About 1,500 years ago a few canoes sailed to the islands that are now Hawaii. These people were called the Polynesian people. They brought cultures of their own. Some of there traditions were hula dancing, surfing, and making flower necklaces called Leis. Hawaii had many kings until Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898. In 1959 it became a state of the United States of America. An important event in Hawaii was on December 7, 1941. And it was the Attack on Pearl Harbor. It was when the Japanese surprised the US bombing the Pearl Harbor naval base. This is one of the reasons the US entered WW2.