Tom Coffman

I think Hawaii became a state as the result of several really powerful impulses and currents.

1.A Model of Successful Racial Integration

It was needed at a time when America was searching for how you go from essentially white racist hierarchical society to a more equalitarian and multi-ethnic society. it was needed as a model and it was perceived as a model from within and without.  It filled that craving and the craving I think came from the post war environment in which there was a sense that our country was uncomfortably close to being like the countries that we had defeated in regards to race and class. What is the meaning of democracy as it was framed by our founders and in the constitution?  And obviously some drastic overhaul of the way American society functioned was called for and I think Hawaii played a very key part in this.  It is the nobler aspect of our history.

2. As a Penance for Previous Civil Rights infractions

Specifically, what I saw when I researched, is the way in which John A. Burns, then delegate to congress, worked hand in glove with southern democrats to circumvent the southern veto of a non-white state coming into the union. Lyndon B. Johnson, who was then senate majority leader, seized on statehood for Hawaii as a step forward from the horrendous legacy of racial segregation in the south.  And if you look at the history, particularly a sketch by Roger Bell in a book called First Among Equals, which I think is the best thing that's actually been written about statehood... If you look at that history, as a part of the national debate, civil rights was at the heart of and always at the heart of the statehood for Hawaii debate.

3. Playing a Role in the Passing of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964

The equation of civil rights in America was unalterably changed by the admission of Hawaii and Hawaii's little friend Alaska. Because the  balance of power within the United States senate and the ability of the southern senators to filibuster a civil rights bill was broken by that step.  And it was only five years thereafter, we forget, that the civil rights bill of 1964 and the voting rights bill on 1967 were passed in the United States congress. The big subject of civil rights has really never been adequately focused as far as I'm concerned.

4. An attempt to Win the "Hearts and Minds" of Asia During the Cold War.

The international framework of all of that was the cold war and the pressure that the United States was under to compete with the communist block for the... what was called the hearts and minds, for the commitment of Asians.  And much of the cold war was waged in Asia. The cold war, the most active elements of the cold war all had to with Asia and the places where fighting broke out, in Korea, in Vietnam and spilling over out of Southeast Asia... all Asia.  What image did America present to Asians before Hawaii came along and was accepted as a state? The internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans, the Japanese Exclusion Act, the anti-Chinese legislations that had preceded it, the unequal access to American immigration.  In 1959 Hawaii became a state.  In 1965 a Hawaii senator played a crucial role in making immigration colorblind, which has had an enormous impact on Asia's relationship with America. It's had an enormous impact on the composition of America and the cultural and the ethnic makeup of this country. Hiram Fong, that's forgotten. That shouldn't be forgotten. Partly it was good propaganda for America, but there's a point at which propaganda and good ideas can intersect and I think this is one of them.

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