Life's small questions

[GoldenChild]

Have you ever wondered something that you just know that someone else must know? Problem is that you never know who you are going to ask your question. Internet solved very many of these things as long as you know how and where to ask. So I create a thread for these things (as I have a question to ask too). The way I thought this would be kept is that people post their questions and if anyone knows the answer quote the question and types the answer. Simple... and neat.

So... QUESTION: Why is Hawaii part of USA?

[tcost]

Why is Hawaii a part of the USA?

In 1819, King Kamehameha II became King of Hawaii.  His father had conquered some of the other islands and united the chain under his rule.  The new king, however, began his reign by abolishing a form of paganism which involved idol worship and human sacrifice.

Into the somewhat chaotic void thus produced came a man named Hiram Bingham, a Protestant missionary from New England, who preached the gospels and brought with him a group of other missionaries.  Catholic missionaries arrived a few years later, and after considerable sectarian strife religious toleration was established.

In 1823, Kamehameha II and his wife visited Great Britain, and died there.  (I'd like to know how this happened, myself.)  This left the claim to the throne contested, and the monarchy weak.  While this was going on, an American firm called Ladd & Company started the first sugar plantation on the island of Kauai.  By 1840, Hawaii had a constitution modelled on that of the US, and this country, Britain, and France recognized Hawaii as an independent, sovereign state.

Queen Lillioukalani came to the throne in 1891 and tried to assert a more vigorous monarchial government, but two years later American troops landed and assisted an American-inspired revolt which toppled the queen.  Sanford Dole was made the first (and only) president of the brief Hawaiian republic which followed the revolution.

American business interests dominated the new government, and by 1898 they succeeded in getting Congress to annex the republic.  Despite repeated attempts to make it happen sooner, most notably at the efforts of President Truman, Hawaii was admitted as a state in 1959, the fiftieth of the fifty states.

(I got most of this from the World Book Encyclopedia, so it's not just off the top of my head.)

[Lilian]

A good part of my family immigrated through Hawaii. A lot of spaniards were brought in from Castille to work those plantations, along with chinese immigrants and others.  They were paid and housed VERY well, considering how some working conditions can be, and many made enough to start new lives with respectably large plots of land all over California.

[monkeygirl]

plus, they got to live in Hawaii  :) 

[Lilian]

Totally. XD

[monkeygirl]

Thinking about it, it really wouldn't be a bad life - they sound like they did well for themselves.  Hey, think your family will adpot me? Land in california is worth it's weight in gold these days  ;)

[tcost]

Speaking as a Californian -- the land's vastly overpriced, yes, but not worth its weight in gold.  Consider how much soil weighs. :)

Surely, someone must know more than I do about this?

[monkeygirl]

lol - ok, well... maybe very dusty soil?  ;D

[Akioth]

I live in California and live on Land worth over a Mil...not that it matters or anything....

[monkeygirl]

LOL - around here, all that means is that it's more then a square foot wide  :)

[Violet Maui]

I don't know much about land prices in the states, but in Canada it's good to buy/sell right at this moment.

[Lilian]

I lived in California, my family owns land worth about 3 million dollars through a few houses. ^^

Not that they'd sell it or anything!

[Violet Maui]

The family doesn't own any assets like that over here in Ontario, but I visited a friend in BC that owns a couple million dollars worth of houses in Vancouver. :D

[Lilian]

We're all so richly poor. XD

[Violet Maui]

Nah, I'm just poor.

[Lilian]

Me too. T.T

And bored...

[Violet Maui]

Me too.

[Akioth]

80 arces.....A couple houses....a tractor the size of a house...I suppose Im fairly well off.....

[Violet Maui]

I got put on a huge tractor when I went to BC. I'm a city girl, so I was like- "Huh? Do you drive it like a car? Oops, I took out the fence."

[Lilian]

Haha. XD  Nice!

[Violet Maui]

Embarassing.

[Ajoxer]

My family actually has some area in Long Island- We've got a small, maybe half an acre place where our family has lived since at least the 50s, which is worth about three quarters of a million dollars with the insane value of land there right now- It's become one of the big resort towns, equivelant in price to Miami or Palm Springs. We used to own a rather larger place that's now worth something like 15 million, but had given it to a friend in the 70s or so...

But I like my dad's Barn in the back of the smaller property the most. He's collected all sorts of incredible stuff there- Thousands of old books, a red coral carving from a guy who works for him in India- He works as a project director at Metlife, this guy is essentially the richest man in the near villages for the salary he gets from Metlife, he even invited our family once to his wedding, though we chose not to go, but, yeah...

And my favorite, the two or so pounds of plastic explosive that my dad has squirreled away for a rainy day. :-D

[Lilian]

For that, "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" moment? XD

[Mistiq]

I have a question....why is it that the news spends so much time covering Bull like Charlie Sheen's ex dating Heddy Loc-li-er's ex and Brittany being a mommy again? There are more important things to report on, Am I right?

[ZK]

Because they use Pop Culture to sedate and numb the minds of many citizens across the world from the real, true and horrible truth of what is going on.

Concider it a nice diversion compaired to blood, guts and misery all the time. :)