Letter from Ernest Nicholson and Warren McAlvey to President Harry S. Truman

Ricd, mw 1.28.49 Much Lansing, Michigan mm February 18, 1949 The President Washington, D. C. Sir: Should Hawaii Be the 49th State? This seems to be a big question at the moment. This year the Hawaiians have adopted this as their slogan: "The 49th in '49". I would like to see them be the forty-ninth state, as would all the rest of the pupils in my class at school. We think it would be a good naval base. As it is the Hawaiian Islands send a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, but he does not have a chance to vote. It also is a territory of the United States. Its affairs are managed by a governor appointed by the president and a legislature elected by the Hawaiian people. Although they have a large measure of self-government in local matters, the people of Hawaii would like a greater voice in national affairs. Also, eighty-five per cent of their people are American citizens and they are taxed just as the people in the forty-eight states. The Hawaiian Islands contribute more to Uncle Sam's treasury than twelve of our own states. The Hawaiian Islands contain 6,450 square miles of land. With 540,000 people, the islands have a larger population than six of our states. The islands are 2,400 miles southwest of San Francisco, they are only seven hours from that city by air and only eighteen hours from the nations capital. If Hawaii were to become the forty-ninth state we would benefit from it. They grow pineapples, bannanas, rice, and sugar cane. From 1894 until 1898 Hawaii was an independent republic and has a constitution patterned after ours. The people of Hawaii asked if they