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California was accepted as a state in 1850 as they satisfied the requirement for recognition of statehood, which was that “English-speaking settlers had sufficiently populated the new territories” (Nieto, 2009) - A Brief History of Bilingual Education in the United States. In California, a series of discriminatory laws and regulations were passed. All instruction in schools had to be in English. The publication of laws in Spanish was suspended by the legislature. Court proceedings were required to be in English (Olsen, 2015) - Timeline for CABE

→ Significance: Evidence of “settlers” mindset/colonalism mindset and the beginning of assimilation ideology, specifically in the state of California, focusing on creating/establishing a “monolingual” state.

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U.S formally ended treaty-making policies with Native Americans, and began instead to pursue an assimilation policy, largely through the forced education of Indian children in boarding schools off the reservations, where they were punished for using their native tongues and for any behavior that displayed native ways. The curriculum was designed to eradicate Indian cultures and languages, described as “eradicating students barbarous dialects, along with other remnants of Indian-ness” (Olsen, 2015) - Timeline for CABE

→ Significance: Such policies did not succeed in eradicating the children’s native languages, but it did instill in them a sense of shame that guaranteed the exclusive use of English for future generations (Nieto, 2009) - A Brief History of Bilingual Education in the United States

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In 1893, the father of 2 American born Chinese children filed a legal complaint against the San Francisco school board to allow Chinese students to attend high school. The Court upheld the segregation policy and the right of districts to exclude Chinese from high schools. 3 years later in 1986, threatened with a boycott of elementary school Chinese families which would have reduced state financial aid to San Francisco schools, the high schools were opened to Chinese. (Olsen, 2015) - Timeline for CABE

→ Significance: Often, segregation is spoken in the context of African Americans. However, other minority groups were also being segregated at the time. The event also indicates evidence of the first steps and successes in the abolishment of segregation and the incorporation of more racial identities and languages within school settings.

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PRO: A large body of research has supported the concepts of multilingual education systems. The ability to understand particular concepts with proficiency in different languages can strengthen a student’s cognitive abilities. The monolingual view of education being a “problem” for learning becomes challenged— as many studies do not consider the cultural impact of educational policy which influences language attitudes of minority language groups (Garcia 2007). By having more resources allocated for adopting bilingual education programs, more research can be conducted to have a more comprehensive understanding of bilingualism and cognitive development.

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Cultural Identity Preservation & Opportunities

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Cultural Identity Preservation & Opportunities

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PRO: Bilingual education models are not merely another method of foundational learning, but immerse students in their cultural identity and encourage strengthening their bilingual identities. By allowing schools and districts to implement non-English-only instructional learning (Proposition 58), students learn of the cultural communities they reside in, especially in the United States where major languages are crucial to diplomacy and economic trade & opportunities (Prop 58). By having multilingualism as part of the foundation of learning, there is equal or more opportunity for students who had early immersive cultural experiences

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CON: Besides the concept of bilingual education questioning the fundamental purposes of education, this also puts into question the funding capacity of school districts. These bilingual education models, while potentially beneficial for students long-term, can be costly— especially with the battle of drop-out statistics and English literacy (Proposition 227). Like the transition of ELLs to SEI in Arizona and California school districts, the regulations and restrictions are barriers themselves to overcome (History of Underachievement) While various models of bilingual education have been studied to be effective for a student’s academic growth & cognitive abilities, restructuring existing K-12 education models may take years, as well as funding allocation which may not be feasible for already underserved districts and schools.

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Helen Hunt Jackson was an American novelist from Amherst Massachusetts best known for her literary works. Understanding the 1880s was a time of cultural oppression for Native Americans, prohibited in schools from speaking their native languages or participating in cultural practices. Hunt Jackson, played a key role in creating visibility against assimilation practices. Her works Romana, describes the hardships faced by orphaned Native-American youth to whom was adopted into a Mexican family. The language described throughout the novel is a mixture between langues depicting the essentiality for bilingual education. Hunt Jackson critics helped kickstart early conversations concerning the loss of language. Depicting language to be a key element in the formation of identity for adolescents.

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Jose De Guerra y Noriega born in 1779 otherwise known as El Gran Capitan was a Spanish native who was an instrumental advocate for Spanish speakers residing in Santa Barbara. During the 1850s De Guerra was a huge supporter of bilingual education utilizing his education to write letters and progressive speeches gaining the support of Mexican communities. Guerra’s works helped bring about protest in relation to a more diverse education system through the revision of restrictive segregation practices.

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Maria Ruiz De Burton born in 1832 was among the 480 Baja Californians to be transported to Monterey California alongside her mother. Ruiz experience enrolling in school allowed her to utilize her bilingualism becoming the first Mexican American published writer. Ruiz utilized her lived experience to write various criticisms, having never forgotten the mistreatment of Mexican Americans. Publishing novels such as The Squatters and The Don which depicts the cruelty in relation to the conquest of territories. Ruiz success as a writer allowed her to become a strong political activist and supporter for bilingual education.

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German, Irish, Italian, and Scandinavian were the most popular foreign groups who immigrated into the United States in the mid 19th century. Though they spoke their native tongues amongst themselves, these foreign European groups learned English at the American schools they attended, making these immigrants bilingual.

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Bilingualism was viewed differently throughout the United States of America, despite the fact that the majority of Americans were conservative to their country. Some people saw bilingualism as a positive (surprisingly), adding to America’s rich culture of diversity. Though English wasn’t officially declared the national language of America until 1981, English was nationally recognized especially during the singing of the national anthem.

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By 1900, 12 states installed bilingual education in their educational system including California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Ohio. German, Spanish, and Polish were the most common languages taught throughout the bilingual school system.

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The 1850-1900 period was marked by oppression of non-English languages and cultures . This includes Native American, Mexican/Spanish, Chinese/Asian and more. This was done through brutal relocation assimilation and segregation laws that affected all minority groups residing inside the United States

The forced assimilation policies, such as those seen in Native American boarding schools, were extremely oppressive. Children were punished for speaking their native languages and stripped of their cultural identities. These policies reflected a deep-seated bias that regarded Indigenous and minority cultures as inferior. The shame instilled in children for speaking their native tongues had long-lasting effects, including intergenerational language loss. But one key figure that fought against this was Helen Hunt Jackson who highlighted the loss of indigenous languages due to these practices.

The incorporation of territories like California into the U.S. led to policies that excluded non-English speakers, particularly the Mexican and Indigenous populations. The government had harsher actions towards native mexicans and americans of the california region as the stopped treaty making and started assimilating with a zero tolerance policy for non-american white practices.

Segregation played a large part in the oppression of minorities in this time period. While African American oppression and segregation is widely discussed today some forget how the Chinese and Native Americans were also educationally segregated.

Overall, this period highlights the oppressive nature of U.S. policies towards linguistic and cultural diversity. While some individuals, like Maria Ruiz de Burton and Helen Hunt Jackson, challenged these assimilationist policies, the broader governmental push for an English-speaking nation outlawed cultural practices that some races and groups are still recovering from to this day. There are differing views on whether the systemic structures that emerged during this time were entirely negative or if they provided the baseline for eventual reforms. But overall the consensus is that the actions of the oppressors largely hurt and affected minority groups’ native languages and in some cases completely destroyed them.