In September, Télé-Québec aired Notre rêve américain, a documentary on French-Canadian heritage in the United States hosted by Jean-Michel Dufaux and Sébastien Fréchette, a.k.a. Biz. Documentaries on the Franco-American experience are uncommon on both sides of the border; in Quebec, the (fictional) miniseries Les Tisserands du pouvoir, which aired more than thirty years ago, still […]
Continue readingWhen the Truth Is Spoken
I have written substantially about political history. I now beg a moment for historic politics, specifically the historic moment we experienced on November 5. Although this blog’s political statements are usually indirect, the product of the historical perspective it provides, it is also my view that silence in the face of pressing moral issues is […]
Continue readingThe Vermont Abortion Cases (1858-1878)
Lucina Young. Olive Ash. Leafy Brown. Lydia Chase Cook. Mattie Spaulding. Harriet Titus Gaudette. Eliza McMahon. Caroline Bettis. Undoubtedly, some of them wished to be forgotten, their lives and tragic deaths forever passing from human memory. The history I offer here may therefore be, in Voltaire’s words, “a pack of tricks that we play upon […]
Continue readingRene Charland: The Fastest Franco-American
Let’s start with this: the guy beat an Earnhardt. The annals of Nascar’s highest levels are filled with French names—Bouchard, Labonte, Lajoie, Nadeau, etc. Local short tracks across the U.S. Northeast have had their share of competitors of French-Canadian descent. But, for all of that talent, few have reached the caliber, reputation, or fame of […]
Continue readingThe Franco-Americans of ChatGPT
Word on the street is that artificial intelligence is here to stay. Some of us are wont, with these breakthroughs, to quote that unusually profound Hollywood gem, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” But philosophy was hardly ever a match for capitalism—and […]
Continue readingThe Genesis of Manchester’s Franco-American Community
On June 29, 1935, a special issue of the French-language newspaper in Manchester, New Hampshire, L’Avenir national, celebrated la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Some articles chronicled great figures in Quebec history. Most, however, were firmly focused on the French Canadians of Manchester. In keeping with the occasion, the articles marked with undisguised pride the achievements of their community. […]
Continue readingFranco-Americans and the Construction of Race
Mention race and the conversation to follow may prove to be a powder keg. Some folks are likely to bring up (with contempt) woke ideology and critical race theory; others, systemic racism and persistent inequities. These issues are political, as they should be, politics being the space where we discuss society-wide issues to find solutions, […]
Continue readingExploring the Acadian Peninsula
The deportation of thousands of Acadians that began in 1755 left human fragments across the Atlantic world. Few areas are known specifically for their Acadian culture—or named after the culture. New Brunswick’s Acadian peninsula stands out… figuratively and literally. It is the horn that juts easterly from northeastern New Brunswick. It is bound by the […]
Continue readingFranco-American Archives: Dartmouth College
The two-hundredth post of Query the Past finds us where we started more than six years ago—with Mason Wade. A twentieth-century historian, Wade earned attention and praise for his biographies of Margaret Fuller and Francis Parkman and later his magnum opus, The French Canadians 1760-1945 (1955). A follow-up post that elicited its own controversy addressed […]
Continue readingFranco-American Archives: Lowell and Irasburg
Last month, we revisited one of our recurring characters in light of new archival evidence. This post also brings us to Vermont, but it takes us away from politics and away from archives as we usually imagine them. Our “guest” did not have the name recognition that J. D. Bachand enjoyed in his day. He […]
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