Mid-Century Political Changes

During the 1950s, there were major political changes in Hawai‘i. The Republican Party had controlled Hawai‘i since annexation in 1898, but now the Democrats began to win elections in 1954 and 1956. Many of these new Democrats were Japanese Americans who had fought bravely in the war and now became a powerful force in government. At this time, war hero Daniel Inouye came to the forefront in the territorial government. Then, in 1959, he was elected as Hawai‘i’s first congressman and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962. In 1956, John Burns became the first Democrat elected as Hawai‘i’s Delegate to the U.S. Congress since the Great Depression. Then, John Burns was elected governor of Hawai‘i from 1962 to 1973. He did much to change the power structure in Hawai‘i.