It all starts with inconvenient, even provocative questions. If we believe that history truly matters—whatever our reason for saying so—we must surely agree that historical truth matters.[1] That truth is rarely tangible or instantly accessible. Our awareness and understanding of past events are molded by our memory, our values, and the natural limits of popular […]
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QTP at 150: Back to Ding-a-Long Street
The several million Americans of French or French-Canadian origin, who are among the oldest Americans of European stock, are for the most part human vestiges of the vast continental French empire in North America. With these words, quoted from historian Mason Wade’s work, Query the Past launched into the story of the transnational French-Canadian community. […]
Continue readingFinding Franco-Americans in Agricultural Reports
As we’ve previously seen on this blog, nineteenth-century government reports contain abundant information about French-Canadian emigration. Legislative committees studied the issue in 1849 and again eight years later. Emigration was also a matter of debate in the halls of Quebec’s provincial legislature after 1867. Studies and commentaries commissioned (or received) by the contemporary Canadian press […]
Continue readingNuancing Native-French Relations
The arrival of European peoples in the Americas had a cataclysmic effect on the original occupants of the land. Initially, the devastation of Indigenous nations owed primarily to the spread of unknown diseases. As Europeans became more numerous and asserted their influence, Natives suffered from war, the loss of their ancestral territory, heightened competition for […]
Continue readingRetour sur l’histoire politique franco-américaine
Celles et ceux qui fréquentent ce blogue depuis un certain temps seront sans doute surpris d’y trouver un billet en français. Depuis le début, mon site vise notamment à populariser l’histoire canadienne-française et franco-américaine auprès d’un lectorat anglophone—étatsunien, notamment. D’ailleurs, la vie franco-américaine d’aujourd’hui se déroule surtout en anglais. Or, la publication de « Tout nous […]
Continue readingA Political History of Franco-Americans: The Book
As many of you know, my first academic book, John F. Kennedy and the Politics of Faith, is now available from the University Press of Kansas. I am touched by the expressions of interest and support I’ve received in the last few weeks. As readers might suspect, the book is drawing attention due to its […]
Continue reading“This province is your country”: Understanding the Acadian Deportation
In all the said places and colonies to be yielded and restored by the most Christian King [Louis XIV], in pursuance of this treaty, the subjects of the said King may have liberty to remove themselves, within a year, to any other place. . . But those who are willing to remain there, and to […]
Continue readingReview: Brettell, Following Father Chiniquy
Book Review Caroline B. Brettell. Following Father Chiniquy: Immigration, Religious Schism, and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015. Regular readers of this blog will recognize that it is chiefly concerned with the Franco-Americans of New England and New York State and their connection to Quebec history, with occasional attention to […]
Continue readingA Political History of Franco-Americans
A week ago, I submitted my second book manuscript to a university press.[1] And yes, this one is about Franco-Americans. The amount of Franco-related political items I have shared on this blog and on Twitter since the beginning of the year is in fact closely related to this research project. The struggle for survivance and […]
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 […]
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