Right Web

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Overview

U.S. English claims that it is "the nation's oldest, largest citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States." It was founded in 1983 by John Tanton and the late U.S. Senator S.I. Hayakawa (R-Cal.). (1) (2) (4)

Advisory board members include: Jacques Barzun, Saul Bellow, Midge Decter, Mrs. Richard DeVos, George Gilder, Dinesh Desai, Nathan Glazer, Charlton Heston, former Sen. Eugene McCarthy, Arnold Palmer, Norman Podhoretz, Donald Ross, James Schlesinger, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Charles E. Scripps. Chairman of the board and chief executive officer is Mauro E. Mujico.(3)

Closely related to U.S. English, Inc. is the U.S. English Foundation, which has the same advisory board and chief executive officer. The foundation "disseminates information on English teaching methods, sponsors educational programs, develops English instructional materials, represents the interests of Official English advocates before state and federal courts and promotes opportunities for people living in the United States to learn English." Among the objectives of the foundation are: "to help improve the teaching of English to immigrants," "to study language policy around the world," and "to raise public awareness through the media about the importance of our common language." (6)

U.S. English, which claims to have 1.8 million members, says that "the passage of English as the official language will help to expand opportunities for immigrants to learn and speak English, the single greatest empowering tool that immigrants must have to succeed." Its Legal Defense Fund "has been defending the cause of official English in multiple federal and state courts across the nation."

U.S. English projects a moderate, humanitarian image, disassociating itself from the anti-immigration, eugenics, and nativist groups and individuals with which it was closely linked in its early years, while the organization maintains its language restrictionist agenda. The presence of prominent right-wing and neoconservative members of its advisory board, such as Midge Decter, Jacques Barzun, Nathan Glazer, Mrs. Richard DeVos, Norman Podhoretz, and James Schlesinger, situate U.S. English in the right-wing's network of policy advocacy groups.

Origins and Impact

Critics and many supporters call the movement to make English the official language of government and public discourse in the United States the "English-only" movement. However, the leading national organizations-U.S. English, ProEnglish, and English First-insist on the term "official language" rather than "English-only." The movement grew out of the anti-immigration, anti-bilingual education, and anti-affirmative action movements of the late 1970s.

Although the "official language" movement is today largely associated with right-wing organizations, some with close ties to the Republican Party, it emerged not from the New Right but a small sector of environmentalists and population control advocates who by the late 1970s focused on immigration flows as the main threat to environmental and social stability in the United States. John Tanton, the principal force behind the creation of U.S. English in 1983, had founded the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 1979 after Zero Population Growth refused to focus on immigration restriction as a top policy priority. When Tanton founded U.S. English in 1983, along with S.I. Hayakawa, he installed Gerda Bikales (who had been working at FAIR) as the organization's first executive director. Today, U.S. English lists Hayakawa as the organization's founder, omitting any mention of Tanton. However, Hayakawa, while a cofounder, functioned largely in an honorary capacity, and although an immigrant himself, Hayakawa was also a controversial figure. A professor of semantics, Hayakawa was a strong proponent of English only legislation, was a strident critic of anti-war protestors when he was president of San Francisco State University, and took many controversial political positions, including defending the U.S. government's policy of interning Japanese Americas during World War II. (4)

U.S. English takes credit for the steady advance of official language bills in state governments. Today, 27 states have legislated that English is the official language, and U.S. English has worked closely with most of the state campaigns since its founding in 1983. U.S. English together with its associated foundation not only engage in education efforts but also have a legal advocacy and research team that promotes official English legislation. (7) One of the most recent cases in which U.S. English was involved concerned a challenge to overturn the official language law in Alabama, which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected by a five to four margin, "which was a tremendous victory for Official English." (8)

According to U.S. English, the following states have English-only laws (7):