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The American Tradition of Language Rights: the Forgotten Right to Government in a Known Tongue

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The American Tradition of Language Rights: the Forgotten Right to Government in a Known Tongue Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality Volume 13 Issue 2 Article 6 December 1995 The American Tradition of Language Rights: The Forgotten Right to Government in a Known Tongue Jose Roberto Juarez Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://lawandinequality.org/ Recommended Citation Jose R. Juarez Jr., The American Tradition of Language Rights: The Forgotten Right to Government in a Known Tongue, 13(2) LAW & INEQ. 443 (1995). Available at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineq/vol13/iss2/6 Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. The American Tradition of Language Rights: The Forgotten Right to Government in a "Known Tongue" Jos6 Roberto Judrez, Jr.* Table of Contents I. THE ENGLISH ONLY MOVEMENT ....................... 448 A. The Mixed Record of Challenges Under Federal Law to English Only Laws and Practices ......... 451 B. The New Federalism & Language Rights: Unexplored Law .................................. 452 C. The Texas Constitution as an Appropriate Starting Point for the Examination of Language Rights Under State Constitutions ........................ 453 II. INTERPRETING THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION .............. 460 A. The Use of HistoricalArgument in Constitutional Interpretation .................................... 460 B. The Use of HistoricalArgument to Interpret the Texas Constitution ............................... 464 C. The Relevance of the History of Prior Texas Constitutions in Interpreting the Current Constitution ...................................... 468 D. The Use of Historical Legislative Practice to Interpret the Texas Constitution .................. 469 III. GOVERNMENT AND LANGUAGE IN SPANISH TEXAS ....... 470 IV. GOVERNMENT AND LANGUAGE IN MEXICAN TEXAS ...... 472 A. The First Contacts with Moses Austin: Multilingualism in Texas Government Begins ..... 472 B. The Efforts of a Small Minority of Anglo-American Immigrants to Learn Spanish .................... 473 © Copyright, Jos6 Roberto JuArez, Jr. * Associate Professor of Law, St. Mary's University School of Law. A.B., Stan- ford University; J.D., University of Texas. This research was supported by a gener- ous research grant from St. Mary's University School of Law. I thank Michael Ariens, Mark Cochran, Jon Dubin, Emily Hartigan, Marsha Huie, Vincent Johnson, Josd Roberto Jutrez, Sr., Amy Kastely, and Geary Reamey for their critique of earlier drafts of this work. The preparation of this article was facilitated by the able assistance of my research assistant, Dean Diachin. 444 Law and Inequality [Vol. 13:443 C. The Establishment of Bilingual Government in Texas to Accommodate English-SpeakingAnglo- American Immigrants ............................. 476 D. Bilingual Practices of the Anglo-American Immigrants Not Authorized by Mexican Law ...... 483 E. The First Bilingual Education Laws in Texas ..... 486 F. Requests of the Anglo-American Immigrants for the Expansion of Bilingual Government in Texas ...... 489 G. Demands by the Anglo-American Immigrants for English Translations of Mexican Law ............. 490 H. Requests by the Anglo-American Immigrants for a Separate Department to Operate in English ....... 494 V. LANGUAGE RIGHTs & THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE FROM MEXICO .......................... 495 A. The Multiple Causes of Independence ............. 495 B. The Convention of 1832 .......................... 498 C. The Convention of 1833 .......................... 499 D. Language Rights as a Factor in the Attempt to Make Texas a Separate State of Mexico ........... 501 E. Language Rights & Complaints About the Mexican Justice System ................................... 504 F. The Desire for Multilingualism,Not English M onolingualism .................................. 505 G. The Mexican Government's Response to the Demands of the Anglo-American Immigrants: More Bilingual Governmental Services ................. 506 H. The Consultation of 1835 ......................... 508 I. The Movement Towards Independence ............ 511 J. The Declarationof Independence ................. 512 V, The Bilingual War for Independence from Mexico . 514 L. The Limitations of HistoricalArgument: Racism & the FramersDuring the Struggle for Independence 515 VI. GOVERNMENT AND LANGUAGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS .................................................. 517 A. Bilingual Government in the Republic of Texas .... 518 1. Provisions for Non-English-Speaking Government Officials ......................... 519 2. The Provision of Bilingual Laws .............. 519 3. Other Bilingual Governmental Practices ...... 526 4. The Continuing Use of Spanish-Language Laws by the Texas Courts .................... 527 5. A New Language in Texas: The German Imm igrants .................................. 527 19951 AMERICAN TRADITION OF LANGUAGE RIGHTS 445 B. The Lack of Language Requirements for Citizenship in the Republic of Texas .............. 528 C. Plans for Bilingual Government by the Santa F6 Expedition ....................................... 529 D. Bilingual Local Government ...................... 532 1. San Antonio .................................. 532 2. Laredo ....................................... 535 E. Language & the Schools .......................... 538 F. The Limitations of HistoricalArgument: Racism and the Framers During the Republic of Texas Period ........................................... 539 VII. LANGUAGE & STATEHOOD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 540 A. Bilingual Government in Early Statehood ......... 541 1. Provisions for Non-English-Speaking Government Officials ......................... 541 2. The Provision of Multilingual Laws ........... 542 3. Other Multilingual Governmental Practices ... 546 B. Citizenship, Voting, & Language .................. 547 C. Multilingual Local Government ................... 552 1. Multilingualism in San Antonio ............... 552 2. Laredo: The Continued Use of Spanish in Local Government ............................ 555 3. The Use of German in Local Government ..... 562 4. Bilingualism Among Other European Immigrants: the Czechs, the Poles, the Wends and the Danes ............................... 576 D. Multilingual Schools: Law and Practice .......... 578 1. Early Statehood Laws Permitting Multilingual Schools ....................................... 578 2. The Opposition to the Reconstruction Attempt to Impose English-Only Schools in Texas ...... 579 3. The Practice of Multilingual Schools .......... 581 E. The Limitations of HistoricalArgument: Racism During Early Statehood .......................... 585 VIII. LANGUAGE AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY ............. 586 A. The Increase in Hostility to Languages Other Than E nglish .......................................... 586 B. English-Only Legislation ......................... 587 1. The Development of English-Only Schools ..... 587 2. English-Only Property Deeds ................. 594 3. English-Only Elections ....................... 594 4. The Publication of Laws Solely in English..... 597 5. The Survival of Multilingual Government Despite English-Only Legislation ............. 597 446 Law and Inequality [Vol. 13:443 6. The Legal Effect of English-Only Legislation on Interpretation of the Texas Bill of Rights .. 598 C. The Mixed Record of the Texas Courts in Considering the Language Rights Asserted by the Framers ......................................... 600 1. Language & Jurors ........................... 600 2. Interpreters .................................. 607 3. Cases Considering the Multilingual Heritage of Texas ...................................... 610 IX. LANGUAGE IN MODERN TEXAS .......................... 612 Y THE TEXAS BILL OF RIGHTS & LANGUAGE RIGHTS: GIVING EFFECT TO THE INTENT OF THE FRAMERS ....... 621 A. The Equal Rights Provision ...................... 625 B. The Equal Rights Amendment .................... 626 C. The Free Speech Clause .......................... 628 D. The Due Course Clauses .......................... 629 E. The Clause Guaranteeingthe Right to Petition the Government ...................................... 630 F. Section 29 ........................................ 631 G. The Cost of Multilingual Government as a Defense 632 XI. APPLICATION OF THE LANGUAGE RIGHTS ASSERTED BY THE FRAMERS OF THE TEXAS BILL OF RIGHTS .......... 633 A. The English-Only Legal System ................... 633 B. The Right to an Interpreter ....................... 634 XII. CONCLUSION ......................................... 637 Me he dedicado ahora ... a la obra pesada de formar traduc- ciones legitimas de las constituciones, nacional y del estado y de todos los decretos de la Legislatura... por la razon qe. los mas de estos habitantes no entienden palabra del Castellano y es enteramte. imposible gobernar un pueblo con leyes cuya ec- sistencia la masa de ellos ignoran en lo absoluto. - Stephen F. Austin1 1. Letter from Stephen F. Austin to Jos6 Antonio Navarro (Oct. 19, 1829) (origi- nal in Spanish), in THm AusTN PAPERS (Eugene C. Barker ed.), reprinted in AmR- CAN HisTORiCAL ASS'N, II ANNUAL REPORT 272 (1922) [hereinafter AusTIN PAPERS, 1828-1834]. The English translation of the passage is: I have dedicated myself... to the burdensome work of preparing legiti- mate translations of the national and state constitutions [of Mexico] and of all the decrees of the Legislature [of the Mexican state of Coa- huila and Texas]... because most of these inhabitants [of Texas] do not understand a word of Castilian and it is entirely impossible to govern a people with laws whose existence most of them ignore absolutely.
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