Primary sources

In this map,  an outline of the continental United States is superimposed over the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Had the 1965 Pacific State Proposal been successful, this entire area would have become part of the state of Hawaiʻi.

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

This article from the major national newspaper The Washington Post describes the Pacific State Proposal, including quotes from  three different U.S. Congressmen. The article also erroneously includes the islands of Samoa and Guam in the Pacific State Proposal, which included only the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

This letter from East-West Center Vice Chancellor Baron Goto speaks to the "stigma of being a colonial ruler" accompanying U.S. administration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Founded in 1960, the East-West Center would go on to provide many political leaders from the region housing and education funding. 

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

Here, Speaker of the General Assembly of the First Congress of Micronesia Dwight Heine of the Marshall Islands responds to Hiram Fong's request for feedback on the Pacific State Proposal. Although Heine says little about the proposal here, he would go on to be an outspoken critic of U.S. administration of the Trust Territory and an ardent advocate for self-determination.

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

In this report, which Senator Fong mailed to his constituents, the Pacific State Proposal is introduced as "an exciting challenge to broaden our horizons culturally, politically, economically, and otherwise."

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

This letter, written by a resident of Illinois in opposition to the Pacific State Proposal, critiques territorial annexation by stating: “When I first read about the proposed Annexation, the first thought I had that the ‘Manifest Destiny’ program was being revived in the United States. I believe that we haven’t recovered from the first ‘Manifest Destiny’, and we have some scars called imperialism as a result of it.” 

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

Urging Congress to advance the Pacific State Proposal, Senator Fong compares his proposal to King Kalakaua's Polynesian League to unite Pacific Islanders against colonial powers.  

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

Carl Heine, a private citizen from the Marshall Islands living in the United States, writes to Hiram Fong that the Trust Territory's "ultimate future lies with the United States." Carl Heine's book, entitled Micronesia at the Crossroads: A Reappraisal of the Micronesian Political Dilemma, is included in the "further reading" section of this primary source set. 

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

In this letter to Senator Fong, Congress of Micronesia representative from the Northern Mariana Islands Benjamin Manglona affirms that "the supreme aspiration of the people of Micronesia is to become U.S. Citizen especially the people of the Mariana Islands District." Within a decade of the Pacific State Proposal, the people of the Mariana Islands District would vote to become a permanent Commonwealth of the United States.

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

Senator Fong replies to U.S. Congressman Charles Bennett, who served as the U.S. Virgin Islands' non-voting representative and suggests creating a 51st state comprised of American Samoa, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands. 

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. 

Henry Alexander, a businessman and constituent of Senator Fong, writes to express his support for the Pacific State Proposal. Alexander focuses especially on the economic implications of the proposal as they intersect with self-determination.

Senator Hiram L. Fong Papers. Box 137, Study proposal to add territories to the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library.