The English-Only Effort, the Anti-Japanese Campaign, and Language Acquisition in the Education of Japanese Americans in Hawaii, 1915-40

Abstract

The English-only effort was an integral part of the Americanization crusade that swept the nation during and after World War I. Underlying the crusade was the doctrine of Anglo-Saxon superiority-the conviction that American traits derived from the English, and that the future of American democracy depended upon the survival of the English language and the dominance of the Anglo-Saxon "race." Fueled by a distrust of "foreign" practices, the crusade developed into a massive effort to imbue immigrants with Anglo-American ways. Across the country, evening classes in English, .civics, and American history focused on adult immigrants, while public schools concentrated on their children through courses in American history and government, patriotic rituals as daily flag salutes and observances of national holidays, and English-only instruction. By 1923, thirty-four states required that English be the language of instruction in public elementary schools. 1 On the mainland Americanizers focused on southern and eastern European immigrants and their children. In the Territory of Hawaii they concentrated on the Japanese. This difference proved to be crucial in differentiating the Americanization campaign in Hawaii from its mainland counterpart. While much of the rhetoric in Hawaii echoed that on the mainland, in the Territory overtones of race and power gave the campaign a distinctive twist.

We have room for but one language here: Language and national identity in the US at the turn of the 20th century

“…These laws effectively closed the pioneering duallanguage programs in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and many smaller programs that employed some form of dual-language instruction, or offered foreign language instruction in elementary school. Similar attacks were undertaken against Spanish-English bilingual programs in the Southwest (Grinberg and Saavedra 2000) and Japanese-language schools in Hawaii and California (Tamura 1993). In many, though not all, places in the Southwest, bilingual programs were termed 'un-American' and were replaced by English-only instruction (Grinberg and Saavedra 2000).…”

“…Here of particular interest are debates around the cognitive and linguistic development of bilingual children (Hakuta 1986). A comparison of these debates with those surrounding the German school controversy demonstrates that while previously bilingualism was seen as a relatively common phenomenon and an important linguistic and cognitive resource, following World War I many leading politicians, educators, and researchers, most notably Madorah Smith, suggested that bilingualism may interfere with the cognitive and linguistic development of immigrant children (Hakuta 1986), negatively affect their acquisition of English (Tamura 1993), and prevent their Americanization (Fitz-Gerald 1918). Bilingualism, in fact, became 'unimaginable' and many educators shared the opinion of Friedrich Bruns (1921: 142) who stated that 'only a juncture of very unusual opportunities ever allows a man to become really bilingual'.…”

Problems with the ‘language‐as‐resource’ discourse in the promotion of heritage languages in the U.S.A.

“…In the Midwest, at least 18,000 persons were charged with violations by 1921 (Crawford 1992; Wiley 1998). In Hawaii, the Japanese press was attacked: ‘Here in Hawaii today, there are Japanese papers that do not actively teach anti‐Americanism, but they do teach Japanism, and that amounts to the same thing’( cited in Tamura 1993: 41). Whereas only three states had laws prescribing English as the language of instruction in private schools prior to 1889, by 1923, 34 states required English (Leibowitz 1971: 7).…”

Did the Americanization Movement Succeed? An Evaluation of the Effect of English-Only and Compulsory Schools Laws on Immigrants' Education

“…For instance, Mexicans in Texas were accused of supporting Germans, and individuals of Japanese descent in Hawaii were thought to support the Japanese Empire (Tamura 1993).…”