> In Plain English (Not German): It Ain't Necessarily So > Washington Post > By Robert Cullen > Saturday, August 26, 2000; Page A17 > > Graham Greene once wrote about an elderly and somewhat whimsical > priest named Monsignor Quixote. A central theme of the novel, which > takes place in Spain in the early 1980s, is that Don Quixote--the > famed adventurer who battled windmills--is the priest's ancestor. > Almost everyone in the story seems to accept this genealogy at face > value, except one skeptic who openly questions how somebody could be > descended from a fictional character. > > I felt similarly bewildered while watching the Rev. Jesse Jackson > address the Democratic National Convention. With characteristic vigor > and passion, Jackson asserted, "One vote decided that America would > speak English rather than German in 1776." > > That statement, part of Jackson's litany of how one vote can make a > difference, refers to a U.S. history lesson about something familiar, > interesting and attention-getting. It also never happened, although > Jackson is far from being the only person to believe it did. > > We have all come across such tidbits--those persistent historical > myths or inventions masquerading as facts. National party conventions > are especially fertile ground for them. > > Eight years ago, for example, at the Republican convention at which > President George Bush was renominated, his predecessor Ronald Reagan > took to the podium and quoted a series of one-liners that he > attributed to Abraham Lincoln. The problem was that the platitudes > credited to our 16th president actually appeared first in a 1916 > pamphlet printed by a Pennsylvania preacher named William J. H. > Boetcker. > > The incident that inspired the myth about our almost becoming a > German-speaking nation occurred not in 1776 but two decades later, > during George Washington's second term as president. More important, > there was neither a vote nor even a bill to replace English with > German as the official U.S. language. Here's the real story. > > In March 1794, a group of Germans living in Virginia presented a > petition to Congress asking that certain federal laws be printed in > their native language. A committee of the House of Representatives > responded by formally recommending that 3,000 sets of laws be printed > in both German and English and distributed to the states. > > The full House debated this recommendation on Jan. 13, 1795. Unable to > reach a decision, the members instead considered a motion to adjourn > that day and revisit the proposal later. It was this that was defeated > by one vote, 42 to 41. > > The House, which that day named a new committee to further study the > proposal, debated it again on Feb. 16. This time it decided to approve > the publication of federal statutes in English only. The Senate > subsequently passed this bill as well, and George Washington signed it > into law. > > So what was merely a limited translation request has mushroomed into > today's tale that German was an also-ran in our national sweepstakes > for an official language (never mind that not even English has that > status). > > More than a half-century after congressional actions on this matter, > Franz Loher published "History and Achievements of the Germans in > America," which did much to perpetuate the myth of the German-language > vote. In due time, other German Americans likewise promoted the story > as an example of their influence in the republic's early days. > > The myth has since taken on other identities, from a tidy lesson about > the importance of a single vote to yet another argument against > bilingual education. > > Jackson is only the latest in a long and distinguished line of > individuals who have unwittingly helped extend its already-long > shelf-life. Others who have done so include Ann Landers and Abigail > Van Buren, "Ripley's Believe It or Not," well-intentioned teachers and > various political activists. > > Thanks to the Internet, the myth now has new opportunities to > circulate farther and faster than ever before. More than a few Web > sites feature it without qualification. To be sure, some sites at > least acknowledge that the myth might be folklore and still others > debunk it. But I worry about the ones that discuss the myth > uncritically and as an article of our civic faith. They guarantee new > converts well into the 21st century. > > There are those who would insist that myths such as this one are > harmless tales that encourage and instruct. I think a stronger case > can be made that such figments of our national imagination only manage > to diminish and even trivialize how we remember and understand our > shared past. All things considered, we're probably a lot better off > focusing more on what actually happened and less on the historical > mirages along the way. > > Robert Cullen is a Baltimore writer. > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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