Bilingual Education Act (Great Events from History: North
American Series)  Article abstract: In the face of a changing
U.S. populace, legislation authorizes bilingual education
studies.  Summary of Event  When the Declaration of Independence
was written in 1776, English was not the only language spoken in
the thirteen colonies. Twenty percent of the colonists were non-
English-speaking Europeans, including Dutch, French, and German
settlers, while twenty percent spoke African languages, and a
variety of languages were spoken by the indigenous peoples.
During the early nineteenth century, the United States occupied
the Louisiana territory, absorbing French speakers. Later in the
century, more Europeans arrived, especially from Germany.
Spanish-speaking territories, as well as Alaska, Guam, Hawaii,
and the eastern part of Samoa, were incorporated into the United
States, mostly by conquest. Bilingual constitutions were written
by the new states of California and New Mexico, preserving
certain language rights of