English-only movement, also known as Official English movement, refers to a political movement for the use only of the English language in official US government operations through the establishing of English as the only official language in the United States of America. The United States has never had a legal policy stating an official national language. However, at some times and places, there have been various moves to promote or require the use of English, such as in schools for Native American children in the past. There have been some language selection policies implemented at the state level.

Earlier English-only movements

In 1803, as a result of the Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquired French-speaking populations in Louisiana. In 1807, Louisiana adopted English as its official language in its constitution as a condition to admittance to the Union. After the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the United States acquired about 75,000 Spanish speakers in addition to several indigenous language-speaking populations.