The Babel Proclamation was issued by Iowa's Governor William L. Harding on May 23, 1918. It forbade the speaking of any language besides English in public. The proclamation was controversial, supported by many established English-speaking Iowans and notably opposed by citizens who spoke languages other than English. Harding repealed it on December 4, 1918. The Babel Proclamation marked the peak of a wave of

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began wit ...

in Iowa during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Rise in anti-German sentiment

As America became involved in

on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and against Germany, the nation saw a rise in

. Nativism, which had existed before the war, became increasingly mainstream as a result of American intervention. The state of

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

saw a particularly large rise in anti-German sentiment. On November 23, 1917, the Iowa State Council for Defense determined that German should not be taught in public schools and took actions to that effect, such as burning German books. Iowa also saw places that had German-related names renamed, such as Germania being renamed to

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

. Some German-Americans were attacked for speaking their language in public. In 1900 there were 46 German-language newspapers in Iowa; 20 years later there were just 16.

Description

The

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, William L. Harding, issued the Babel Proclamation on May 23, 1918. It stated that Iowa schools must teach their courses in English, public conversations had to be in English, addresses in public were to be given in English, and religious services were to be in English. Harding asserted that allowing languages other than English to be spoken "disturbs the peace and quiet of the community" and would lead to "discord among neighbors and citizens." He maintained that all non-English languages could be used to spread German propaganda. He further argued that the proclamation would "save the lives of American boys overseas by curbing sedition at home." Harding stated that the proclamation should be treated as law, although it was accused of violating the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

, which guarantees

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. He argued that the amendment did not apply to languages other than English. In response to the mandate, there were several protests, including one led by a priest at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church on May 30. Scandinavian speakers were not excluded from the discrimination; one Lutheran pastor wrote to his representative in May 1918 complaining that half his congregation would be unable to understand the service if it were not conducted in

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, the language in which he had been preaching for the past 40 years. However, it was generally popular among English-speaking, well established Iowans. Former

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

publicly supported Harding's decision in a speech given on May 27, saying "America is a nation—not a polyglot boarding house... There can be but one loyalty—to the Stars and Stripes; one nationality—the American—and therefore only one language—the English language." Virtually all ethnic minorities who spoke languages other than English opposed the proclamation to some extent. The proclamation was seriously enforced, and many "patriotic organizations" issued fines to violators. The majority of violators were caught when telephone operators listened to conversations for violations. For instance, in Le Claire Township, Scott County, four or five women received fines after they spoke German over the telephone. They ended up paying $225, which was donated to the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. Nebraska issued a similar proclamation. Across the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, 18,000 people eventually faced charges of violating English mandates. The proclamation became "the major political issue" in Iowa for 1918. ''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' led opposition, publishing several op-eds against the proclamation.A Jewish leader in Des Moines contacted

Louis Marshall Louis Marshall (December 14, 1856 – September 11, 1929) was an American corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer as well as a mediator and Jewish community leader who worked to secure religious, political, and cultural freedom for a ...

, then the president of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish o ...

, for advice. Marshall responded that he couldn't "conceive the possibility that the people of any state could be guilty of such an absurdity." However, he advised the Jewish community to avoid publicly going against the proclamation. On June 13 Marshall wrote a letter of protest to Harding. People debated the proclamation across the state and more generally what it meant to be "American". Some newspapers called English "American", as calling it English would suggest that it was "borrowed, and therefore any European tongue would be as legitimate as English." After World War I ended, Harding repealed the proclamation on December 4, 1918.

Legacy

A 2018 op-ed published in ''The Des Moines Register'' called the Babel Proclamation "perhaps the most infamous executive order" in Iowa's history. Several articles have cited the proclamation as an early example of opposition to immigration, anti-immigrant sentiment. A hearing in the United States House of Representatives in 2006 called the proclamation "the most famous" of several "English-only" restrictions passed around the same time.

References

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External links

Revocation

Proclamation

Divided by a common language
Anti-German sentiment in the United States Proclamations 1918 in Iowa Linguistic discrimination United States home front during World War I May 1918 events English-only movement