language
- Japanese people
- John Kerry
- John L. Stevens
- John Webber
- Joseph F. Smith
- Judaism
- Kahoolawe
- Kahului
- Kahului, Hawaii
- kahuna
- Kailua-Kona
- Kalaniopu`u
- Kalaupapa, Hawaii
- Kalākaua
- Kamehameha I
- Kamehameha II
- Kamehameha III
- Kamehameha Schools
- Kamehameha V
- Kapu
- Kauai
- Kihei, Hawaii
- Kingdom of Hawaii
- Kona low
- Korea
- Korean American
- Korean language
- Kula, Hawaii
- Kure Atoll
- Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i
- Kīlauea
- Lahaina, Hawaii
- Lanai
- Languages of Asia
- leper
- Leprosy
- Life magazine
- Lihue, Hawaii
- Liliuokalani
- List of explorers
- Literature in Hawaii
- livestock
- Loihi Seamount
- Lorrin A. Thurston
- luau
- Lunalilo
- macadamia
- macron
- Marquesan language
- Marquesas Islands
- Maui
- Maui County
- Mauna Kea
- Mauna Loa
- mayor of Honolulu
- Mayor of Kauai
- mayor of Maui
- Mazie Hirono
- measles
- Meiji Restoration
- Mexican American
- Mexico
- midget submarine
- military
- Military Times
- missionary
- Mokulele Airlines
- Molokai
- Molokini
- Morgan Report
- Mormonism
- Mount Everest
- Mount Waialeale
- Muffin
- Music of Hawaii
- Māori language
- NASA
- national park
- Native Hawaiians
- Neil Abercrombie
- New Mexico
- Newlands Resolution
- Nihoa
- Niihau
- nonpartisan
- Oahu
- Oceania
- official residence
- Okina
- Outrigger canoeing
- Owyhee County, Idaho
- oxygen
- Pa'ao
- Pacific Ocean
- Pacific Wings
- Palmyra Atoll
- Pearl City, Hawaii
- Pearl Harbor
- Philippines
- pidgin
- pineapple
- Plate tectonics
- Polynesia
- Polynesian languages
- Polynesian mythology
- Portugal
- Portuguese American
- Portuguese language
- Protestant
- Protestantism
- Puerto Rico
- Punahou School
- Punchbowl Crater
- Raiatea
- Rapa Nui language
- Reef triggerfish
- Republic of Hawaii
- Republic of Texas
- Roman Catholic
- Roman Catholicism
- Samoa
- Samoan language
- sandalwood
- SAT
- Scotland
- Scottish American
- Seaflite
- Seal of Hawaii
- seminary
- Shintoism
- Sikhism
- smallpox
- Society Islands
- Spanish language
- Speaker (politics)
- State song
- State supreme court
- sugarcane
- sulfur dioxide
- sunlight
- Surfing
- Tagalog language
- Tahiti
- Tahitian language
- Territory of Hawaii
- Tokugawa shogunate
- Tonga
- Tongan language
- tourism
- Tourism in Hawaii
- trade wind
- tropics
- tsunami
- tuna fish
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. state
- U.S. states
- Union Flag
- United Nations
- United States
- United States Census
- University of Hawaii
- US dollars
- USS Arizona Memorial
- USS Bowfin (SS-287)
- Vermont Republic
- vog
- volcano
- Waipahu, Hawaii
- Warplane
- Washington Place
- whaling
- white people
- wigwag (railroad)
- William Ansel Kinney
- William McKinley
- World War II
- Zoroastrianism
- ʻOkina

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:50
- Published: 04 Dec 2008
- Uploaded: 30 Oct 2011
- Author: erosentertainment


- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:13
- Published: 31 Jul 2009
- Uploaded: 25 Nov 2011
- Author: Fonkmaster

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:31
- Published: 02 Jun 2011
- Uploaded: 25 Nov 2011
- Author: moifightclub

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:21
- Published: 04 Dec 2008
- Uploaded: 08 Nov 2011
- Author: erosentertainment


- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:01
- Published: 20 Jul 2007
- Uploaded: 07 Nov 2011
- Author: erosentertainment

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:29
- Published: 23 Jun 2008
- Uploaded: 23 Nov 2011
- Author: hyderabadee

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:19
- Published: 30 Jul 2008
- Uploaded: 21 Nov 2011
- Author: beverly555

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:04
- Published: 24 Feb 2008
- Uploaded: 24 Nov 2011
- Author: wassimelbenny

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:04
- Published: 28 Apr 2011
- Uploaded: 18 Nov 2011
- Author: TheFavoriterec

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:10
- Published: 19 Dec 2010
- Uploaded: 23 Nov 2011
- Author: timesmusicindia


- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:23
- Published: 14 Nov 2009
- Uploaded: 25 Nov 2011
- Author: erosentertainment

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:32
- Published: 22 Feb 2008
- Uploaded: 24 Nov 2011
- Author: rambharose1234


- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:49
- Published: 24 Mar 2009
- Uploaded: 25 Nov 2011
- Author: alohaman99

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:00
- Published: 25 Apr 2009
- Uploaded: 22 Nov 2011
- Author: yelghadban

- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:43
- Published: 01 Oct 2011
- Uploaded: 24 Nov 2011
- Author: moviezadda0411


- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:57
- Published: 24 Mar 2010
- Uploaded: 21 Nov 2011
- Author: TheMaster1080HD




size: 1.6Kb
size: 14.1Kb
- 1790 Footprints
- 2010 U.S. Census
- 300 CE
- ACT (examination)
- Africa
- African American
- agnosticism
- air pollution
- airline
- Alaska
- Ali'i
- Aliiolani Hale
- Aloha
- Aloha Stadium
- Aloha Tower
- Apology Resolution
- archaeological
- archipelago
- Arizona
- Asian people
- Associated Press
- atheism
- Australia
- Bahá'í Faith
- Barack Obama
- Bicameralism
- Big Five (Hawaii)
- Black coral
- Blount Report
- Bora Bora
- Brian Schatz
- Buddhism
- California
- California Republic
- Candlenut
- Canonization
- Catholic Church
- China
- Chinese American
- Chinese language
- Christianity
- coffee
- cognates
- Colleen Hanabusa
- Confucianism
- Cook Islands Maori
- cruise ship
- da kine
- Daniel Akaka
- Daniel Inouye
- Daoism
- daylight saving time
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Earth Observatory
- earthquake
- Easter Island
- education
- Emperor Meiji
- Endemism
size: 0.8Kb
size: 5.6Kb
size: 1.5Kb
size: 3.4Kb
size: 2.2Kb
size: 2.1Kb
Coordinates | 21°35′24″N158°6′50″N |
---|---|
name | Hawaii |
fullname | State of HawaiiMokuāina o Hawaii |
othername | Mokuāina o Hawaii |
flag | Flag of Hawaii.svg |
flaglink | Flag |
seal | Hawaiistateseal.png |
seallink | Seal |
coat of arms | Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii.svg |
former | Territory of Hawaii |
former flag of the state | Flag of Hawaii.svg |
map | Map of USA HI full.png |
nickname | The Aloha State |
motto | Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Āina i ka Pono (“The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness”) Anthem: Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī (“Hawaii’s Own True Sons”) |
capital | Honolulu |
largestcity | capital |
officiallang | English, Hawaiian |
demonym | Hawaiian (see notes) |
governor | Neil Abercrombie |
lieutenant governor | Brian Schatz |
legislature | State Legislature |
upperhouse | Senate |
lowerhouse | House of Representatives |
senators | Daniel Inouye (D)Daniel Akaka (D) |
Representative | 1: Colleen Hanabusa (D)2: Mazie Hirono (D) |
postalabbreviation | HI |
arearank | 43rd |
totalareaus | 10,931 |
totalarea | 28,311 |
landareaus | 6,423 |
landarea | 16,638 |
waterareaus | 4,507 |
waterarea | 11,672 |
pcwater | 41.2 |
poprank | 40th |
2000pop (old) | 1,211,537 |
2000pop | 1,360,301 (2010 Census) 1,211,537 (2000) |
densityrank | 13th |
2000density | 72.83 |
2000densityus | 188.6 |
medianhouseholdincome | $63,746 |
incomerank | 5th |
admittanceorder | 50th |
admittancedate | August 21, 1959 |
timezone | Hawaii-Aleutian time zone: UTC-10 (no daylight saving time) |
longitude | 154° 48′ W to 178° 22′ W |
latitude | 18° 55′ N to 28° 27′ N |
lengthus | 1,522 |
widthus | n/a |
width | n/a |
length | 2,450 |
highestpoint | Mauna Kea |
highestelevus | 13,796 |
highestelev | 4,205 |
meanelevus | 3,035 |
meanelev | 925 |
lowestpoint | Pacific Ocean |
lowestelevus | 0 |
lowestelev | 0 |
isocode | US-HI |
website | www.hawaii.gov }} |
{{infobox u.s. state symbols |boxwidth | 25em |Name Hawaii |Bird Hawaiian Goose |Fish Humuhumunukunukuāpuaa |Flower Hawaiian hibiscus |Mammal Humpback whale |Reptile Gold dust day gecko |Tree Kukui nut tree |Food Coconut muffin |Gemstone Black coral |Slogan The Islands of Aloha |Soil Hilo |Song Hawaii Ponoi |Sport Surfing, Outrigger canoeing |Tartan Hawaii State Tartan |Route Marker HI-66.svg |Quarter 2008 HI Proof.png |QuarterReleaseDate 2008 }} |
---|
Hawaii ( or in English; Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is the newest of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. Hawaii’s natural and diverse scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over . At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
After Alaska, Florida, and California, Hawaii has the fourth-longest coastline in the United States, which is approximately long.
In standard American English, Hawaii is generally pronounced . In the Hawaiian language, it is generally pronounced or .
Hawaii is one of two states that do not observe daylight saving time, the other being Arizona.
Etymology
The Hawaiian language word Hawaii derives from Proto-Polynesian *Sawaiki, with the reconstructed meaning "homeland"; Hawaii cognates are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori (Hawaiki), Rarotongan (ʻAvaiki), and Samoan (Savaii). (See also Hawaiki).According to Pukui and Elbert, "Elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaii or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the ancestral home, but in Hawaii, the name has no meaning."
Geography and environment
The main Hawaiian Islands are:
Topography
An archipelago situated some southwest of the North American mainland, Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States and the second westernmost state after Alaska. Only Hawaii and Alaska do not share a border with another U.S. state.
Hawaii is the only state of the United States that:
Hawaii’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, stands at but is taller than Mount Everest if followed to the base of the mountain, which, lying at the floor of the Pacific Ocean, rises about .
The eight main islands, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Kauai and Niihau are accompanied by many others. Kaala is a small island near Niihau that is often overlooked. The Northwest Hawaiian Islands are a series of nine small, older masses northwest of Kauai that extend from Nihoa to Kure that are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. There are also more than 100 small rocks and islets, such as Molokini, that are either volcanic, marine sedimentary or erosional in origin, totaling 130 or so across the archipelago.
Geology
All the Hawaiian islands were formed from volcanic activity initiated at an undersea magma source called a hotspot. As the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves to the northwest, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. Due to the hotspot’s location, the only active volcanoes are located around the southern half of the Big Island. The newest volcano, Lōihi Seamount, is located south of the Big Island’s coast.The last volcanic eruption outside the Big Island occurred at Haleakalā on Maui before the late 18th century, though it could have been hundreds of years earlier. In 1790, Kīlauea exploded with the deadliest eruption (of the modern era) known to have occurred in what is now the United States. As many as 5,405 warriors and their families marching on Kīlauea were killed by that eruption.
Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. The Big Island has the third highest point among the world’s islands.
Slope instability of the volcanoes has generated damaging earthquakes with related tsunamis, particularly in 1868 and 1975.
Flora and fauna
Because the islands are so far from other land habitats, life before human activity is said to have arrived by the “3 W’s”: wind (carried through the air), waves (brought by ocean currents), and wings (birds, insects, and whatever they brought with them). This isolation, and the wide range of environments (extreme altitude, tropical climate) produced 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 any other U.S. state.
Protected areas
Several areas in Hawaii are under the protection of the National Park Service. Hawaii has two national parks: Haleakala National Park near Kula, on Maui, includes Haleakalā, the dormant volcano that formed east Maui; and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the southeast region of the island of Hawaii, which includes the active volcano Kīlauea and its various rift zones.There are three national historical parks: Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa, Molokai, the site of a former Hansen’s disease colony; Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii; and Puuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, an ancient place of refuge. Other areas under the control of the National Park Service include Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on the Big Island and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oahu.
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was proclaimed by President George W. Bush on June 15, 2006. The monument covers roughly of reefs, atolls and shallow and deep sea out to offshore in the Pacific Ocean, larger than all of America’s National Parks combined.
Climate
Hawaii’s climate is typical for the tropics, although temperatures and humidity tend to be a bit less extreme due to near-constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs are usually in the upper 80s °F, (around 31°C) during the day and mid 70s, (around 24 °C) at night. Winter day temperatures 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, not usually associated with the tropics, falls at on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months. Snow rarely falls on Haleakala. Mount Waialeale, on Kauai, has the second highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about . Most of Hawaii has only two seasons: the dry season from May to October, and the wet season from October to April.Local climates vary considerably on each island, grossly divisible into windward (Koolau) and leeward (Kona) areas based upon location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides face cloud cover, so resorts concentrate on sunny leeward coasts.
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;line-height:1.2;text-align:right" |+Monthly normal low and high temperatures for various Hawaiian cities |- !scope="col"| City !scope="col"| Jan. !scope="col"| Feb. !scope="col"| Mar. !scope="col"| Apr. !scope="col"| May !scope="col"| Jun. !scope="col"| Jul. !scope="col"| Aug. !scope="col"| Sep. !scope="col"| Oct. !scope="col"| Nov. !scope="col"| Dec. |- !rowspan="2" scope="row"| Hilo | 64°F / 17.8°C | 64°F / 17.8°C | 65°F / 18.3°C | 66°F / 18.9°C | 67°F / 19.4°C | 68°F / 20.0°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 68°F / 20.0°C | 67°F / 19.4°C | 65°F / 18.3°C |- style="background:#ffc;" | 79°F / 26.1°C | 79°F / 26.1°C | 79°F / 26.1°C | 79°F / 26.1°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 82°F / 27.8°C | 82°F / 27.8°C | 83°F / 28.3°C | 83°F / 28.3°C | 83°F / 28.3°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 80°F / 26.7°C |- !rowspan="2" scope="row"| Honolulu | 66°F / 18.9°C | 65°F / 18.3°C | 67°F / 19.4°C | 68°F / 20.0°C | 70°F / 21.1°C | 72°F / 22.2°C | 74°F / 23.3°C | 75°F / 23.9°C | 74°F / 23.3°C | 73°F / 22.8°C | 71°F / 21.7°C | 68°F / 20.0°C |- style="background:#ffc;" | 80°F / 26.7°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 82°F / 27.8°C | 83°F / 28.3°C | 85°F / 29.4°C | 87°F / 30.6°C | 88°F / 31.1°C | 89°F / 31.7°C | 89°F / 31.7°C | 87°F / 30.6°C | 84°F / 28.9°C | 82°F / 27.8°C |- !rowspan="2" scope="row"| Kahului | 63°F / 17.2°C | 63°F / 17.2°C | 65°F / 18.3°C | 66°F / 18.9°C | 67°F / 19.4°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 71°F / 21.7°C | 71°F / 21.7°C | 70°F / 21.1°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 68°F / 20.0°C | 65°F / 18.3°C |- style="background:#ffc;" | 80°F / 26.7°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 82°F / 27.8°C | 82°F / 27.8°C | 84°F / 28.9°C | 86°F / 30.0°C | 87°F / 30.6°C | 88°F / 31.1°C | 88°F / 31.1°C | 87°F / 30.6°C | 84°F / 28.9°C | 82°F / 27.8°C |- !rowspan="2" scope="row"| Lihue | 65°F / 18.3°C | 66°F / 18.9°C | 67°F / 19.4°C | 69°F / 20.6°C | 70°F / 21.1°C | 73°F / 22.8°C | 74°F / 23.3°C | 74°F / 23.3°C | 74°F / 23.3°C | 73°F / 22.8°C | 71°F / 21.7°C | 68°F / 20.0°C |- style="background:#ffc;" | 78°F / 25.6°C | 78°F / 26.6°C | 78°F / 26.6°C | 79°F / 26.1°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 83°F / 28.3°C | 84°F / 28.9°C | 85°F / 29.4°C | 85°F / 29.4°C | 84°F / 28.9°C | 81°F / 27.2°C | 79°F / 26.1°C |}
History
Hawaii is one of four states that were independent prior to becoming part of the United States, along with the Vermont Republic (1791), the Republic of Texas (1845), and the California Republic (1846), and one of two, along with Texas, that had formal diplomatic recognition internationally. The Kingdom of Hawaii was sovereign from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown by resident American (and some European) businessmen. It was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, becoming a state in 1959.Hawaii was the target of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor and other military and naval installations on Oahu, carried out by aircraft and by midget submarines, brought the United States into World War II.
Pre-European contact—Ancient Hawaii (800–1778)
The earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to as early as 300 CE, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora in the 11th century. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook.Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands may have first populated the Hawaiian Islands between 300 and 500 CE. There is a great deal of debate regarding these dates.
Some archaeologists and historians believe that an early settlement from the Marquesas and a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti, c. 1000 introduced a new line of high chiefs, the Kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice and the building of heiaus. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paao. Other authors argue that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Tahitian settlers, and that Paao must be regarded as a myth.
Regardless of the question of Paao, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called alii, ruled their settlements and launched wars to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals.
James Cook—European arrival and the Kingdom of Hawaii (1778–1893)
The 1778 arrival of British explorer James Cook was Hawaii’s first documented contact with European explorers. Cook named the islands the "Sandwich Islands" in honor of his sponsor John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He published the islands' location and reported the native name as Owyhee. This spelling lives on in Owyhee County, Idaho, after three Hawaiian members of a trapping party killed in that area.Cook visited the islands twice. During his second visit in 1779, he attempted to abduct the King of the Big Island of Hawaii, Kalaniōpuu, and hold him as ransom for the return of a ship's boat that was taken by a minor chief and his men, a tactic that had worked for Cook in Tahiti and other islands. Kalaniōpuu and his supporters fought back and Cook and four Marines were killed as Cook's party retreated to the beach and launched their boats.
After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian islands received many European visitors: explorers, traders, and eventually whalers who found the islands a convenient harbor and source of supplies. Early British influence can be seen in the design of the flag of Hawaii which has the British Union Flag in the corner.
These visitors introduced diseases to the once-isolated islands and the Hawaiian population plunged precipitously because native Hawaiians had no resistance to influenza, smallpox, and measles, among others. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaii's people.
Historical records indicated that the earliest immigration of the Chinese came from Guangdong province: a few sailors in 1778 with Captain Cook's journey, more in 1788 with Kaina, and some in 1789 with an American trader who settled in Hawaii in the late 18th century.
House of Kamehameha
During the 1780s and 1790s, chiefs were often fighting for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795 and forced cession of the island of Kauai in 1810, all inhabited islands were subjugated under a single ruler who became known as King Kamehameha the Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty that ruled the kingdom until 1872.After Kamehameha II inherited the throne in 1819, missionaries to Hawaii converted many Hawaiians to Christianity. Their influence ended many ancient practices, and Kamehameha III was the first Christian king. Missionary leaders included Protestant Hiram Bingham I and Joseph F. Smith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest, was canonized for his work in the isolated leper colony of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. Other missionaries and their descendants, such as Henry Perrine Baldwin, became active in commercial and political affairs, leading to future conflicts.
The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V—who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election of Lunalilo over Kalākaua. Lunalilo died the next year, also without naming an heir. Perhaps "the People's King" (Lunalilo) wanted the people to choose his successor as they had chosen him. In 1874 the election was contested within the legislature between Kalākaua and Emma. This led to riots and the landing of U.S. and British troops, and governance passed to the House of Kalākaua.
1887 Constitution
In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which stripped the king of much of his authority. There was a property qualification for voting, which disenfranchised many poorer Hawaiians and favored the wealthier white community. Resident whites were allowed to vote, but resident Asians were excluded. Because the 1887 Constitution was signed under threat of violence, it is known as the "Bayonet Constitution". King Kalākaua, reduced to a figurehead, reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him on the throne.
In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani announced plans for a new constitution. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly Euro-American business leaders and residents formed a Committee of Safety to overthrow the Kingdom and seek annexation by the United States. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens, responding to a request from the Committee of Safety, summoned a company of U.S. Marines. As one historian noted, the presence of these troops effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.
Overthrow of 1893—the Republic of Hawaii (1894–1898)
In January 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown and replaced by a Provisional Government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. Controversy filled 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 followed with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report 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. The accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports has been questioned by partisans on both sides of the debate over the events of 1893.In 1993, a joint Apology Resolution regarding the overthrow was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton, apologizing for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It is the first time in American history that the United States government has apologized for overthrowing the government of a sovereign nation.
The Provisional Government of Hawaii ended on July 4, 1894, replaced by the Republic of Hawaii.
The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii in 1885 as contract laborers for the sugar cane and pineapple plantations. Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began when Puerto Rico's sugar industry was devastated by two hurricanes in 1899. The devastation caused a world wide shortage in sugar and a huge demand for the product from Hawaii. Hawaiian sugar plantation owners began to recruit the jobless, but experienced, laborers in Puerto Rico. Two distinct waves of Korean immigration to Hawaii have occurred in the last century. The first arrived in between 1903 and 1924; the second wave began in 1965.
Annexation—the Territory of Hawaii (1898–1959)
After William McKinley won the presidential election in 1896, Hawaii's annexation to the U.S. was again discussed. The previous president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliuokalani. McKinley was open to persuasion by U.S. expansionists and by annexationists from Hawaii. He met with three annexationists from Hawaii: Lorrin Thurston, Francis March Hatch and William Ansel Kinney. After negotiations, in June 1897, Secretary of State John Sherman agreed to a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaii.The treaty was never ratified by the U.S. Senate. Instead, the Newlands Resolution by both houses of Congress annexed the Republic to the United States and it became the Territory of Hawaii. Despite some opposition in the islands, the Newlands Resolution was passed by the House June 15, 1898, by a vote of 209 to 91, and by the Senate on July 6, 1898, by a vote of 42 to 21.
In 1900, Hawaii was granted self-governance and retained Iolani Palace as the territorial capitol building. Despite several attempts to become a state, 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.
Political Changes of 1954—the State of Hawaii (1959–present)
In the 1950s the power of the plantation owners was finally broken by descendants of immigrant laborers. Because they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. The Hawaii Republican Party, strongly supported by plantation owners, was voted out of office. The Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated politics for 40 years. Expecting to gain full voting rights, Hawaii's residents actively campaigned for statehood.
In March 1959, Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a referendum asked residents of Hawaii to vote on the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. The choices were to accept the Act or to remain a territory, without the option of independence. The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization later removed Hawaii from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
After statehood, Hawaii quickly modernized via construction and rapidly growing tourism economy. Later, state programs promoted Hawaiian culture. The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention of 1978 incorporated programs such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to promote indigenous language and culture.
Cities and towns
The movement of the Hawaiian royal family from the Big Island to Maui, and subsequently to Oahu, explains why population centers exist where they do today. Kamehameha III chose the largest city, Honolulu, as his capital because of its natural harbor, the present-day Honolulu Harbor.
Now the state capital, Honolulu is located along the southeast coast of Oahu. The previous capital was Lahaina, Maui and before that Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Some major towns are Hilo, Kāneohe, Kailua, Pearl City, Waipahu, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Kīhei, and Līhue.
Demographics
Population
As of 2005, Hawaii has an estimated population of 1,275,194, an increase of 13,070, or 1.0%, from the prior year and an increase of 63,657, or 5.3%, since 2000. This includes a natural increase 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 between the two islands of Oahu and Molokai.
Hawaii has a de facto population of over 1.3 million due to large military and tourist populations. Oahu, nicknamed "The Gathering Place", is the most populous island (and has the highest population density), with a resident population of just under one million in , about 1,650 people per square mile (for comparison, New Jersey, which has 8,717,925 people in is the most-densely populated state with 1,134 people per square mile.) Hawaii's 1,275,194 people, spread over (including many unpopulated islands) results in an average population density of 188.6 persons per square mile, which makes Hawaii less densely populated than Ohio and Illinois.
The average projected lifespan of those born in Hawaii in 2000 was 79.8 years (77.1 years if male, 82.5 if female), longer than any other state.
U.S. military personnel make up approximately 1.3% of the population in the islands.
Race and ethnicity
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hawaii had a population of 1,360,301. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 24.7% White (22.7% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 1.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 38.6% Asian, 10.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 1.2% from Some Other race, and 23.6% from Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 8.9% of the population.
Hawaii is demographically unique because it has the highest percentage of Asian Americans and Multiracial Americans, as well as the lowest percentage of White Americans. Hawaii's Asian population mainly consists of 198,000 (14.6%) Filipino Americans and 185,000 (13.6%) Japanese Americans. In addition, there are roughly 55,000 (4.0%) Chinese Americans and 24,000 (1.8%) Korean Americans. Indigenous Hawaiians number over 80,000, which is 5.9% of the population. Over 120,000 (8.8%) Hispanic and Latino Americans make Hawaii their home. Mexicans number over 35,000 (2.6%); Puerto Ricans exceed 44,000 (3.2%). Multiracial Americans form almost one-quarter of Hawaii's population, exceeding 320,000 people. Eurasian Americans are a prominent mixed-race group; there are roughly 66,000 (4.9%) Eurasian Americans in Hawaii. The Non-Hispanic White population numbers at 310,000 and forms just over one-fifth of the population. The multiracial population outnumbers the non-Hispanic white population by about 10,000 people.
The five largest European ancestries in Hawaii are German (7.4%), Irish (5.2%), English (4.6%), Portuguese (4.3%), and Italian (2.7%).
Approximately 82.2% of Hawaii's residents were born in the United States. Roughly 75.0% of the foreign-born residents hail from Asia.
Hawaii is a majority-minority state. Non-Hispanic whites do not form a majority. Hawaii was the second majority-minority state. Both Hawaii and New Mexico have been majority-minority since the early 20th century.
Ancestry groups
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em;" |+Population of Hawaii |- style="background:#efefef;" !Ancestry||Percentage||Main article: |- |Filipino !13.6% |See Filipino American |- | Japanese !12.6% |See Japanese American |- |Polynesian !9.0% |See Native Hawaiians |- |German !7.4% |See German American |- |Irish !5.2% |See Irish American |- |English !4.6% |See English American |- |Portuguese !4.3% |See Portuguese American |- |Chinese !4.1% |See Chinese American |- |Korean !3.1% |See Korean American |- |Mexican !2.9% |See Mexican American |- |Puerto Rican !2.8% |See Puerto Rican |- |Italian !2.7% |See Italian American |- |African !2.4% |See African American |- |French !1.7% |See French American |- |Scottish !1.2% |See Scottish American |}The largest ancestry groups in Hawaii as of 2008 are in the table at right. The third group of foreigners to arrive upon Hawaii's shores, after those from Polynesia and Europe, was from Han China. Chinese workers on Western trading ships settled in Hawaii starting in 1789. In 1820 the first American missionaries came to preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians Western ways. They were instrumental in convincing the Hawaiian Chiefs to end human sacrifice.
A large proportion of Hawaii's population is now of Asian ancestry (especially Chinese, Japanese and Filipino.) Many are descendants of those immigrants brought to work on the sugar plantations in the 1850s and after. The first 153 Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii on June 19, 1868. They were not "legally" approved by the Japanese government because the contract was between a broker and the Tokugawa shogunate, by then replaced by the Meiji Restoration. The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrived on February 9, 1885 after Kalākaua's petition to Emperor Meiji when Kalākaua visited Japan in 1881.
Almost 13,000 Portuguese had come by 1899. They too worked on the sugar plantations. By October 17, 1901, 5,000 Puerto Ricans had made new homes on the four islands.
Languages
The State of Hawaii has two official languages recognized in its 1978 constitution: English and Hawaiian. Article XV, Section 4, specifies that "Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions only as provided by law" [italic added]. Hawaii Creole English (locally referred to as 'Pidgin') is the native language of many born-and-raised residents and is a second language for many other residents.
English
As of the 2000 Census, 73.44% of Hawaii residents age 5 and older speak only English at home.According to the 2008 American Community Survey, 74.6% of Hawaii's residents over the age of five speak only English at home.
Minority languages
In addition, 2.6% of the state's residents speak Spanish; 1.6% speak other Indo-European languages; 21.0% speak an Asian language; and 0.2% speak a different language at home.After English, other popular languages are Tagalog (most are bilingual in Filipino), Japanese, and Ilokano. Significant European immigrants and descendants also speak their native languages; the most numerous are Spanish, German, Portuguese and French.
Tagalog speakers make up 5.37% (which includes non-native speakers of Filipino language, the national co-official Tagalog-based language), followed by Japanese at 4.96%, Ilokano at 4.05%, Chinese at 1.92%, Hawaiian at 1.68%, Spanish at 1.66%, Korean at 1.61%, and Samoan at 1.01%.
Hawaiian
The Hawaiian language has about 2000 native speakers, less than 0.1% of the total population. According to the United States Census, there were 27,160 total speakers of the language in Hawaii in 2005.Hawaiian is a Polynesian member of the Austronesian language family. It is closely related to other Polynesian languages, such as Marquesan, Tahitian, Māori, Rapa Nui (the language of Easter Island), and less closely to Samoan, and Tongan.
According to Schütz (1994), the Marquesans colonized the archipelago in roughly 300 AD followed by later waves of immigration from the Society Islands and Samoa-Tonga. Those Polynesians remained in the islands, thereby becoming the Hawaiian people. Their languages, over time, became the Hawaiian language. Kimura and Wilson (1983) also state, "Linguists agree that Hawaiian is closely related to Eastern Polynesian, with a particularly strong link in the Southern Marquesas, and a secondary link in Tahiti, which may be explained by voyaging between the Hawaiian and Society Islands." Before the arrival of Captain James Cook, the Hawaiian language had no written form. That form was developed mainly by American Protestant missionaries during 1820–1826. They assigned letters from the Latin alphabet that corresponded to the Hawaiian sounds.
Interest in Hawaiian increased significantly in the late 20th century. With the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, specially designated immersion schools were established where all subjects would be taught in Hawaiian. Also, the University of Hawaii developed a Hawaiian language graduate studies program. Municipal codes were altered to favor Hawaiian place and street names for new civic developments.
Hawaiian distinguishes between long and short vowels. In modern practice, vowel length is indicated with a macron (kahakō). Also, Hawaiian uses the glottal stop as a consonant (okina). It is written as a symbol similar to the apostrophe or opening single quote.
Hawaiian-language newspapers published from 1834–1948 and traditional native speakers of Hawaiian generally omit the marks in their own writing. The okina and kahakō are intended to help non-native speakers.
Hawaiian Pidgin
Some locals speak Hawaii Creole English (HCE), often called "pidgin". The lexicon of HCE derives mainly from English but also has words from Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Ilocano and Tagalog. During the 19th century, the increase in immigration (mainly from China, Japan, Portugal—and especially from the Azores archipelago—and Spain), caused a variant of English to develop. By the early 20th century pidgin speakers had children who acquired the pidgin as their first language. HCE speakers 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, "aunty" and "uncle" refer to any adult who is a friend, or to show respect for an elder. Simplified grammar is used. For example, instead of "It is hot today, isn't it?", an HCE speaker would say simply "stay hot, eh?" When a word does not come to mind quickly, the term "da kine" refers to any word you cannot think of. Through 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.
Spelling of state name
A somewhat divisive political issue arose when the constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as a second official state language: the exact spelling of the state's name, which in the islands' language is Hawai'i (the apostrophe marking a Hawaiian consonant, a cut-off of breath before the final i). In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government recognized Hawaii to be the official state name. Official government publications, as well as department and office titles, use the traditional Hawaiian spelling, with no symbols for glottal stops or vowel length. In contrast, some private entities, including a local newspaper, do use such symbols.The title of the state constitution is "The Constitution of the State of Hawaii". In Article XV, 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 kahakō in Hawaiian orthography, the diacritics were not used.
The nuances in the Hawaiian language debate are often not obvious or appreciated among English speakers outside Hawaii.
Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents were the Catholic Church with 240,813 in 2000 and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 68,128 in 2009.
According to data provided by religious establishments, religion in Hawaii in 2000 was distributed as follows:
"Other" are religions other than Christianity, Buddhism, or Judaism; this group includes Bahá'í Faith, Confucianism, Daoism, the Hawaiian religion, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions.
"Unaffiliated" refers to people who do not belong to a congregation; this group includes agnostics, atheists, humanists, and the irreligious.
A 2009 Gallup poll found religion was distributed as follows, excluding those of other non-Judeo-Christian religions and those who had "no opinion":
A special case is Hooponopono, an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness, combined with prayer. It is both philosophy and way of life. Traditionally hooponopono is practiced by healing priests or kahuna lapaau among family members of a person who is physically ill.
Economy
The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominant industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane (see Sugar plantations in Hawaii), pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry, contributing 24.3% of the Gross State Product (GSP) in 1997, despite efforts to diversify. The gross output for the state in 2003 was US$47 billion; per capita income for Hawaii residents was US$30,441.
Hawaiian exports include food and apparel. These industries play a small role in the Hawaiian economy, however, due to the considerable shipping distance to viable markets, such as the West Coast of the United States. Food exports include coffee (see coffee production in Hawaii), macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugarcane. Agricultural sales for 2002, according to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service, were US$370.9 million from diversified agriculture, US$100.6 million from pineapple, and US$64.3 million from sugarcane.
Hawaii has a relatively high state tax burden. In 2003, Hawaii residents had the highest state tax per capita at US$2,838. This is partly because education, health care and social services are all provided directly by the state, as opposed to local government in all other states.
Millions of tourists contribute to the tax take by paying the general excise tax and hotel room tax; thus not all taxes come directly from residents. Business leaders, however, consider the state's tax burden too high, contributing to both higher prices and the perception of an unfriendly business climate. See the list of businesses in Hawaii for more on commerce.
Hawaii was one of the few states to control gasoline prices through a Gas Cap Law. Since oil company profits in Hawaii compared to the mainland U.S. were under scrutiny, the law tied local gasoline prices to those of the mainland. It took effect in September 2005 amid price fluctuations caused by Hurricane Katrina, but was suspended in April 2006.
As of January 2010, the state's unemployment rate was 6.9%.
In 2009, the United States military spent $12.2 billion in Hawaii, accounting for 18% of spending in the state for that year. 75,000 United States Department of Defense personnel reside in Hawaii.
Cost of living
The cost of living in Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, is quite high compared to most major cities in the United States. However, the cost of living in Honolulu is 6.7% lower than in New York, NY and 3.6% lower than in San Francisco, CA. These numbers may not take into account certain costs, such as increased travel costs for longer flights, additional shipping fees, and the loss of promotional participation opportunities for customers "outside the continental United States". While some online stores do offer free shipping on orders to Hawaii, many merchants exclude Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and certain other US territories.The median home value in Hawaii in the 2000 US Census was $272,700 while the national median home value was less than half, at $119,600. Hawaii home values were the highest of all states, including California with a median home value of $211,500. More recent research from the National Association of Realtors® places the 2010 median sale price of a single family home in Honolulu, Hawaii at $607,600 and the US median sales price at $173,200. The sale price of single family homes in Hawaii was the highest of any US city in 2010, just above the "Silicon Valley" area of California ($602,000).
Culture
The aboriginal culture of Hawaii is Polynesian. Hawaii represents the northernmost extension of the vast Polynesian triangle of the south and central Pacific Ocean. While traditional Hawaiian culture remains only as vestiges in modern Hawaiian society, there are reenactments of the ceremonies and traditions throughout the islands. Some of these cultural influences are strong enough to affect the United States at large, including the popularity (in greatly modified form) of luaus and hula.Hawaii is home to numerous cultural events. The annual Merrie Monarch Festival is an international Hula competition. The state is also home to the Hawaii International Film Festival, the premier film festival for pacific rim cinema. Honolulu is also home to the state's long running GLBT film festival, the Rainbow Film Festival.
Health
Hawaii's health care system insures 92% (2009) of residents. Under the state's plan, businesses are required to provide insurance to employees who work more than twenty hours per week. Heavy regulation of insurance companies helps keep the cost to employers down. Due in part to heavy emphasis on preventive care, Hawaiians require hospital treatment less frequently than 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. sometimes use Hawaii as a model for proposed federal and state health care plans.
Education
Public schools
Hawaii has the U.S.' only school system that is unified statewide. Policy decisions are made by the fourteen-member state Board of Education. The Board sets policy and hires the superintendent of schools, who oversees the state Department of Education. The Department of Education is divided into seven districts, four on Oahu and one for each of the three other counties.The main rationale for centralization is to combat inequalities between highly populated Oahu and the more rural Neighbor Islands, and between lower-income and more affluent areas. In most of the United States, schools are funded from local property taxes.
Educators struggle with children of non-native-English-speaking immigrants, whose cultures are different from those of the mainland (where most course materials and testing standards originate).
Public elementary, middle, and high school test scores in Hawaii are below national averages on tests mandated under the No Child Left Behind Act. Some of the gap has been attributed to the Hawaii Board of Education's requirement that all eligible students take these tests and report all student test scores (other states, Texas and Michigan for example, do not). Results reported in August, 2005, indicate that of 282 schools across the state, 185 (2/3) failed to reach federal minimum performance standards in math and reading.
On the other hand, the ACT college placement tests show that in 2005, seniors scored slightly above the national average (21.9 compared with 20.9). In the widely accepted SAT examinations, Hawaii's college-bound seniors tend to score below the national average in all categories except mathematics.
Other schools
Hawaii educates more students in independent institutions of secondary education than any other state in the United States. It has four of the largest independent schools: Iolani School, Kamehameha Schools, Mid-Pacific Institute, and Punahou School. The second Buddhist high school in the United States, and first Buddhist high school in Hawaii, Pacific Buddhist Academy, was founded in 2003. The first native controlled public charter school was the Kanu O Ka Aina New Century Charter School.Independent and charter schools can select their students, while the regular public schools must take all students in their district. The Kamehameha Schools are the only schools in the United States that openly grant admission to students based on ancestry, and the wealthiest schools in the United States, if not the world, having over nine billion US dollars in estate assets. In 2005, Kamehameha enrolled 5,398 students, 8.4% of the Native Hawaiian children in the state.
Colleges and universities
Graduates of secondary schools in Hawaii often enter directly into the work force. Some attend colleges and universities on the mainland or other countries, and the rest attend an institution of higher learning in Hawaii.The largest is the University of Hawaii System. It consists of: the research university at Mānoa; two comprehensive campuses Hilo and West Oahu; and seven Community Colleges. Private universities include Brigham Young University–Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, Wayland Baptist University, or University of the Nations. The Saint Stephen Diocesan Center is a seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
Law and 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 Hawaii, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.The executive branch is led by the Governor of Hawaii assisted by the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, both elected on the same ticket. The governor is the only state public official elected statewide; all others are appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor acts as the Secretary of State. The governor and lieutenant governor oversee twenty agencies and departments from offices in the State Capitol. The official residence of the governor is Washington Place.
The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Hawaii State Legislature, which is composed of the 51-member Hawaii House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House and the 25-member Hawaii Senate led by the President of the Senate. The Legislature meets at the State Capitol.
The unified judicial branch of Hawaii is the Hawai'i State Judiciary. The state's highest court is the Supreme Court of Hawaii, which uses Aliiōlani Hale as its chambers.
Unique to Hawaii is the lack of municipal governments. All local governments are administered at the county level. The only incorporated area in the state is a consolidated city–county, Honolulu County, which governs the entire island of Oahu. County executives are the referred to as mayors: The mayor of Hawaii County, mayor of Honolulu, mayor of Kauai and mayor of Maui. The mayors are all elected in nonpartisan races.
Federal government
Hawaii is represented in the United States Congress by two Senators and two Representatives. All four are Democrats.Colleen Hanabusa represents the 1st congressional district in the House, representing southeastern Oahu, including central Honolulu. Mazie Hirono represents the 2nd congressional district, representing the rest of the state, which is mainly rural.
Daniel Inouye is the senior senator, having served since January 3, 1963. In June 2010, Inouye became the longest-serving current Senator; he is the current President pro tempore of the United States Senate, a position traditionally given to the longest-serving Senator of the majority party. Daniel Akaka is the junior Senator, having served since May 16, 1990. Inouye and Akaka were both born in 1924, making them the oldest current Senate duo.
Federal officials in Hawaii are based at the Prince Kūhiō Federal Building near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor in Honolulu. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the Secret Service maintain their offices there, and the building is the also the site of federal District Court for the District of Hawaii and the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii.
National politics
+ Presidential elections results | ||
! Year | Republican Party (United States)>Republican | Democratic Party (United States)>Democratic |
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | ||
style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" |
Hawaii supported Democrats in 10 of the last 12 presidential elections. The exceptions were 1972 and 1984. In 2004, John Kerry won the state's four electoral votes by a margin of nine percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county supported the Democratic candidate. In 1964, favorite son candidate Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii sought the Republican presidential nomination, while Patsy Mink ran in the Oregon primary in 1972.
Honolulu native, the 44th United States President Barack Obama, then serving as United States Senator from Illinois, was elected President of the United States on November 4, 2008. Obama had won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. He was the third Hawaii-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee from Hawaii.
Transportation
A system of state highways encircles each main island. Only Oahu has federal highways, and is the only area outside the contiguous 48 states to have signed Interstate highways. Travel can be slow due to narrow winding roads, and congested in cities. Each major island has a public bus system. Commercial airlines provide most mainland and inter-island travel. Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele Airlines, and go! use jets between the larger airports in Honolulu, Līhue, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo, while Island Air and Pacific Wings serve smaller airports. These airlines also provide air freight service between the islands.Private steamships and ferries were the sole way of traveling between the islands from the 19th century until the 1950s. Seaflite operated hydrofoils between the major islands in the mid-1970s. The Hawaii Superferry operated between Oahu and Maui between December 2007 and March 2009, with additional routes planned for other islands. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests ended the service, though the company operating Superferry has expressed a wish to begin ferry service again at a future date. Currently there is passenger ferry service in Maui County between Moloka'i and Maui, and between Lana'i and Maui, though neither of these takes vehicles. Norwegian Cruise Lines also provides passenger cruise ship service between the islands.
At one time, Hawaii had a network of railroads on each of the larger islands that helped move farm commodities as well as passengers. These railroads were all narrow gauge (3' gauge for the majority although there were some 2' 6" gauge on some of the smaller islands - standard US gauge is 4' 8 1/2"). The largest by far was the Oahu Railway and Land Company (OR&L;) which ran multiple lines from Honolulu across the western and northern part of Oahu. The OR&L; was an important player moving troops and goods during World War II. Traffic on this line was busy enough that there were signals on the lines facilitating movement of trains and wigwag signals at some railroad crossings for the protection of motorists. The mainline was officially abandoned in 1947, although part of it was bought by the US Navy and operated until 1970. Thirteen miles of track remain and preservationists occasionally run trains over a portion of this line.
Sister cities and twin towns
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Category:States and territories established in 1959 Category:States of the United States
ace:Hawaii af:Hawaii ang:Hawaii ar:هاواي an:Hawaii frp:Havayi ast:Hawaii gn:Havái az:Havay bn:হাওয়াই zh-min-nan:Hawaiʻi be:Штат Гаваі be-x-old:Гаваі bcl:Hawaii bi:Hawaii bo:ཧ་ཝ་ཡི། bs:Hawaii br:Hawaii bg:Хаваи ca:Hawaii cv:Гавайи ceb:Hawaii cs:Havaj cy:Hawaii da:Hawaii de:Hawaii nv:Hawáai Hahoodzo et:Hawaii osariik el:Χαβάη es:Hawái eo:Havajo eu:Hawaii fa:هاوائی hif:Hawaii fo:Hawaii fr:Hawaï fy:Hawaï ga:Haváí gv:Hawaii gag:Hawaii gd:Hawaii gl:Hawai - Hawai'i hak:Ha-vî-yî xal:Хавай ko:하와이 주 haw:Hawai‘i hi:हवाई hr:Havaji io:Havayi ig:Hawaii ilo:Hawai'i bpy:হাৱাই id:Hawaii ia:Hawaii ik:Hawaii os:Гавайи is:Hawaii it:Hawaii he:הוואי jv:Hawaii kn:ಹವಾಯಿ pam:Hawaii ka:ჰავაი (შტატი) ks:हवाई kw:Hawaii sw:Hawaii ht:Awayi ku:Hawaii lad:Hawaii la:Havaii (civitas) lv:Havajas lb:Hawaii lt:Havajai lij:Hawaii li:Hawaï lmo:Hawaii hu:Hawaii mk:Хаваи mg:Hawaii ml:ഹവായി mi:Hawai'i mr:हवाई arz:هاواى ms:Hawaii mn:Хавай my:ဟာဝိုင်ယီပြည်နယ် nah:Hawaii nl:Hawaï ne:हवाई ja:ハワイ州 frr:Hawaii no:Hawaii nn:Hawaii oc:Hawaii mrj:Гавайи uz:Gavayi pag:Hawaii pnb:ہوائی pms:Hawaii nds:Hawaii pl:Hawaje pt:Havaí ro:Hawaii rm:Hawai qu:Hawaii suyu ru:Гавайи sah:Һауайи se:Hawaiisullot sco:Hawaii sq:Hawaii scn:Hawaii simple:Hawaii sk:Havaj (štát USA) sl:Havaji szl:Hawaje so:Hawaay ckb:ھاوایی sr:Хаваји sh:Havaji fi:Havaiji sv:Hawaii tl:Haway ta:ஹவாய் tt:Гавайлар (штат) te:హవాయి th:รัฐฮาวาย to:Hauaiʻi tr:Hawaii uk:Гаваї ur:ہوائی ug:Haway Shitati vec:Hawaii vi:Hawaii vo:Hawaii war:Hawaii yi:האוואי yo:Hawaii zh-yue:夏威夷 diq:Hawaii bat-smg:Havajē zh:夏威夷州This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.