# Founding Fathers almost voted to use German? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906 "2006-08-08T19:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/1 "2006-08-08T19:58:39Z")
One popular urban legend I’ve heard rearing its ugly head from time to time is that the American Founding Fathers, either while drafting the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, voted on whether to write the documents in English or in German – and the decision to write them in German failed by 1 vote. Is there any kernel of truth to this rumor? Was German being bandied about as a possible language for Continental documents to be written in, and if so, what were the circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/2 "2006-08-08T20:01:27Z")
This was covered about a month ago, but I can’t seem to find the thread. But according to [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.htm) , the answer is no. It is definitely an UL. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/3 "2006-08-08T20:06:20Z")
Here’s the Snopes site dealing with it: > **[German Almost Became Official Language](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-german-vote/)** > > Did one vote defeat a proposal to make German the official language of the United States? Long story short, there were a bunch of German immigrants in early America, and one group of them petitioned Congress to publish laws in German as well as English. The House debated it, and then voted to adjourn and take up the matter later, and that vote was defeated by one vote. Later on, they took up the question again, and ultimately rejected it, and passed a law saying that federal laws would only be published in English. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/4 "2006-08-11T03:48:05Z")
[The Master Sprecht](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_026.html) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/5 "2006-08-11T10:12:58Z")
Of course it would be very comfortable for us Germans, because German would have probably evolved to be one of the leading languages in the world instead of being a tongue of minor importance in international communications. But it would have been a bane for the rest of the world which would have ended up having to learn a rather illogical and complicated language instead of English. But as the Snopes and Straight Dope articles already linked to say, this is an urban legend. There was a considerable number of German immigrants in the 13 colonies in the years around 1776, but not nearly as many as English speakers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/6 "2006-08-11T16:24:55Z")
I for one am glad that it never came to fruition because my German is very rusty. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/7 "2006-08-11T16:47:53Z")
Perhaps you should oil him/her occasionally. . . . ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/8 "2006-08-11T17:00:15Z")
[QUOTE=BJMoose] Perhaps you should oil him/her occasionally. . . . [/QUOTE] Good one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/9 "2006-08-11T17:15:20Z")
Danke schön. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/10 "2006-08-11T17:22:36Z")
> [@](#): > > But it would have been a bane for the rest of the world which would have ended up having to learn a rather illogical and complicated language instead of English. Yet another example of why we need a way to express sarcasm in text communication. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/11 "2006-08-11T17:58:01Z")
[QUOTE=BJMoose] Danke schön. [/QUOTE] Bitte 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-almost-voted-to-use-german/367906/12 "2006-08-11T18:10:56Z")
“The central fact of this century shall be that the Americans speak English” -Kaiser Wilhelm II I just like to post that quote.