The modern United States receives its crowning star when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii (Native spelling: Hawai‘i) into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official July 4, 1960.
The first known settlers of the Hawaiian Islands were Polynesian voyagers who arrived sometime in the 8th century. In 1778, explorer James Cook became the first documented European to arrive on the islands. In the mid 1830s, the first sugar plantation was established on Kauai, and the industry would expand throughout the century. Increasingly, missionaries and planters came to occupy the islands and brought about massive changes in Hawaiian political, cultural, economic and religious life. In 1840, a constitutional monarchy was established, stripping the Hawaiian monarch of much of his authority.
