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PLSC 445B -- Québec Class Notes
PLSC 445B -- Québec Class Notes
Class notes -- 2008.05.12
===========================================
Current events:
French President Sarkozy gave a speech at a meeting with Canadian and French government officials in Paris this week, stressing the importance of Canadian unity, and downplaying Québec independence. This is in stark contrast to most of his predecessors back to de Gaulle, who had stressed the importance of Québec's sovereignty.
There were three by-elections held in Québec yesterday, and the conservative/nationalist Action démocratique du Québec was soundly defeated. Analysts read this as voters passing severe judgment on party leader Mario Dumont and the ADQ's populism stance. This does not bode well for ADQ holding on to its position as the Loyal Opposition in the next general election.
===========================================
Québec and the World (continued...)
1. Origins and development of Québec International Relations (IR)
2. The international status of Québec
3. The importance of France
4. Other important allies
5. Québec's international policy today: working in concert
========
4. Other important allies
* The United Kingdom
-- Important due to historical ties sustained for centuries.
-- The British Parliament recognized the specificity of Québec in 1774 (The Québec Act).
-- Following Paris, London is without a doubt the European capitol to which Quebecers find themselves most connected.
-- The UK was Québec's #2 export market in 2005.
-- the UK was Québec's #3 supplier in 2005.
* Belgium
-- Large francophone population
-- Connection through la francophonie
-- Québec delegation established in Brussels in 1960
-- Like Canada, Belgium has had to learn to govern multiple language groups: northern Dutch Flanders, southern French Wallonia, and some German-speaking areas along the eastern border.
-- Belgium offers Québec a model of decentralization in International Relations, by guaranteeing the right of component communities to sign treaties pertaining to their particular jurisdictions.
* Deutschland
-- Québec has 2 government office in Deutschland: 1 in Berlin, and another in München.
-- The Québec-Deutschland relationship is a strong and growing economic one.
--- In 2006, Québec exported $1,536 of goods to Deutschland -- a 175% increase over 2005.
--- In 2006, Deutschland was Québec's #3 export market, behind the U.S. and U.K.
--- Products sold to Deutschland in 2006 include aircraft and aircraft parts, iron ore, wood pulp, and paper.
* Italy
-- Very strong cultural relationship with Italy.
-- Italy is the country of origin for many many Québec immigrants.
-- Much Italian tourism in Québec, because of the cultural ties.
-- One of Québec's top 5 trading partners in Europe.
* Spain
-- Québec's relationship with Spain is fairly recent, and focuses mainly on Catalonia.
-- March 1999, Premier Bouchard inaugurated the Québec office in Barcelona.
-- The PQ is very sympathetic to Catalonian nationalism, as a cultural/language minority within larger country.
-- In 2006, Spain was Québec's 10th largest export market.
* Japan
-- Since 1973, Québec's most important partnership in Asia
-- Japan is Québec's largest export market in Asia.
-- Exports are over $1.1 billion, nearly doubled in last 5 years.
* Elsewhere in the world
-- Québec's relationships are founded primarily on economic matters.
-- Québec is attracted to the burgeoning economies of China and India.
========
5. Québec's International Policy Today: Working in Concert
- On May 29, 2006, Québec's Minister of International Relations, Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, unveiled Québec's new International Policy.
-- Subtitled "Working in Concert," the document outlines Québec's strategies in International Relations.
- The Ministry of International Relations
-- Created in 1967
-- Formally responsible for the conduct of all of Québec's international affairs.
The 5 objectives of the International policy:
1. Strengthen Québec's capacity for action and influence (aka: wresting power from Ottawa)
2. Fostering Québec's growth and prosperity
3. Contributing to the security of Québec and North America
4. Protecting the identity and culture of Québec
5. Contributing to the cause of international solidarity
The Gérin-Lajoie doctrine can be clearly seen in the foundations of this policy.
===================================================================
===================================================================
PART III
QUÉBEC-U.S. RELATIONS
===================================================================
===================================================================
A Historical and Multifaceted Relationship
Built and Maintained by Many Actors
- The relationship between Québec and U.S. encompasses much, much more than just the relationship between the respective governments.
-- Immigrants, tourists, lovers, artists, athletes, professors, etc., all form the basis of the Transnational Relationship between Québec at the U.S.
=====================================
Internationalism vs. Transnationalism
* Internationalism refers to the global cooperation between nation-states, and points to the affairs between these governments.
* Transnationalism refers to global cooperation between people, and points to activities which transcend national boundaries, in which the governments don't play the most important role.
The Québec-U.S. Transnational relationship is:
- Historic
- Multifaceted
- Built and maintained by many actors.
Contemporary transnational relationships:
- Culture (literature, music, cinema)
- Academic (exchange programs)
- Sports (Hockey as a bridge between Québec and U.S.
- Media (How the U.S. media portrays Québec, how Québec media portrays the U.S.)
======================================
French-Canadian Emigration to the U.S.
(1840-1930)
- An important example of the transnational relationship between Québec and U.S.
- 900,000 French Canadians emigrated to the U.S. during the period of 1840-1930
- Largely forgotten by the people of Québec and U.S. alike, this migration was important in the development of both countries.
- According to the 2000 U.S. census:
-- 13 million Americans claim French ancestry (4% of the population)
-- 1.6 million Americans speak French at home
-- A large proportion can claim ancestry from French Canada
- Notable Americans of French-Canadian descent:
-- Hillary & Chelsea Clinton
-- Senator Mike Gravel
-- Jack Kerouac
-- René Gagnon, one of the U.S. soldiers photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima
-- Angelina Jolie
-- Madonna
-- Mark Wahlberg
-- Robin Williams
=======
According to Claude Bélanger, both internal and external factors can explain why so many French-Canadians immigrated during this period.
1. Internal Factors
- Some left for political reasons:
-- Those who sided with the 13 colonies during the American Revolution
-- Those who participated in the Rebellions of 1837-1838
-- Young men trying to evade the draft during WW I
- But most left for economic reasons:
-- Québec's agriculture underwent tremendous strains during the 19th century
--- Rapid population growth, coupled with a lack of agricultural development created a deficit of available farmland.
--- By the 1830s/1840s, most of the best and fertile farmland in Québec had already been settled.
---- Only peripheral and marginal lands were left
-- Between 1784 and 1844, Québec's population increased by 400%, but agricultural acreage only increased about 275%.
-- In the 1850s, colonisation began in peripheral regions of Québec, but these regions were not very fertile, lacked access to markets, or had very short growing seasons.
-- Farmers also lacked access to credit, without which they could not buy seeds or tools, or make improvements.
-- In sum, poverty, overpopulation, debt, and soil infertility pushed many French Canadians off the land.
===========================================
The Draw of New England on French Canadians
- New England was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution
-- Jobs were easier to obtain there, at better wages
-- Factory jobs frequently required no formal skill or education
-- Women and children were often employed
- The majority of the French-Canadian immigrants were farmworkers and laborers from rural areas
-- But in time, priests, doctors, lawyers, grocers and merchants followed
-- This contributed to the immigrant's ability to engage in everyday life in French, doing business with businesses and professionals who shared language and culture
--- Became "ghettoised" in some cities
- Emigration to the U.S. was seen by most as a temporary economic solution
-- But American life exposed the workers to wonders, such as electricity, running water, steady paychecks, and annual holidays
-- So, many stayed longer than expected
-- Roughly 500,000 stayed permanently
- Development of the railway between New England and Québec also stimulated migration.
==================
Where did they go?
1840s-1860s: Northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine
- Most sought work as farmhands, in lumber camps, and in the proto-industrial brickworks of Vermont
1870s-1880s: Industrialization of textiles exploded in Massachusetts.
- Emigration patterns shifted to the textile towns of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
==================
Why did they choose these states?
- They were poor, and couldn't go farther.
- New England was relatively close to their hometowns -- they could visit back home easily.
- They could easily bring others with them.
The importance of Immigration en chaîne ("The chain of immigration")
- Often, the emigration of an entire extended family would begin with the departure of a single couple.
- Cousins, uncles and nephews would often join the initial family, before bringing the rest of the family, creating an important pattern of settlement, where family ties became the primary source of support in the U.S.
==================
Between 1840 and 1930
- Emmigration follows an ebb and flow
-- During periods of prosperity, more French Canadians emigrate
-- During recessions, fewer emigrated
==================
Québec's Reaction
- During the 1840-1880 period, Québec's elite see the migration as a disaster.
- They try unsuccessfully to stop it.
- They perceive those who emigrate as unpatriotic people whose departure will weaken French Canada by undermining its demographic position.
-- The emigrants are seen by the Québec elites as:
--- Unhappy
--- Exploited
--- Weak
--- Incapable of effort or sacrifice
--- Self-centered
--- Inconsiderate
--- Likely to lose their religion, language and culture
==================
George-Étienne Cartier
(1814-1873)
- Undisputed leader of the French Canadian bloc in the United Canada's Assembly in the 1850s
- Will later become one of the fathers of Canadian confederation (1867)
- Said, "Laissez-les partir, c’est la racaille qui s’en va"
-- ( "Let them go, it's the riff-raff who are leaving")
- Little was done to actually prevent the emigration, or address the real problems that caused it.
- This attitude changed in the 1880s
- The elites realized that the assimilation of the emigrants in the U.S. was not a foregone conclusion
-- They revised their vision of emigration
-- They started to use the word "Franco-American" to designate French Canadians living in the U.S.
- To many, Franco-Americans could be the backbone of an apostolic reconquest of Protestant North America
-- aka French Canadian "messianism"
-- However, cultural survival and expansion could only be guaranteed if the emigrant was well surrounded by French Canadian priests and institutions
- Thus:
-- Hundreds of Catholic clergy left Québec to serve in Franco-American communities
-- They ministered to the spiritual needs of Franco-Americans, established schools and hospitals, andcreated social institutions that mirrored the cultural patterns of Québec.
==================
Les petits Canadas
("Little Canadas")
- As patterns of immigration began to fill certain U.S. cities with French Canadians, some U.S. neighbourhoods began to acquire a French flavour.
- These neighbourhoods were called "Little Canada," and life in them was predominately French and Catholic.
-- Franco-Americans could speak French to the priest, the grocer, and the doctor.
French-Speaking priests in New England, ministering to Franco-American parishes:
1891: 175
1927: 620
In 1927:
- Plattsburgh NY, had 8 francophone priests
- Pawtucket, RI, had 13
- Woonsocket, RI, had 22
- Lowell, MA, had 21
Slow assimilation among francophones:
- Immigrants would slowly take over a factory
- French sometimes became the language of work on the shop floor
- Anglophone foremen sought to learn a few key French words and phrases in order to keep things running smoothly
In 1900:
- A list of the to 25 largest francophone cities in North America would include:
-- Fall River, MA (33,000 Franco-Americans)
-- Lowell, MA (24,800)
-- Manchester, NH (23,000)
-- Woonsocket, RI (17,000)
- French Canadian cities, in order of importance, 1900:
- Montréal
- Québec
- Fall River, MA
- Lowell, MA
- New England contained 10 cities with a French Canadian population in excess of 10,000.
- Québec itself only had FIVE, and most of them were barely above 10,000!
- In 1900, there were roughly as many daily French newspapers in New England as Québec.
==================
The typical French Canadian Immigrant in New England:
- Was a factory worker, particularly in the huge cotton mills
- Worked in difficult conditions
-- Low wages
-- 10-12 hour days
-- Frequent accidents
-- Lack of ventilation
-- Noisy machines
- Was frequently a victim of discrimination (common among immigrants with a different language and religion)
-- Called "frogs," "pea-soupers" or "Canucks"
==================
Carroll D. Wright (1840-1909)
- 1881 Headed the U.S. Bureau of Statistics of Labor for Massachusetts
- Wrote that French Canadians are "the Chinese of the Eastern States," who have no interest in the American social and political institutions.
==================
Franco-Americans were largely ghettoized, but
- Could also be as patriotic and nativistic as contemporary native-born Protestant Americans
-- Roughly 4,000 fought on the Union side during the Civil War
-- Tens of thousands served ther country during WW I and WW II
--- More Franco-Americans served in the U.S. army during WW I than French Canadians did in the Canadian army!
==================
The decline of "Little Canadas" and French Canadian emigration
- By the 1950s, assimilation had largely run its course.
- 1930: During the Great Depression, the U.S. Government puts a virtual stop to Canadian immigration
- Québec's economy and industrial structure grew at an unprecedented rate during WW II and the postwar era.
-- Thus, there were enough better paid jobs available in Québec so that people didn't leave the province.
- In New England, several fators led to the full assimilation of Franco-Americans:
-- The decline of the textile industry
-- The social rise of Franco-Americans
-- Franco-Americans realised that trying to "fit in" was the key to social improvement
The Legacy of the French Canadian immigration to the United States:
- Immigrants contributed to the economic development of New England
- They also contributed to cultural exchanges between Québec and the U.S.
-- Examples of cultural exchange:
--- Introduction of anglicisms like "facterie" (factory) into Québécois French
--- Introduction of new meals like "Pâté Chinois" (Shepherd's pie, called "chinois" because it had been encountered in China, Maine)
-- Most importantly, the immigrants helped project a very positive image of the U.S. in Québec.
-- To this day, that positive image has remained.
Class notes -- 2008.05.12
===========================================
Current events:
French President Sarkozy gave a speech at a meeting with Canadian and French government officials in Paris this week, stressing the importance of Canadian unity, and downplaying Québec independence. This is in stark contrast to most of his predecessors back to de Gaulle, who had stressed the importance of Québec's sovereignty.
There were three by-elections held in Québec yesterday, and the conservative/nationalist Action démocratique du Québec was soundly defeated. Analysts read this as voters passing severe judgment on party leader Mario Dumont and the ADQ's populism stance. This does not bode well for ADQ holding on to its position as the Loyal Opposition in the next general election.
===========================================
Québec and the World (continued...)
1. Origins and development of Québec International Relations (IR)
2. The international status of Québec
3. The importance of France
4. Other important allies
5. Québec's international policy today: working in concert
========
4. Other important allies
* The United Kingdom
-- Important due to historical ties sustained for centuries.
-- The British Parliament recognized the specificity of Québec in 1774 (The Québec Act).
-- Following Paris, London is without a doubt the European capitol to which Quebecers find themselves most connected.
-- The UK was Québec's #2 export market in 2005.
-- the UK was Québec's #3 supplier in 2005.
* Belgium
-- Large francophone population
-- Connection through la francophonie
-- Québec delegation established in Brussels in 1960
-- Like Canada, Belgium has had to learn to govern multiple language groups: northern Dutch Flanders, southern French Wallonia, and some German-speaking areas along the eastern border.
-- Belgium offers Québec a model of decentralization in International Relations, by guaranteeing the right of component communities to sign treaties pertaining to their particular jurisdictions.
* Deutschland
-- Québec has 2 government office in Deutschland: 1 in Berlin, and another in München.
-- The Québec-Deutschland relationship is a strong and growing economic one.
--- In 2006, Québec exported $1,536 of goods to Deutschland -- a 175% increase over 2005.
--- In 2006, Deutschland was Québec's #3 export market, behind the U.S. and U.K.
--- Products sold to Deutschland in 2006 include aircraft and aircraft parts, iron ore, wood pulp, and paper.
* Italy
-- Very strong cultural relationship with Italy.
-- Italy is the country of origin for many many Québec immigrants.
-- Much Italian tourism in Québec, because of the cultural ties.
-- One of Québec's top 5 trading partners in Europe.
* Spain
-- Québec's relationship with Spain is fairly recent, and focuses mainly on Catalonia.
-- March 1999, Premier Bouchard inaugurated the Québec office in Barcelona.
-- The PQ is very sympathetic to Catalonian nationalism, as a cultural/language minority within larger country.
-- In 2006, Spain was Québec's 10th largest export market.
* Japan
-- Since 1973, Québec's most important partnership in Asia
-- Japan is Québec's largest export market in Asia.
-- Exports are over $1.1 billion, nearly doubled in last 5 years.
* Elsewhere in the world
-- Québec's relationships are founded primarily on economic matters.
-- Québec is attracted to the burgeoning economies of China and India.
========
5. Québec's International Policy Today: Working in Concert
- On May 29, 2006, Québec's Minister of International Relations, Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, unveiled Québec's new International Policy.
-- Subtitled "Working in Concert," the document outlines Québec's strategies in International Relations.
- The Ministry of International Relations
-- Created in 1967
-- Formally responsible for the conduct of all of Québec's international affairs.
The 5 objectives of the International policy:
1. Strengthen Québec's capacity for action and influence (aka: wresting power from Ottawa)
2. Fostering Québec's growth and prosperity
3. Contributing to the security of Québec and North America
4. Protecting the identity and culture of Québec
5. Contributing to the cause of international solidarity
The Gérin-Lajoie doctrine can be clearly seen in the foundations of this policy.
===================================================================
===================================================================
PART III
QUÉBEC-U.S. RELATIONS
===================================================================
===================================================================
A Historical and Multifaceted Relationship
Built and Maintained by Many Actors
- The relationship between Québec and U.S. encompasses much, much more than just the relationship between the respective governments.
-- Immigrants, tourists, lovers, artists, athletes, professors, etc., all form the basis of the Transnational Relationship between Québec at the U.S.
=====================================
Internationalism vs. Transnationalism
* Internationalism refers to the global cooperation between nation-states, and points to the affairs between these governments.
* Transnationalism refers to global cooperation between people, and points to activities which transcend national boundaries, in which the governments don't play the most important role.
The Québec-U.S. Transnational relationship is:
- Historic
- Multifaceted
- Built and maintained by many actors.
Contemporary transnational relationships:
- Culture (literature, music, cinema)
- Academic (exchange programs)
- Sports (Hockey as a bridge between Québec and U.S.
- Media (How the U.S. media portrays Québec, how Québec media portrays the U.S.)
======================================
French-Canadian Emigration to the U.S.
(1840-1930)
- An important example of the transnational relationship between Québec and U.S.
- 900,000 French Canadians emigrated to the U.S. during the period of 1840-1930
- Largely forgotten by the people of Québec and U.S. alike, this migration was important in the development of both countries.
- According to the 2000 U.S. census:
-- 13 million Americans claim French ancestry (4% of the population)
-- 1.6 million Americans speak French at home
-- A large proportion can claim ancestry from French Canada
- Notable Americans of French-Canadian descent:
-- Hillary & Chelsea Clinton
-- Senator Mike Gravel
-- Jack Kerouac
-- René Gagnon, one of the U.S. soldiers photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima
-- Angelina Jolie
-- Madonna
-- Mark Wahlberg
-- Robin Williams
=======
According to Claude Bélanger, both internal and external factors can explain why so many French-Canadians immigrated during this period.
1. Internal Factors
- Some left for political reasons:
-- Those who sided with the 13 colonies during the American Revolution
-- Those who participated in the Rebellions of 1837-1838
-- Young men trying to evade the draft during WW I
- But most left for economic reasons:
-- Québec's agriculture underwent tremendous strains during the 19th century
--- Rapid population growth, coupled with a lack of agricultural development created a deficit of available farmland.
--- By the 1830s/1840s, most of the best and fertile farmland in Québec had already been settled.
---- Only peripheral and marginal lands were left
-- Between 1784 and 1844, Québec's population increased by 400%, but agricultural acreage only increased about 275%.
-- In the 1850s, colonisation began in peripheral regions of Québec, but these regions were not very fertile, lacked access to markets, or had very short growing seasons.
-- Farmers also lacked access to credit, without which they could not buy seeds or tools, or make improvements.
-- In sum, poverty, overpopulation, debt, and soil infertility pushed many French Canadians off the land.
===========================================
The Draw of New England on French Canadians
- New England was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution
-- Jobs were easier to obtain there, at better wages
-- Factory jobs frequently required no formal skill or education
-- Women and children were often employed
- The majority of the French-Canadian immigrants were farmworkers and laborers from rural areas
-- But in time, priests, doctors, lawyers, grocers and merchants followed
-- This contributed to the immigrant's ability to engage in everyday life in French, doing business with businesses and professionals who shared language and culture
--- Became "ghettoised" in some cities
- Emigration to the U.S. was seen by most as a temporary economic solution
-- But American life exposed the workers to wonders, such as electricity, running water, steady paychecks, and annual holidays
-- So, many stayed longer than expected
-- Roughly 500,000 stayed permanently
- Development of the railway between New England and Québec also stimulated migration.
==================
Where did they go?
1840s-1860s: Northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine
- Most sought work as farmhands, in lumber camps, and in the proto-industrial brickworks of Vermont
1870s-1880s: Industrialization of textiles exploded in Massachusetts.
- Emigration patterns shifted to the textile towns of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
==================
Why did they choose these states?
- They were poor, and couldn't go farther.
- New England was relatively close to their hometowns -- they could visit back home easily.
- They could easily bring others with them.
The importance of Immigration en chaîne ("The chain of immigration")
- Often, the emigration of an entire extended family would begin with the departure of a single couple.
- Cousins, uncles and nephews would often join the initial family, before bringing the rest of the family, creating an important pattern of settlement, where family ties became the primary source of support in the U.S.
==================
Between 1840 and 1930
- Emmigration follows an ebb and flow
-- During periods of prosperity, more French Canadians emigrate
-- During recessions, fewer emigrated
==================
Québec's Reaction
- During the 1840-1880 period, Québec's elite see the migration as a disaster.
- They try unsuccessfully to stop it.
- They perceive those who emigrate as unpatriotic people whose departure will weaken French Canada by undermining its demographic position.
-- The emigrants are seen by the Québec elites as:
--- Unhappy
--- Exploited
--- Weak
--- Incapable of effort or sacrifice
--- Self-centered
--- Inconsiderate
--- Likely to lose their religion, language and culture
==================
George-Étienne Cartier
(1814-1873)
- Undisputed leader of the French Canadian bloc in the United Canada's Assembly in the 1850s
- Will later become one of the fathers of Canadian confederation (1867)
- Said, "Laissez-les partir, c’est la racaille qui s’en va"
-- ( "Let them go, it's the riff-raff who are leaving")
- Little was done to actually prevent the emigration, or address the real problems that caused it.
- This attitude changed in the 1880s
- The elites realized that the assimilation of the emigrants in the U.S. was not a foregone conclusion
-- They revised their vision of emigration
-- They started to use the word "Franco-American" to designate French Canadians living in the U.S.
- To many, Franco-Americans could be the backbone of an apostolic reconquest of Protestant North America
-- aka French Canadian "messianism"
-- However, cultural survival and expansion could only be guaranteed if the emigrant was well surrounded by French Canadian priests and institutions
- Thus:
-- Hundreds of Catholic clergy left Québec to serve in Franco-American communities
-- They ministered to the spiritual needs of Franco-Americans, established schools and hospitals, andcreated social institutions that mirrored the cultural patterns of Québec.
==================
Les petits Canadas
("Little Canadas")
- As patterns of immigration began to fill certain U.S. cities with French Canadians, some U.S. neighbourhoods began to acquire a French flavour.
- These neighbourhoods were called "Little Canada," and life in them was predominately French and Catholic.
-- Franco-Americans could speak French to the priest, the grocer, and the doctor.
French-Speaking priests in New England, ministering to Franco-American parishes:
1891: 175
1927: 620
In 1927:
- Plattsburgh NY, had 8 francophone priests
- Pawtucket, RI, had 13
- Woonsocket, RI, had 22
- Lowell, MA, had 21
Slow assimilation among francophones:
- Immigrants would slowly take over a factory
- French sometimes became the language of work on the shop floor
- Anglophone foremen sought to learn a few key French words and phrases in order to keep things running smoothly
In 1900:
- A list of the to 25 largest francophone cities in North America would include:
-- Fall River, MA (33,000 Franco-Americans)
-- Lowell, MA (24,800)
-- Manchester, NH (23,000)
-- Woonsocket, RI (17,000)
- French Canadian cities, in order of importance, 1900:
- Montréal
- Québec
- Fall River, MA
- Lowell, MA
- New England contained 10 cities with a French Canadian population in excess of 10,000.
- Québec itself only had FIVE, and most of them were barely above 10,000!
- In 1900, there were roughly as many daily French newspapers in New England as Québec.
==================
The typical French Canadian Immigrant in New England:
- Was a factory worker, particularly in the huge cotton mills
- Worked in difficult conditions
-- Low wages
-- 10-12 hour days
-- Frequent accidents
-- Lack of ventilation
-- Noisy machines
- Was frequently a victim of discrimination (common among immigrants with a different language and religion)
-- Called "frogs," "pea-soupers" or "Canucks"
==================
Carroll D. Wright (1840-1909)
- 1881 Headed the U.S. Bureau of Statistics of Labor for Massachusetts
- Wrote that French Canadians are "the Chinese of the Eastern States," who have no interest in the American social and political institutions.
==================
Franco-Americans were largely ghettoized, but
- Could also be as patriotic and nativistic as contemporary native-born Protestant Americans
-- Roughly 4,000 fought on the Union side during the Civil War
-- Tens of thousands served ther country during WW I and WW II
--- More Franco-Americans served in the U.S. army during WW I than French Canadians did in the Canadian army!
==================
The decline of "Little Canadas" and French Canadian emigration
- By the 1950s, assimilation had largely run its course.
- 1930: During the Great Depression, the U.S. Government puts a virtual stop to Canadian immigration
- Québec's economy and industrial structure grew at an unprecedented rate during WW II and the postwar era.
-- Thus, there were enough better paid jobs available in Québec so that people didn't leave the province.
- In New England, several fators led to the full assimilation of Franco-Americans:
-- The decline of the textile industry
-- The social rise of Franco-Americans
-- Franco-Americans realised that trying to "fit in" was the key to social improvement
The Legacy of the French Canadian immigration to the United States:
- Immigrants contributed to the economic development of New England
- They also contributed to cultural exchanges between Québec and the U.S.
-- Examples of cultural exchange:
--- Introduction of anglicisms like "facterie" (factory) into Québécois French
--- Introduction of new meals like "Pâté Chinois" (Shepherd's pie, called "chinois" because it had been encountered in China, Maine)
-- Most importantly, the immigrants helped project a very positive image of the U.S. in Québec.
-- To this day, that positive image has remained.