The Bennett Law, officially chapter 519 of the 1889 acts of the Wisconsin Legislature, was a controversial state law passed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1889 dealing with compulsory education. The controversial section of the law was a requirement to utilize the English language to teach major subjects in all schools. Because German Catholics and Lutherans each operated large numbers of parochial schools in the state and utilized the German language in the classroom, it was bitterly resented by German Americans, predominantly Catholic Polish Americans, and some Norwegian communities. Although the law was ultimately repealed, there were significant political repercussions in the 1890 and 1892 elections, with Democrats winning control of the Legislature and all state-wide elected offices,