đ This fact may be outdated
This was accurate until March 2025. On March 1, 2025, Executive Order 14224 was signed designating English as the official language of the United States. However, this is an executive order, not federal law passed by Congress, and is largely symbolic. The statement was true for nearly 250 years of U.S. history.
The United States does not have an official language.
Why America Had No Official Language for 250 Years
In a country where English dominates everything from court proceedings to congressional debates, it might shock you to learn that for almost 250 years, the United States had no official language at the federal level. Not English. Not anything.
This wasn't an oversightâit was intentional. The Founding Fathers deliberately chose not to designate an official language, viewing it as a threat to individual liberty and the diverse fabric of the new nation.
John Adams Got Rejected
In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that English should be made the official language of the United States. The proposal was shot down as "undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty." The founders recognized that America was already a linguistic melting pot, with German, Dutch, French, and numerous Indigenous languages spoken across the colonies.
For the next two and a half centuries, this position held firm. While English became the de facto language of government operations, no law required it.
What Changed in 2025
On March 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14224, designating English as the official language of the United States. However, this move is largely symbolic and faces significant limitations:
- It's an executive order, not federal law passed by Congress
- It can be reversed by a future president
- It doesn't require agencies to operate only in English
- It doesn't prevent agencies from offering services in other languages
Legislation has been introduced in Congress to make the designation permanent federal law, but as of late 2025, no such law has passed.
The State-by-State Patchwork
While the federal government historically avoided the question, individual states took their own approach. Currently, 32 out of 50 states have laws recognizing English as an official language. Three statesâHawaii, Alaska, and Louisianaâhave designated English plus additional official languages (Hawaiian, Native Alaskan languages, and French, respectively).
This patchwork reflects the reality that America has always been multilingual, with over 350 languages spoken across the country today.
Why It Matters
The lack of an official language for most of U.S. history wasn't just bureaucratic indecisionâit was a philosophical statement about American identity. The founders understood that linguistic diversity was a feature, not a bug, of the democratic experiment they were building.
Whether the 2025 executive order represents a permanent shift or a temporary policy remains to be seen. What's certain is that for nearly 250 years, America proved that you don't need an official language to build a nation.