nebusj-@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Joseph Nebus) wrote in
news:nebusj.1205805163@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Discovered while looking about Wikipedia for events of historic
> significance on these dates, was this entry for March 18:
>
> 1959 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill
> into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would
> become official on August 21.
>
> So, uh ... why the wait? If I'm counting correctly that's a
> pause of five months between officially ruling that Hawaii should be
> a state and deciding that Hawaii has become a state. Granting it takes
> time to organize the territorial government into a state government, but
> I'd imagine all the work and redesign of letterheads and such could be
> done before the statehood bill gets out of committee. They can't have
> taken Hawaii completely by surprise.
>
> I don't see any obvious historic significance to August 21, or
> to that week, which would make it an auspicious date for Hawaii
> statehood. The 21st I assume was chosen because as a Friday it allowed
> the thing to be a long weekend, but otherwise ... why not declare
> statehood effective March 20, then?
A massive sop to the lobbyists for the flag-making cartel. Since new
designs for the U.S. flag traditionally become effective on July 4, and
Alaska had already been admitted to the Union on January 3, all patriotic
Americans would have to buy new 49-star flags by Independence Day.
Scheduling Hawaii's admission for the second half of the year meant that
they would have to buy new flags again in 1960.
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