Re German, it was the most commonly taught foreign language in the United States prior to WWI. (I would have guessed Latin.) However, anti-German sentiment during the war changed all of that. In some places, it actually became illegal to speak German.
My father was born in the USA, but never spoke English until he was 12 yrs. old. The small town in E. Washington state where he was born was all German immigrants, so everyone spoke German, until the outbreak of WWI. At that time the county sheriff came through town, and told everyone they could no longer speak German in public. My grandmother was later arrested, and spent a few days in jail, as she was reported by a neighbor who heard her speaking German. It was a different world back then, especially in rural USA, where a small town sheriff could pretty much do what he wanted. My grandfather had died 2 years previous, so no adult male in the house to protest her arrest.
