Read Ariyoshi's Interview Narrative
EAST-WEST CENTER ORAL HISTORY PROJECT George Ariyoshi Interview Narrative 5-21-2008 interview in Honolulu, Hawaii Please cite as: George Ariyoshi, interview by Stan Schab, May 21, 2008, interview narrative, East- West Center Oral History Project Collection, East-West Center, Honolulu Hawaii. These narratives, which reflect interviewees’ personal perceptions, opinions, and memories, may contain errors of fact. They do not reflect positions or versions of history officially approved by the East-West Center. The East-West Center Oral History Project strives to capture the Center’s first 50 years as seen through the eyes of staff, alumni, and supporters who have contributed to its growth. Co-coordinators: Terese Leber and Phyllis Tabusa Narratives Editor: Susan Yim Griffin Copyright East-West Center, 2010. George Ariyoshi 5-21-2008 interview in Honolulu, Hawaii Personal Background Statehood Strategy I had heard about the East-West Center in 1959. You see, it goes back to Jack Burns' delegate re-election campaign in 1958, when he let Alaska become a state ahead of Hawai‘i. That was a very tough thing for him to have to campaign with. We were always regarded as the 49th state, and now we became the 50th state, and he had to face a campaign between those times. He let Alaska go first, knowing that if Alaska went first, Hawai‘i would follow shortly after that. The funny thing is that the [U.S.] Senate controlled by Democrats, wanted Alaska before they would take Hawai‘i because they considered Alaska to be a Democrat state, and Hawai‘i a Republican state.
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