Aside from Native Americans, there are no indigenous "Americans" to speak of in the United States. The U.S. is therefore a large immigrant nation whose history has grown out of its ability to bring together people of different cultures, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds. This is why the United States is often considered to be the world's "melting pot." However, despite the fact that America is composed of a diverse immigrant population, English is recognized as the national language of the U.S., and it is through English that domestic affairs in the United States are conducted. Given the large influx of immigrants from Spanish-speaking nations in South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico in particular, debate has arisen over whether or not Spanish should be recognized as a second national language in the United States. For example, as of 1999, Spanish had 332 million...