Muhlenberg legend
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Muhlenberg legend is a popular urban legend in the United States and Germany. According to the legend because of Frederick Muhlenberg, German didn't become the official language of the United States. At the heart of this legend is a vote in the United States House of Representatives from 1794, where a group of German immigrants asked for the translation of some laws into German. This petition was rejected by a 42-41 vote and Muhlenberg was later quoted as having said "the faster the Germans become Americans, the better it will be". The United States has no statutory official language; English has been used as a de facto basis, owing to its status as the country's predominant language.
