Friday, August 21, 2105
Just four years after Troy Township voted 9 to 1 in favor of becoming a home rule city, the citizens of the U.S. Territory of Hawaii voted by a wide margin to become a state. Their affirmation was the final step in the legal process to admit Hawaii as the 50th state in the Union.
The formal ceremony at the White House occurred on August 21, 1959. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided, seated at a long table with his Vice President, Richard Nixon, and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. Behind them stood congressmen-elect from the new state. President Eisenhower noted that this was a truly historic occasion, as two new states had been admitted in the Union during one year. The President also issued an Executive Order for a new American flag with 50 stars to be designed. The new flag was unfurled on July 4, 1960.
History note:
Originally settled by Polynesians in the eighth century, the Hawaiian Islands attracted American traders in the 1700s. In the 1800s Americans established sugar plantations and missionaries on the islands and during the 1900s pushed the natives to adopt a constitutional monarchy. Then, in 1893, the Americans help depose Queen Liliuokalani, who wished to reinstate a ruling monarchy. As early as the Spanish-American War, the United States realized the strategic value of having a naval base at Pearl Harbor, and the process of formal annexation by the United States began.
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
