When the French-Canadian Legacy Podcast reached out to me, several months ago, to ask why I choose to tell the Franco-American story, I was quick to write that “we’ve only scratched the surface.” That is, we know the outline of Franco-American history, but there is so much that still lies beyond historians’ reach or that […]
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Smash This Un-American Exclusion
War and peace. A pandemic. The League of Nations debate. Nationwide women’s suffrage. Prohibition. Unending strikes and the Red Scare. Runaway inflation and a deep recession. Race riots. Intense Americanism (read: xenophobia), and proposals for English-only education and immigration restriction. And more. From 1917, the United States experienced rapid transformations that revolutionized—at least for a […]
Continue readingFranco-American Women as Political Actors, 1890-1920
This year we mark the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, which secured American women’s right to vote across the country. Beginning in the West, some states had begun to admit female suffrage in the late nineteenth century. Only gradually did the notion of equal political rights between men and women gain traction in the Northeast—and […]
Continue readingMr. Dubuque Goes to Nashua
We could write a lengthy treatise on the French-Canadian “national” convention held in Nashua, New Hampshire, in June 1888. Some unusual moments and distinguished visitors set it apart. Still, it remains significant partly because it did not mark a major departure from prior congresses; its speeches and resolutions offer a microcosm of late nineteenth-century Franco-American […]
Continue readingJean Rivard: American and Catholic
See Part I here. Themes In my edition of Jean Rivard, the editor establishes the influence of Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe on Gérin-Lajoie’s novel. But the parallels that struck me first and foremost—parallels that will be familiar to American readers—involve Walden and Horatio Alger novels. Both Henry David Thoreau and Rivard go into the […]
Continue readingJean Rivard: A Pioneering Novel
How easily we overlook what was happening in Lower Canada in the early 1860s. While bloody conflict wrecked Mexico, the American giant was embroiled in a devastating civil war that would claim 700,000 lives and lead to “a new birth of freedom.” For a time, it seemed that the winds of war would sweep over […]
Continue readingFranco-American History in Ten Documents, Part II
See the first installment on important Franco-American documents here. A Man and His Dream (1909) Félix Albert had a tale to tell—with some false modesty, his own. In the early twentieth century, after a turbulent life, he had someone, perhaps a local priest, write down his experience as an immigrant and a man of many […]
Continue readingFranco-American History in Ten Documents, Part I
No history as rich and complex as that of Franco-Americans can be reduced to small vignettes. But what would a survey of iconic Franco-American documents and moments—perhaps destined to a neophyte—would look like? As a fun experiment, I propose the following. It is hoped that these texts (some well-known, some less so) will encourage readers […]
Continue readingFranco-American Books: A Wish List
Mark your calendars! On May 21, at noon (Eastern time), I will deliver a lecture as part of the Vermont Historical Society’s Third Thursday program. At the moment, the plan is to offer access on Zoom. The talk is titled “The Other Franco-Americans: Tracing French-Canadian Settlement in Vermont.” You can find more info on the […]
Continue readingThe Future of the Franco-American Historical Narrative
Mark your calendars! On May 18, at 2 p.m. (Eastern time), I will be speaking on Franco-American religious battles for the Franco-American Centre at the University of Maine. The link will be accessible through the Centre shortly before the event. Then, on May 21, at noon, I will deliver a lecture as part of the […]
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