Bennett Law facts for kids

The Bennett Law was a state law passed in Wisconsin in 1889. It was officially known as chapter 519 of the 1889 acts of the Wisconsin Legislature. This law was about compulsory education, meaning that children had to go to school. The most talked-about part of the law said that schools had to teach major subjects in the English language.

Many German Americans and Polish Americans in Wisconsin ran their own schools. These schools, often linked to churches, taught many subjects in the German language. Because of this, they strongly disliked the new law. Some Norwegian communities also opposed it. The law was eventually canceled, but it caused big changes in Wisconsin politics. Democrats won many elections in 1890 and 1892 because of this issue.

The Bennett Law: A School Language Fight

Why the Law Was Created

For many years, the Republican Party in Wisconsin tried to keep German American voters happy. Leaders like Philetus Sawyer and Elisha W. Keyes knew these voters were important. But in 1888, the party chose William D. Hoard, a dairy farmer, to run for governor. Hoard had no political experience.

Hoard won the election and became governor in 1889. He wanted to improve Wisconsin's laws on education and child labor. He believed all children should go to school and that child labor should be limited.

What the Law Said

Wisconsin already had a law that said schools should teach in English, but it was not really enforced. Early in 1889, a state senator named Levi Pond suggested a bill to check if schools were following the English language rule. This idea faced a lot of opposition and was dropped.

The Bennett Law was named after Michael John Bennett, who was a state assemblyman. He had attended a meeting in Chicago about new laws for educating young people and stopping child labor. Most of the Bennett Law was about good things. It raised the legal working age to 13. It also required parents to make sure children aged 7 to 14 went to school for at least 12 weeks each year.

This part of the law passed quickly because most people agreed with it. The problem was in section 5. This section said that a "school" was only a place that taught reading, writing, math, and U.S. history in English. This meant that schools teaching in German would not be considered proper schools by the state.

The Big Fight Begins

Soon after the law was made public, people started to protest. Governor Hoard strongly supported the law. He tried to get English-speaking people in the state to support him for his reelection in 1890. He insisted that all children must speak English.

As more people opposed the law, Hoard spoke out even more. He said he was defending the public school system, even though it was not being attacked. He said, "The little schoolhouse--stand by it!" Hoard also made fun of German communities. He claimed he knew what was best for their children, better than their own parents or pastors.

In Milwaukee, a city with many German families, Hoard attacked German culture and religion. He said that parents, pastors, and churches were trying to keep children from learning. This made German communities very angry. They felt it was an attack on their language, culture, and religion. Many of them had set up their own schools to teach their children their religious values. They also felt the state should not tell families how to raise their children or what language they should speak at school.

Religious Groups and the Law

By June 1890, the main German Lutheran groups, the Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod, had spoken out against the law. German Catholic priests also said the law was unfair. Father Johann B. Reindl of Oshkosh called it "unjust and a blow at the German people."

Catholic leaders, like Archbishop Frederick Katzer of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, strongly lobbied against the law. The Democratic Party, led by William F. Vilas, decided to support the German communities. They nominated Milwaukee Mayor George Wilbur Peck for governor.

At first, many Irish Catholics, who usually voted Democratic, did not strongly oppose the law. Some even supported it, just as Governor Hoard had hoped. However, many supporters of the law started to speak out against Catholics. This made most Irish people in Wisconsin turn against the law. The Catholic Citizen, a major Irish newspaper, wrote that the law showed the "sectarian, bigoted, fanatical and crazy impurities" within the Republican Party.

How the Law Changed Politics

German communities organized themselves very well and supported Peck. This, along with public anger about a new Republican tax law, led to a huge victory for the Democrats. It was their first major win in Wisconsin in decades. A similar law in Illinois, called the Edwards law, also helped Democrats win there.

The Bennett Law was canceled in 1891. But Democrats kept reminding voters about the law to win elections in Wisconsin and Illinois in the 1892 United States presidential election. This was the last major attack on German language schools until 1914. Later, in 1925, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters that states could not attack private schools. This ruling protected the right of parents to send their children to schools that matched their values.