1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention

Part of a series on the
History of Hawaii
Early history (pre–1795) Discovery and settlement c. 1219–1266 Battle of Kealakekua Bay 1779
Hawaiian Kingdom (1795–1893) Kamehameha dynasty 1795–1874 Unification of Hawaii 1810 Laplace affair 1839 Paulet affair 1943 French invasion of Honolulu 1849 American Civil War 1861–1865 Kalākaua dynasty 1874–1893 Reciprocity Treaty 1875 Bayonet Constitution 1887 Rebellions and revolutions 1887–1895 Overthrow 1893
Provisional (1893–1894) Leper War on Kauaʻi 1893 Black Week 1893–1894
Republic of Hawaii (1894–1898) Counter-Revolution 1895 Annexation 1898
Territory of Hawaii (1898–1959) Hawaiian Organic Act 1900 Oahu sugar strike 1920 Hanapēpē Massacre 1924 Massie Trial 1932 World War II 1939–1945 Attack on Pearl Harbor 1941 Niihau incident 1941 Honouliuli Internment Camp 1943–1946 Democratic Revolution 1954
State of Hawaii (1959–present) Hawaii Admission Act 1959 Kalama Valley protests 1971 State Constitutional Convention 1978 Xerox murders 1999 Occupation of Iolani Palace 2008 Honolulu molasses spill 2013 TMT protests 2014–now False missile alert 2018 Hurricane Lane 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–now George Floyd protests 2020 Red Hill water crisis 2021–now Hawaii wildfires 2023
Topics
Big Five Legal status NRHP listings Sovereignty movement Sugar plantations Timeline of Honolulu
Portal Commons
v t e

The 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention is considered the watershed political event in the modern State of Hawaii.^[1] It was convened on July 5, 1978. The convention established term limits for state office holders, provided a requirement for an annual balanced budget, laid the groundwork for the return of federal land such as the island of Kahoʻolawe, and most importantly created the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in an effort to right the wrongs done towards native Hawaiians since the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1893. The event also created an ambitious project of preservation of the Hawaiian culture including the adoption of Hawaiian diacritical marks for official usage, use of Hawaiian names, etc. The Hawaiian language became the official state language of Hawaii for the first time since the overthrow.^[2]

Based upon language the US Supreme Court had used to legalize abortion and birth control, the convention added the text: "the right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest." This text makes the state constitution one of only five in the US that explicitly define a right to privacy.^[3]

Political legacy

A major outgrowth of the constitutional convention was the launching of the political careers of those who would later dominate Hawaiian politics. Delegates to the convention included:

• Carol Fukunaga, future legislative leader
• Helene Hale, future legislative leader
• Jeremy Harris, future Mayor of Honolulu
• Les Ihara, Jr., future legislative leader
• Barbara Marumoto, future legislative leader
• Joseph M. Souki, future Speaker of the House
• John David Waiheʻe III, future Governor
• Charlene Hoe, Windward Oʻahu delegate and founder of Hakipuʻu Learning Center^[4]

References

External links

• Proceedings of the 1978 Constitutional Convention - Volume I
• Proceedings of the 1978 Constitutional Convention - Volume II

This Hawaiʻi-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e