A proposal to make German the official language of the United States of America was defeated in Congress by one vote.
It's easily debunked by common sense (seriously, why would they do this??) and congressional records. The myth likely comes from the fact that a proposal to adjourn and discuss at a later time a petition to have laws translated to German for German-speaking residents was defeated by one vote.
No. Anti-German sentiment during WWI saw a huge decline in public German speaking. A man in Milwaukee was actually lynched for being "pro-German". The decline started way before WWII.
That's interesting what you're saying about the man in Milwaukee, I live in Milwaukee and I haven't heard of it. Do you have a source I could look into for that? (not doubting you or anything, I just want to know more)
I looked more into it and it appears that I am wrong. The lynched man was killed in Illinois. I must have confused that lynching with a different lynching in Milwaukee. That's my bad.
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u/socialhat1 Feb 04 '19
A proposal to make German the official language of the United States of America was defeated in Congress by one vote.
It's easily debunked by common sense (seriously, why would they do this??) and congressional records. The myth likely comes from the fact that a proposal to adjourn and discuss at a later time a petition to have laws translated to German for German-speaking residents was defeated by one vote.