Introduction

Abstract

The Spanish language in the United States has a long history. An American Language rediscovers the politics of the Spanish language in the period following the U.S.-Mexican War. The story begins with the United States takeover of Mexican lands that included American Indians and Mexican settlers. The settlers became U.S. citizens at the end of the war through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. These Spanish-speaking Mexican settlers thereafter used the treaty as the arbiter of their citizenship, making them treaty citizens. The United States permitted Spanish to become a language of politics in the Southwest in the nineteenth century. Comparing Spanish as a political language across the Southwest and Puerto Rico provides an opportunity to understand larger shifts in national views of citizenship. Comparing federal, state, territorial, and local approaches to the Spanish language also demonstrates the resilience of Spanishlanguage preferences among residents of the Southwest. Spanish is an American language due to its long history and continuing importance in the nation. Tracing the multilingual history of the nation provides an opportunity to include the United States into larger discussions of how migration changes a nation and how its citizens view language.