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In North America, before settlers came from various countries, over 300 languages existed and were spoken by indigenous (native) people to the land.
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There is a legend that Irish monks may have landed in North America in the 6th century.
https://www.history.com/news/did-an-irish-monk-discover-america -
Leif Erikson and the Vikings were in North America, in what is now called Newfoundland, for around 10 years.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15040888 -
There is a possibility that Chinese explorers came to America, but this has not been verified. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=907602
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15040888 -
It has long been believed that Christopher Columbus discovered America, but many others came before him. He was the one who was recognized for it and opened up the "New World" to European settlers.
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Jamestown was the first colony formed in what is now the United States. It was a British colony and with it came English.
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"In the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States, up until the first World War, linguistic diversity was often accepted and the presence of different languages was frequently encouraged through religion, newspapers in different languages, and in both private and public schools. There were exceptions to this acceptance of language diversity in this early period" however. (Baker, 2010, p. 189)
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"Although there is no mention of official language in the US Constitution, there is evidence that large numbers of speakers of one language concentrated in the same geographic location was cause for some concern." (Freeman, 1998, p. 34). Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, "and other colonial leaders were concerned that immigrants from non-democratic countries [...] might not easily embrace the ideals of the newly-formed constitutional democracy." (p. 34)
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Immigrants were forced to speak English and be schooled in English
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Anti-German sentiments were high and the language, and others, began to be seen as a threat
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"The Americanization Department of the United States Bureau of Education adopted a resolution recommending 'all states to prescribe that all schools, private and public, be conducted in the English language and that instruction in the elementary classes of all schools be in English'" (Baker, 2010, p. 191).
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Foreign language education was promoted in response to the Russians' space exploration.
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"symbolized a less negative attitude to ethnic groups, and possibilities for increased tolerance of ethnic languages, at least at the Federal level" (Baker, 2010, p. 192).
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To help native Spanish speaking students who were falling through the cracks in schools, this act "authorized the use of federal funds for the education of speakers of languages other than English. It also undermined the English-only legislation still lawful in many states" (Baker, 2010, p. 192).
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"Outlawed English mainstreaming [...] programs for language minority children and resulted in nationwide 'Lau remedies" (Baker, 2010, p. 192). The remedy was to provide students with help in English through ESOL classes and tutoring and also to offer some (but not much) bilingual education (p. 193).
