State Historical Society of Iowa

Language Proclamation Correspondence #1, June 1, 1918

 Download Image Resource

Courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa, Mattadiess, L.A., 1 June 1918

Description

This 1918 letter from the Sioux City Missouri Synod Lutheran Church to Iowa Governor William Harding is requesting permission to conduct services in Swedish. The letter was sent in response to the Babel Proclamation, which prohibited all languages other than English in public or private schools, in public conversations, on trains, over the telephone, at all meetings and in all religious services.

Transcript of Language Proclamation Correspondence #1

Source Dependent Questions

  • What was Paster Matthadiess perspective? What arguments did Pastor L.A. Matthadiess use to convince the governor that sermons should be conducted in German and English? How did his perspective influence the arguments he used?
  • How did the letter support the arguments from the article by the Ottumwa Semi-Weekly Courier? How does this letter show a deepening of divisions among Americans against German immigrants?

Citation Information