President Eisenhower signs the official proclamation admitting
Hawaii into the Union.
The modern United States receives its crowning star when President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the
Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an
American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-
star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official July 4,
1960.
The first known settlers of the Hawaiian Islands were Polynesian
voyagers who arrived sometime in the eighth century. In the early
18th century, American traders came to Hawaii to exploit the islands’
sandalwood, which was much valued in China at the time. In the
1830s, the sugar industry was introduced to Hawaii and by the mid
19th century had become well established. American missionaries
and planters brought about great changes in Hawaiian political,
cultural, economic, and religious life. In 1840, a constitutional
monarchy was established, stripping the Hawaiian monarch of
much of his authority.
