See Part I here. Others emigrate freely with their families, driven by poverty or despair, as, in fact, has been done for many years despite the efforts of governments and friends of domestic colonization. All of this owes to causes that are separate from what we are presently discussing; we only mention it to highlight […]
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Obstacles to Naturalization: The Case of Connecticut
We are fast approaching the second anniversary of the publication of “Tout nous serait possible”: Une histoire politique des Franco-Américains, 1874-1945, the first full-length regional synthesis of Franco-Americans’ political involvement. I am very grateful for the support of the Presses de l’Université Laval, generous reviews, and readers’ willingness to give it their time and attention. […]
Continue readingThose Who Returned: One Family’s Journey to the U.S. and Back
An earlier version of this essay appeared in the winter 2022-2023 issue of Le Forum, the quarterly publication of the Franco-American Centre (University of Maine). Please cite appropriately. On both sides of my family, I am a direct descendant of individuals who elected to live and work in the United States. See, on the migrations of […]
Continue readingRoads, Rails, and Canals: Quebec and the Transportation Revolution
For generations, the field of migration history has evolved around a basic framework of push and pull factors. We can explain people’s decision to relocate by looking at their existing circumstances and the suspected advantages (real or perceived) offered by their destination. But the how—the process of relocating—is too often lost in this framework, which […]
Continue readingHistoire des Franco-Américains : Un survol
Les résidentes et les résidents des États-Unis qui déclarent des origines françaises se comptent par millions. Pensons à la population huguenote installée en Amérique du Nord à l’époque coloniale et dont l’empreinte culturelle s’est largement effacée. Plusieurs grandes villes du pays reçoivent plus tard des gens venus directement de l’Hexagone. La Louisiane, le seul état […]
Continue readingA Vindication of Franco-Americans
There is nothing more interesting and, at the same time, more heartening than a reading of the slim volume that Mr. Chandonnet has published at Desbarats. Our exiled compatriots have been so maligned; it has been so often said that on setting foot on foreign soil, they lose all memory of their God and their […]
Continue readingThose Other Franco-Americans: New Bedford, Part I
New Bedford gets a raw deal. Its Franco-Americans even more so. The city is known for its whaling history and images straight out of Moby Dick—rough, hardy Yankee whalers who in time passed the torch to Portuguese fishermen. Seafarers are more compelling, more romantic figures, we might suppose, than mill workers, whatever their ethnic background. […]
Continue readingThe Day Repatriation Died
It was half past three on July 5, 1888—well, shortly after half past three, some members of Quebec’s lower house being perennially slow to take their seats. Speaker Marchand turned to the honorable member for the riding of Bellechasse, on his left. Faucher de Saint-Maurice had the floor. So did, vicariously, the Franco-American community. Faucher […]
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 readingFrench Canadians and the Epidemic of 1885
After drafting this post, I learned that James Myall (Parlez-Vous American) will be discussing disease and public health in connection with French-Canadian migrations on April 28. His talk will be carried on Zoom thanks to the Franco-American Centre at the University of Maine. Worth checking out I’m sure! Last week, on HistoireEngagée.ca, I contributed, en […]
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