10. An attempt to compel only English to be used in schools consisting predominantly of German speakers, the Bennett Law was advocated for by ardent nativists who denounced foreign aliens as seeking to destroy the American nation
Passed in 1889, the Bennett Law required the use of English in all major subjects throughout both public and private elementary and high schools in Wisconsin. Comprising a significant proportion of German Catholics and Lutherans, as well as Polish Catholics, German, not English, had become the language of choice in many communities. Although resented by migrants upon passing into law, the statute was initially enforced only sporadically. However, following the Republican nomination of William D. Hoard – a dairy farmer with no political experience – in the 1888 gubernatorial elections, Hoard dramatically sought to impose the Bennett Law in full.
Regarding opposition to the law as an attack on the English language, Hoard claimed Wisconsin schoolhouses were under assault by immigrants. Planning his re-election bid in 1890 around a coalition of nativists, Hoard declared “the parents, the pastors and the church have entered into a conspiracy to darken the understanding of the children” and only he could save them. However, in proclaiming a fight against “alienism”, Hoard rattled the hornet’s nest. Milwaukee, for example, enjoyed a population where eighty-six percent had foreign-born parents, and even the originally supportive Irish became incensed by Hoard’s anti-Catholic rhetoric. Ousting Hoard from office, in 1925 the Supreme Court ruled similar legislation to be unconstitutional.