Franco-Americans of New England: Dreams and Realities 9780773574298

Table of contents :
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER I: Leaving for the "States" (1840–1900)
Before 1860
From 1860 to 1900
The Québec countryside and emigration
Urban centers and emigration
The Acadian emigration
A fascination with New England
Characteristics of the migratory movement
The Little Canadas
CHAPTER II: In the Eye of the Beholder (1865–1900)
Turncoats or missionaries?
Foreigners or Americans?
CHAPTER III: The Elite and a Changing Reality (1865–1900)
"They did not leave the homeland, they brought it with them"
The Little Canadas: an arena where the forces of change and the status quo clashed head-on
The elite caught between the dream and the reality
CHAPTER IV: The Emergence of a Radical Discourse (1865–1900)
Two opposing views
"The Irish clergy [...] appears to feel nostalgia for oppression"
CHAPTER V: Progress, Crisis, and the Seeds of Dissension (1901–1914)
Progress and jubilation
Demographic changes and uncertainty
The fight against the "Irish" Episcopate: new strategies
Discourse on change
CHAPTER VI: Radicals and Moderates: The Rupture (1914–1929)
The sacred union to defy full-fledged Americanism
The Sentinellist unrest and the rupture between the moderate faction and the radical militancy
The struggle against Anglicization and Americanization: a deeply divided elite
CHAPTER VII: "A National Renasence": Between the Dream and the Reality (1929–1939)
The Great Depression
Major changes
A community completely transformed
The elite and survivance
Reconciliation
CHAPTER VIII: "Isolationism... or the Open-Door Policy" (1939–1956)
The Franco-Americans and the Second World War
The Franco-American centennial (1949)
Thomas-Marie Landry, o.p., at the third Congress of the French Language (1952)
Isolationism... or the open-door policy?
CHAPTER XI: The Elder Generation Stands Down (1956–1976)
Traditional Franco-America collapses
Conflicts between generations?
Isolationism or the open-door policy?
Epilogue
In pursuit of Father Landry's dream
"Survivance is dead in the Little Canadas"
The last handful
Bibliographic Guidelines
Onomastic Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
V
W
Toponimic Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Subject Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
S
U
W
Y

Citation preview

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

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Yves Roby

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND Dreams and Realities Translated by Mary Ricard

SEPTENTRION

Les editions du Septentrion wishes to thank the Canada Council for the Arts and the Societe de developpement des entreprises culturelles du Quebec (SODEC) for support of its publishing program, as well as the Government of Quebec for its tax credit program for book publishing. We are also grateful for financial support received from the Government of Canada throught the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP). The translation was realized with the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Graphic Design: Folio infographie Cover: Couple dans une usine de textile, Manchester (about 1930), anonymous. Le Magazine Ovo, n° 46 (1982) Copy editing: Joan Irving Translated from the French by Mary E. Brennan-Ricard Original French edition © 2000 Les editions du Septentrion English edition © 2004 Les editions du Septentrion ISBN 2-89448-391-0 (hard cover) ISBN 2-89448-400-3 (paper back) Distribution : McGill-Queen's University Press Legal Deposit - 3rd quarter 2004 National Library of Canada

For Francine Roy

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TABLE OF C O N T E N T S

List of Tables

xiii

Acronyms and Abbreviations

xv

Acknowledgments Introduction

xvii 1

CHAPTER I

Leaving for the "States" (1840-1900) Before 1860 From 1860 to 1900 The Quebec countryside and emigration Urban centers and emigration The Acadian emigration A fascination with New England Characteristics of the migratory movement The Little Canadas

7 8 11 12 14 15 16 18 21

CHAPTER II

In the Eye of the Beholder (1865-1900) Turncoats or missionaries? Foreigners or Americans?

29 30 53

CHAPTER III

The Elite and a Changing Reality (1865-1900) "They did not leave the homeland, they brought it with them" The Little Canadas: an arena where the forces of change and the status quo clashed head-on The elite caught between the dream and the reality

73 74 86 98

CHAPTER IV

The Emergence of a Radical Discourse (1865-1900) Two opposing views "The Irish clergy [...] appears to feel nostalgia for oppression" CHAPTER v Progress, Crisis, and the Seeds of Dissension (1901-1914) Progress and jubilation Demographic changes and uncertainty The fight against the "Irish" Episcopate: new strategies Discourse on change

117 118 139 153 154 161 167 188

CHAPTER VI

Radicals and Moderates: The Rupture (1914-1929) The sacred union to defy full-fledged Americanism The Sentinellist unrest and the rupture between the moderate faction and the radical militancy The struggle against Anglicization and Americanization: a deeply divided elite

223 224 241 269

CHAPTER VII

"A National Renasence": Between the Dream and the Reality (1929-1939) The Great Depression Major changes A community completely transformed The elite and survivance Reconciliation

293 295 313 319 326 349

CHAPTER VIII

"Isolationism... or the Open-Door Policy" (1939-1956) The Franco-Americans and the Second World War The Franco-American centennial (1949) Thomas-Marie Landry, o.p., at the third Congress of the French Language (1952) Isolationism... or the open-door policy?

365 367 396 421 429

CHAPTER XI

The Elder Generation Stands Down (1956-1976) Traditional Franco-America collapses Conflicts between generations? Isolationism or the open-door policy?

435 436 483 485

Epilogue In pursuit of Father Landry's dream "Survivance is dead in the Little Canadas" The last handful

499 500 509 513

Bibliographic Guidelines

519

Onomastic Index

527

Toponimic Index

535

Subject Index

541

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L I S T OF T A B L E S

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5

Table 6 Table 7 Table 8

Distribution of French Canadians in New England, 1840-1860 Net immigration of French Canadians in New England. Approximate figures, 1860-1900 Distribution of French Canadians in New England, 1860-1900 French-Canadian population in several towns of New England, in 1860, 1880 and 1900 Franco-Americans of New England born in Canada or in the United States of one or two French-Canadian parent(s), 1890-1990 Franco-Americans of New England born in Canada or born in the United States of one or two FrenchCanadian parent(s), 1890-1920 Linguistic patterns of persons born in the United States whose first language is French, according to region, 1976 Linguistic patterns of persons born outside of the United States whose first language is French, according to region, 1976

11 12 16 24

89

166 441

441

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ACRONYMS AND

a.a ACA ACJFA ACJC ActFANE APER, NS APER, SOCG APER, SRC-ASC ASV, DAYS BFFA BSHFA CCC Credif Crefane c.s.v. CWA FAROG FERA FFFA FFHQ f.s.c. IQRC-INRS NEAPQ NIRA NMDC

ABBREVIATIONS

Augustins de 1'Assomption Association canado-americaine Association catholique de la jeunesse franco-americaine Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-fran9aise Action pour les Franco-Americains du Nord-Est Archives de Propaganda Fide (Rome), Nuova Serie Archives de Propaganda Fide (Rome), Scritture Originali Riferite nelle Congregazione generali Archives de Propaganda Fide (Rome): Scritture Riferite nei Congressi America Settentrionali, Canada Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Delegazione Apostolica negli Stati Unite Bulletin de la Federation feminine franco-americaine Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-americaine Civilian Conservation Corps Centre de recherche et d'etude pour la diffusion du francais Centre de recherche sur les Franco-Americains du Nord-Est Clercs de Saint-Viateur Civil Works Administration Franco-American Resource Opportunity Group Federal Emergency Relief Administration Federation feminine franco-americaine Federation des francophones hors Quebec Freres du Sacre-Coeur Institut quebecois de recherche sur la culture-Institut national de recherche scientifique New England Atlantic Provinces Quebec Center National Industrial Recovery Act National Materials Development Center

XVI

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

o.m.i. o.p. PUL PUM PWA USJBA WPA

Oblats de Marie-Immaculee Ordre des precheurs (dominicains) Presses de 1'Universite Laval Presses de 1'Universite de Montreal Public Works Administration Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique Work Progress Administration

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

D

URING THE COURSE OF OUR WORK, we received the support of several institutions. The Chaire pour le developpement de la recherche sur la culture d'expression francaise en Amerique du Nord (CEFAN), the Centre interuniversitaire d'etudes quebecoises (CIEQ) and the Department of History at Laval University, each of these subsidized this work, in their own way. In addition, the Canada Council granted us a Killam Scholarship. By freeing us from our teaching and administrative tasks, this prestigious and generous grant allowed us to complete our research, then write the book, within a reasonable length of time. Over the years, colleagues and friends have helped us accomplish this work in so many ways. We are grateful to Yves Frenette, Claire Quintal, Matteo Sanfilippo, Andre Senecal, Nive Voisine and the late, sorely missed, Jean Hamelin. Joan Irving contributed her talents to the linguistic revision of the manuscript. Very special thanks go to Francine Roy who accorded us her valuable contribution at every stage of our work. This book is dedicated to her—the quintessential way of telling her that it is as much hers as it is ours. Many thanks to one and all.

Y.R.

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INTRODUCTION

E

MIGRATION TOWARDS the United States constitutes, in the words of Albert Faucher, the seminal event in nineteenth century FrenchCanadian history.1 From 1840 to 1930, some 900,000 persons left Quebec for the American Republic, with nearly two thirds of their number locating in New England. Before the American Civil War, the emigrants lived in small communities, in groups of from ten to a hundred individuals or so, isolated and dispersed, literally invisible in an Anglo-Saxon Protestant population. As put by the American historian Mason Wade, this is the dark age of Franco America.2 Since the migration was intended to be temporary, the majority of emigrants saw themselves as French Canadians visiting the United States. From 1865 to 1900, the French-Canadian colonies, which constituted what contemporaries called the Little Canadas, grew in number in the states of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut. From a scant 37,420 in 1860, the French-speaking population coming from Quebec, or born in New England, numbered 573,000 in 1900 and more than 750,000 in 1920. At the turn of the century, the towns of Lewiston, Manchester, Nashua, Fall River, Lowell, Holyoke, Worcester, New Bedford, Lawrence and Woonsocket, counted as many, if not more, French-speaking persons than the majority of like-sized Quebec towns. To meet their basic needs, the emigrants created hundreds of

1. Albert Faucher, "Projet de recherche historique: 1'emigration des Canadiens francais au xixe siecle" (Historical research project: the emigration of French Canadians in the nineteenth century). Recherches sociographiques, II, 2, April-June 1961, 244. 2. Mason Wade, "The French Parish and SURVIVANCE in Nineteenth Century New England", The Catholic Historical Review, XXXVI, July 1950, 171.

2

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

national parishes, French-language schools, mutual societies and newspapers. This institutional framework provided inhabitants of the Little Canadas the indispensable protection they required to meet their most essential needs, while preserving a minimum level of contact with the outside world. It also assured the development of a community with a strong sense of solidarity anchored in shared values, ideas and interests, and, of even greater significance, with a singular vision of the future. Those first-generation emigrants came to define themselves as French Canadians of the United States. They knew that they formed a nation and that they belonged to a community whose language, customs and traditions, just as much in the United States as in Quebec, fueled their struggle against the Anglo-Saxon for the survival of the French fact. Today, approximately a century later, where are the millions of descendants of those emigrants—what have they become ? Many are so completely assimilated than any and all trace of their origins no longer exists. The others of their number, most of whom have forgotten their ancestral tongue and left the Catholic Church, nonetheless cherish the fact that they all possess the same heritage and belong to the same tradition, while seeing themselves as Americans of French-Canadian stock. Naturally, this change took place gradually. By the end of the nineteenth century, children of emigrants, born in the United States and who had decided to remain there, no longer saw themselves as forming a separate nation within the American territory, but rather as composing an ethnic group not unlike the Irish Americans or the Italian Americans, among others. And although they were proud of their ancestral heritage and dearly wanted to preserve its essential characteristics, they had become Americans. A type of conversion occurred by which they relinquished their loyalty to another government and abandoned their national identity. Those people had no intention of continuing to call themselves French Canadians of the United States. Some wanted to be called CanadoAmericans, others French-speaking Americans, but the designation that took hold over the decade 1890 to 1900 was that of Franco-American. The designation endured over time, but the meaning never ceased to evolve. For some, only those who strove to preserve the essential characteristics of the ancestral heritage could be called Franco-Americans; anyone who renounced the French language or the Catholic religion cut himself off or was cut off from the group. Many contested this way of seeing things. They stressed that under pressure from the surrounding environment, along with the struggles and ordeals which a particular group may

INTRODUCTION

3

have to endure, that group must change over time, its members renouncing certain behaviors, values and ideas, so as to adopt others. Inevitably, the very perception or self-awareness of such a group also evolves, just as the criteria for membership necessarily change. And so, during the decades 1930-1940, 1940-1950 and 1950-1960, many Franco-Americans, who spoke poor French or else no longer spoke French at all, came to feel quite at home in the Little Canadas. Because they had preserved their ancestral faith and their precious memories of an earlier time, they proudly claimed the title of Franco-American. They saw themselves as full-fledged members of the national parishes and of their institutions, and flatly refused any external will that would have them expulsed on the pretext that they no longer corresponded to the definition of Franco-American as advocated by the hardliners of survival. They also claimed the right to reshape the parishes, schools and national societies and to adapt then to their specific needs. Nor did they hesitate to require that sermons be preached in English in the churches or that English become the language of instruction in the parish schools. For them, religion was the key to preserving the ancestral heritage. In the end, as recent years have evidenced, many came to insist that being a Franco-American meant laying claim to a shared heritage and a shared tradition. What then is a Franco-American? As the preceding comments have indicated, the answer to that question is indeed complex, constantly changing over time and contingent on the persons involved. In addition, at any given time, a group may have several identities; this knotty problem underlies the very notion of Franco-American history. Hence, to believe that solely individuals coming from Quebec, people who are French speakers (or bilingual) and Catholic, may be called Franco-Americans, is to admit from the outset that Franco-American history must have a predictable ending. This would suggest that in the wake of the golden era, a time when the Little Canadas took root thanks to epic struggles to keep them alive, the Franco-American fact must slowly weaken and ultimately disappear in step with the Anglicizing of each succeeding generation. To assert that individuals may claim the Franco-American designation without speaking the French language is, however, to affirm that not only do Franco-Americans have a past, but they may even have a future. This work will attempt to describe the conceptions that the FrenchCanadian emigrants in New England and their descendants have of themselves. Note that "conceptions" is here construed in the plural. Many chroniclers, historians and militants for survivance have devoted literally

4

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

thousands of articles and books to the Franco-Americans. Those texts have their heroes and their villains. The heroes were the builders of the Little Canadas, the founders of many hundreds of parishes, churches, schools, orphanages, hospitals, mutual societies and newspapers. They were the elite who struggled to uphold in this new land the integrity of the Catholic and French way of life. The villains were all those who, for whatever motive, renounced the French language or the Catholic religion. The heroes alone were entitled to be called Franco-American. Even so, those early texts give but an incomplete and biased picture of the Franco-American experience, and of the discourse on identity. And yet, those same texts are useful to any attempt at reconstructing how the elite considered their Franco-American identity. Since the authors of the documents were engaged in the struggle to survive, or were critics of that same struggle, their writings must be subjected to a rigorous deconstruction. Failure to do so would entail the risk of embracing the perception such authors have of their own history, thereby educing an incomplete, Manichaean or quasi-caricatural vision of reality. Into that trap fell authors like Robert Rumilly; and so, following in his footsteps must be avoided at all costs. "Here is a book that smells of gunpowder" wrote Adolphe Robert about Rumilly's Histoire des Franco-Americains (A History of the Franco-Americans), "with the episodes at Fall River and North Brookfield; [...] the feeling remains that the Franco-Americans did nothing but fight with one another 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."3 Despite the considerable effort this work required, the grand design was not just to describe the discourse on identity as advanced by the elite, but rather to explain its genesis and evolution. A lengthy examination of the various sources suggested the hypothesis that was ultimately retained—namely, to give weight to the appreciation the elite had of certain major events and of the Other's perception of them; in a word, to understand the Franco-American reaction to fundamental choices concerning language, in particular, and how this affected their own and their children's future when it came to the process of defining identities. Those vital choices must be replaced within the context of the prevailing demographic trends, economic fluctuations and attendant changes in mentality, with all the pertinent data on sociology and psychology placed under the loupe.

3. The Mohican, "Le Carquois d'un Mohican" (The quiver of a Mohican), Le CanadoAmericain, I , 2, August-September 1958, 9.

INTRODUCTION

5

The reader now has a good idea of the general approach of this book. He will find herein an empirical study on the process of identity-building. However, since apprehending that process means replacing it in its specific context, the reader will also discover a history of the Franco-Americans from their very inception to the present day. Two books, painstakingly integrated under one cover.

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Chapter I L E A V I N G FOR THE "STATES" (1840-1900)

In every corner of the province, the exodus continued day after day. Families sold their furniture at auction, locked up their houses and left. Every Sunday, from the church steps, the town criers announced as many fire sales; for most, this was the only way they could procure the money they needed to make the voyage. Neighbors followed the example, then others set out; it was like a contagion, like an epidemic. In the parishes, entire concessions were soon emptied, with all the houses boarded up and all the land offered for rent or for sale, or simply abandoned. Small centers were depopulated and the train stations overcrowded. At Saint-Jean many hundreds of train tickets were sold each day. At Richmond, a railway junction, emigrants spent the night stretched out on waiting-room benches. People were deserting Quebec as if a malediction had struck the land.1 ROBERT RUMILLY

H

ow THE ELITE CAME to interpret certain major events in FrancoAmerican history, along with the viewpoint of the Other, compounded by the expectations, needs and choices of the emigrants, are all issues crucial to the identity-building process. In order to identify those events, as well as to understand the hopes and the conduct of the emigrants and of their American-born children, to discover what the Quebec authorities, the Americans and their Irish-American coreligionists thought 1. Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the Franco-Americans), USJBA, 1958, 40-41.

8

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

of those emigrants, it is important to have a clear idea of the migratory movement which drove hundreds of thousands of French Canadians towards New England. This chapter2 seeks to understand and explain just who these FrenchCanadian emigrants from Quebec were, as well as why and how they left their native land. Chapter 1 also describes the origins and expansion of the Little Canadas throughout the factory towns of New England. Before 1860 The American geographer Ralph D. Vicero evaluates the net emigration of French Canadians towards New England at 22,000 persons for the period from 1840 to I860.3 Although reliable data for the years before 1840 are unavailable, on the whole, departures were few in number, despite the fact that contemporary sources often intimate to the contrary. Clearly, that early emigration was the inevitable response to a difficult environment. The French-Canadian population, with a birthrate close to 50 per 1000 inhabitants, rose from approximately 113,000 in 1784 to 600,000 persons in 1840. Such a significant demographic leap created certain difficulties. Between 1784 and 1844, the population increased by 400%, whereas the acreage of occupied land grew by only 275%.4 As concerned actual space, this involved a migratory shift towards the seigneurial hinterlands and the townships, a spatial expansion of the population that created considerable tension. However, the problems engendered by the demographic surge should not be exaggerated; although this phenomenon may well have put pressure on the land, it also gave rise to new activities such as the creation of a network of hamlets and villages, which, for a time, absorbed the overflow

2. This chapter borrows in large measure from the author's earlier works: Jean Hamelin and Yves Roby, Histoire economique du Quebec (Economic History of Quebec), 1851-1896, Montreal, Fides, 1971; Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains de la NouvelleAngleterre (The Franco-Americans of New England), 1776-1930, Sillery, Septentrion, 1990; Yves Roby, "Partir pour les Etats" (Leaving for the States), in Serge Courville (ed.), Atlas historique du Quebec. Population et territoire, (Historical Atlas of Quebec. Population and Territory), Quebec, PUL, 1996, 121-131. 3. Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 131. 4. Ibid., 22-23, 40-47.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

9

of the agricultural population.5 Moreover, many field hands were able to earn a living in those hamlets. The same period also witnessed a marked increase in lumbering. After London abolished the tariffs on timber from the colonies, lumbering spread rapidly from the seigneurial hinterlands to include the Laurentian and Appalachian forests. The logging industry provided a great many seasonal jobs in the bush and on the waterways for lumberjacks and drivers, as well as in the sawmills, where the wood to be used for shipbuilding or sent to the British or American markets was first processed. After 1830, Quebec went through a series of difficult years. In certain regions, the crisis assumed dramatic proportions. Lower crop yields owing to intensive and protracted soil exploitation and aggravated by the competition of more fertile lands to the west, as well as by natural catastrophes, all contributed to reducing the habitant's revenues. The impoverishment of farm families, the arrival of young people of an age to settle down, but unable to find land, tended to increase the number of hired farm hands. These workers could make ends meet only if all their family members were wage earners. The women gardened and made clothing, while the men, looking for seasonal employment, scoured the countryside, the villages and the lumber camps in the bush, or made the rounds of the northeastern regions of the United States, the forests of Maine and the brickyards of Vermont. At the time, leaving for the "States" was but one strategy, among many, for surviving. Because of the difficult years experienced by the industrial sector before 1860, temporary exile to the United States was the last resort for thousands of agricultural workers and for young people too, who found work as lumberjacks or drivers or even as day laborers in the sawmills and small businesses scattered here and there throughout the region. The financial crisis of 1837 in Great Britain and in the United States multiplied bankruptcies everywhere in the business world; the depression of 18461850, compounded by the abolition of preferential tariffs on wheat and wood, as well as by American competition, along with the crisis of 1857, dramatically affected every area of industrial and commercial activity. As a rule, the more dynamic farmers dealt rather well with temporary problems. However, they had no protection against disasters. In order to 5. Serge Courville and Normand Seguin, Le monde rural qu&b&cois au xix* si&de, (Quebec's rural population in the nineteenth century), Ottawa, The Historical Society of Canada (coll. "Historical Brochures," no. 47), 1989, 4 and f.f.

10

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

modernize and mechanize their assets, they did not hesitate to borrow monies, rendering themselves entirely vulnerable. When a natural catastrophe decimated crops, or prices dropped precipitately, they found themselves, quite often, incapable of paying their debts. Such misfortunes often led to seizures, auctions or, at the very least, their temporary exile to the United States in the hope of earning enough money to repay accumulated debts. The report of a Committee, created in 1849 by the Legislative Assembly, to examine the causes and scope of the emigration from Lower Canada towards the United States, indicated that, in 1840, the phenomenon was limited to the district of Montreal and Quebec City; but, by 1847,6 it would affect, rather like a contagious disease, the farthest reaches of the province. The "disease" worsened over the succeeding decade. The emigrants settled in areas often chosen solely by the vagaries of chance, but in some instances, they had heard rumors of the possibility of finding work. And so, many located at Boston in 1811; certain families from Saint-Ours settled in the Woonsocket (R.I.) area, as of 1815; others in the region of Worcester (Mass.), between 1820 and 1840; and still others at Concord and Manchester (N.H.), after 1830. The states of Maine and Vermont welcomed the majority of the migrants from Quebec. And, in 1840, 60% of all the French Canadians who had settled in New England were living in Vermont, with 30% in the State of Maine. In Vermont, the migrants who arrived via the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain were looking for the seasonal jobs to be found on the farms, in the brickyards or in the logging industry, but the biggest groups settled in the towns of Burlington, Winooski and Saint Albans. In Maine, Acadians located in the valleys of the Madawaska and the Aroostook with French Canadians from the counties of Kamouraska, Temiscouata, L'Islet and Rimouski, later taking the Temiscouata portage to catch up with them. Another migratory wave swept the Beaucerons towards the south. Down they all came to gather in the crops or to work in the lumber camps. A new trend took root between 1840 and 1860. As may be seen (table 1), the migrants tended to head more towards the southern part of New England, towards Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and southern New Hampshire. Subsequently, the cotton, wool and footwear industries all enjoyed a period of remarkable development. 6. Yolande Lavoie, L'emigration des quebecois aux £tats-Unis de 1840 d. 1930 (The Emigration of Quebecers to the United States from 1840 to 1930), Editeur officiel, 1979, 6.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

11

In Maine and Vermont, major contingents of migrants, following the time-tested means for heading south, arrived to swell the ranks of the French-Canadian colonies already on site. Further south, a chain migration established twinning practices between American cities and Quebec parishes, thereby reinforcing the tiny colonies where luck or fate had landed the first arrivals. And so, in 1850, 70% of the French Canadians at Southbridge, Massachusetts, came from Saint-Ours, which also furnished 27% of the migrants to be found at Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Finally, the French-Canadian population at Salem, Massachusetts, came down from Rimouski and the surrounding area. TABLE i Distribution of French Canadians in New England, 1840-1860 State Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New England

1840

1850

1860

2,500

3,680

50

250

5,500

12,070 2,830

7,490 1,780 16,580 7780 1,810 1,980 37,420

500 100 50 8,700

300 250 19,380

Source: Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 148.

From 1860 to 1900 After the Civil War, the emigration of French Canadians towards New England became a veritable exodus. The figures speak for themselves. The phenomenon was no secret to contemporaries. "Scarcely a single day goes by that whole families are to be seen setting out for the United States [...]," wrote in 1871, the priest Jean-Baptiste Chartier, a colonization officer. "It is as if a war has ravaged the countryside, bringing desolation to the very heart of our beautiful parishes."7 An inquiry conducted in 1892 by one Edouard-Zotique Massicotte, in 11 parishes in Champlain County,

7. Jean-Baptiste Chartier, La colonisation dans les cantons de I'Est (Colonization in the Eastern Townships), Saint-Hyacinthe, Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe, 1871, 55.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

shows that between 1881 and 1892, the emigration rate reached approximately 1.5% yearly.8 "The annexation in detail is in full sway," headlined Manchester's L'Avenir national on April 8, 1893. Why were so many leaving? A close look at the economic transformations then underway in Quebec will provide a few answers to that question. TABLE 2

Net immigration of French Canadians in New England Approximate figures, 1860-1900 Period

In Thousands

1860-1870 1870-1880 1880-1890 1890-1900 1860-1900

52 65-66 102-103 106 327-327

Source: Ralph D. Vicero, "L'exode vers le sud—survol de la migration canadienne-francaise vers la Nouvelle-Angleterre au xixe siecle," (The exodus towards the south—overview of the French-Canadian migration towards New England in the nineteenth century), in Claire Quintal (ed.), Situation de la recherche sur la Franco-Americanie, (Status of research on the Franco-American fact), Quebec, Conseil de la vie francaise en Amerique, 1980, 7.

The Quebec countryside and emigration Between 1851 and 1901, the population of Quebec increased from 890,261 to 1,648,898 inhabitants. At the same time as more than 325,000 persons were arriving in New England, a large number of Quebecers were leaving the rural areas for the city. The urban population, no more than 16.6% in 1861, rose to 39.67% in 1901. This is but one indication, among many others, of the upheavals in the entire agricultural sector during the second half of the nineteenth century. During that time, progress in agriculture was an undeniable reality, as evidenced by a slew of established facts. The area of land occupied and improved for cultivation and grazing increased, respectively, by 3,318,389 acres and 1,735,897 acres, between 1871 and 1901. Butter and cheese 8. Yolande Lavoie, "Qu6be"cois et francophones dans le courant migratoire vers les Etats-Unis aux xixe et xxe siecles" (Quebecers and francophones in the migratory wave towards the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries), Criteres, 27, Spring 1980, 209.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

13

works sprang up like mushrooms; according to the 1901 census, Quebec numbered 445 butter dairies, 1207 cheese dairies and 340 dairies producing both butter and cheese. The statistics that indicate progress in the agricultural sector tend to camouflage the high price Quebec farmers were forced to pay to achieve that end. The situation deserves a closer look. Since farmers in the Richelieu valley, on the Montreal plain, in the Eastern Townships and, to some extent, in the Quebec City region, enjoyed the clear advantage of fertile soil, the proximity of markets and export centers, as well as a more than adequate transportation network, they were in a position to modernize their holdings. The most progressive of their number increased their land area, expanded their herds, improved their methods of cultivation and purchased relatively costly machinery. To do this, they did not hesitate to borrow at interest rates ranging from 8 to 12%. Notaries, those financially independent tradesmen, assumed a large measure of the credit on the strength of promissory notes and mortgages. In periods of prosperity, when crops were good and prices stable, or on the rise, lenders were accommodating and optimism ruled the day. A poor harvest or a drop in prices brought widespread anxiety and meant negotiating loans at higher rates of interest. Moreover, if the price drop persisted (as was the case between 1873 and 1879), or poor harvests followed, year upon year (as in 1888, 1889 and 1890), or the competition on international markets increased, then catastrophe loomed. The tradesman insisted on being repaid without delay and the mortgage holder soon began to chafe at the bit. The situation often degenerated, resulting in seizures or recourse to less scrupulous lenders, the usurers, who then demanded interest rates of 15 to 20%, or, at times, even higher. The bad luck of these farmers affected the small landowners and farm workers who were counting absolutely on seasonal employment to make ends meet. Many of these country folk elected to work for a time in the United States so as to rapidly accumulate enough money to repay their debts and start over. This is what explains the cyclical nature of the migratory movement, while shedding light on the periods of intense migration that corresponded to the return of prosperity (1865-1873, 1880-1882, 1885-1888, 1891-1893) and that succeeded periods when prices dropped sharply after years of poor harvests. In remote regions, such as the Saguenay, the Lac Saint-Jean, the Mauricie, the Outaouais, the Temiscamingue and the Bas Saint-Laurent, similar phenomena stimulated emigration. In those regions where the soil

14

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

was often ill-suited to cultivation, subsistence farming was the norm, and specialization was much less evident. Farm families also counted on logging, roadwork, railway construction or fishing to make ends meet. If the demand for lumber in Great Britain or on the American market declined, if the price of fish dropped or if major public-works projects slackened, then began the infernal cycle of seasonal job-loss, indebtedness, discouragement and, ultimately, temporary or permanent emigration towards healthier economic climes in New England. Urban centers and emigration Some country people decided to locate in the towns of Quebec. Many more would have followed that route had they been able to do so. However, not only were Quebec's urban centers unable to absorb the surplus rural populations, they even helped swell the wave of migrants towards the United States. At the start of the twentieth century, Quebec's industrial landscape was characterized by factories producing or processing clothing, foodstuffs, tobacco, lumber and its by-products and by the development of heavy industry sectors devoted to iron, steel and railway rolling stock. And so, between 1851 and 1901, substantial progress was achieved, with the value of production overall increasing from $2,000,000 to $153,473,000. The longlasting downturn, which hit Quebec in 1873, slackened, but did not halt industrialization. Along with Montreal and Quebec City, which boasted the majority of the urban population, a few other agglomerations, distributed among the various regions of Quebec, polarized the industrial activity and in some ways assumed the role of regional metropolises. As was the case with the agricultural sector, statistical data tend to dissimulate reality to no mean extent. Throughout the entire span of the downturn, which covered the lengthy period from 1873 to 1896, the major enterprises, forced to submit to an unremitting competition, conserved their share of the market only by mechanizing their businesses, by regrouping, by employing more aggressive sales techniques and, most importantly, by continuing to pay very low wages. Often, workers saw a significant drop in their real wage. In some sectors, such as those of clothing and footwear, where sweat shops reigned, the situation was even worse. The entrepreneurs, whose establishments saw to the partial transformation of raw materials, then dispatched these to the master craftsmen or cottageindustry workers who, in turn, competed fiercely for the favors of the

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

15

retailers. In that the latter persons bought from those who accorded them the lowest prices, the entrepreneurs tried to reduce their production costs by cutting wages or, at the very least, by refusing to increase them. Owing to job irregularity, seasonal unemployment and meager wages, most heads of families were unable on their own hook to support their brood; indeed, everyone had to work to make ends meet, with little or no question of savings. Hence, if sickness or death struck, people had no other choice than to ask the shopkeeper for credit. When times were flush, the latter was quick to comply, but when lean times persisted, bringing unemployment or cuts in wages or work-hours or both, then, misery ensued. And, since social benefits were nonexistent at that time, an infernal round of indebtedness held sway. Pushed to the wall, many decided to locate temporarily in New England, where higher wages could be earned, in the hope of rapidly accumulating enough money to pay their debts and start afresh. As a rule, such a process is wedded to market fluctuations, which, in turn, account for the cyclical nature of migratory movements. Throughout the many lean years, the drop in workers' and farmers' purchasing power, along with the departures towards the United States, seriously affected the revenues of merchants as well as the fees of lawyers, notaries and physicians, and, indeed, threw a wrench into the entire service sector. If the problem of chronic congestion in the professions is included in the portrait, it is understandable why a new class of emigrants appeared: the educated unemployed. Ferdinand Gagnon described that reality when he stated in 1884: "we have more than 40 doctors, graduates of SaintHyacinthe, in the six New England states [...]. In industry and commerce, our compatriots are to be found in large numbers."9 The Acadian emigration Economic reasons also dictated the departure of some 20,000 to 30,000 Acadian migrants to "La Marique" (I'Amerique), after 1870 or thereabouts.10 A certain number of migrants, coming from New Brunswick, 9. Ferdinand Gagnon, "A I'Alma Mater (To the Alma Mater). Speech given at the reunion of the graduates of the Seminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe, in 1884," in Malvina-£. Martineau (ed.), Ferdinand Gagnon, Biographic, eloge funebre, pages choisies (Ferdinand Gagnon, biography, funeral elegy, selected pages), Manchester, s.e., 1940, 244-245. 10. Clarence d'Entremont, "The Acadians in New England" in The French in New England, Acadia and Quebec, Orono, NEAPQ Center, 1973, 32. The monographs on the subject, far too few, do not allow for a thorough examination of it. Although this study does not deal with the Acadians, their presence is duly noted therein.

16

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

overtook their compatriots already settled in the valleys of the Madawaska and the Aroostook, then they scattered as far as Portland, Lewiston and Biddeford. Others left from Prince Edward Island via the Boston and Colonial Steamship Line that had been established in 1864, finally reaching Boston and the surrounding areas. These migrants were all fleeing difficulties similar to those impoverishing the farmers from Quebec's less prosperous regions.11 The difficulties visited on the Acadian fishermen of Nova Scotia—difficulties made even worse by the 1871 Treaty of Washington—drove many of their number towards Boston, Gloucester, Lynn, Salem and Waltham.12 The majority hoped to return to their native province once they had managed to put aside a few dollars. TABLE 3 Distribution of French Canadians in New England 1860-1900 Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New England

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

7,490 1,780 16,580 7,780 1,810 1,980 37,420

15,100 7,300 29,000 34,600 8,900 8,600 103,500

29,000 26,200 33,500 81,000 19,800 18,500 208,000

52,000 49,000 38,000 162,000 36,000 28,000 365,000

77,000 76,000 45,000 275,000 61,000 39,000 573,000

Source: Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 275.

A fascination with New England It is clear that the tendency observed during the period of 1840 to 1860 persisted and was abetted by the rapid development of the railway network. In fact, most of the migrants swiftly reached southern New England, travelling by train. The migration towards Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire (south), approximately 64% of the total wave 11. Fernand Arsenault, "L'emigration et les Acadiens" (The emigration and the Acadians) in Claire Quintal (ed.), Immigrant acadien vers les Etats-Unis: 1842-1950 (The Acadian emigrant heading towards the United States: 1842-1950), Quebec, Le Conseil de la vie francaise, 1984, 39^0. 12. Clarence d'Entremont, loc. cit., note 10, 30-31.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

I/

in 1860, equaled nearly 80%, 40 years later. The power of attraction of the State of Maine remained relatively stable, whereas that of Vermont was virtually nil. In I860, Vermont counted more than 44% of the French Canadians located in New England, with Massachusetts having 20.8%, just slightly more than the 20% in Maine. By 1900, the picture was completely transformed; Massachusetts numbered 48% of all the French-Canadian emigrants, 10.6% were in Rhode Island, whereas Maine and Vermont accounted for 13.4% and 7.9%, respectively. Since, the desire to improve their situation impelled French Canadians to migrate, it is normal to find them in the regions that offered the most possibilities. The textile and footwear industries, concentrated in the southern areas of New England, particularly in Massachusetts, developed at a frenetic pace. Capital was abundant, with raw materials in easy supply because of the development of the railways; energy was cheap and the markets appeared to be insatiable. The number of spindles, which grew by 42.5% between 1860 and 1870, then by 57% over the succeeding decade, reflects the spectacular progress evidenced by the textile industry.13 These industries were to prove a major drawing card for French Canadians, especially since technical advances allowed for hiring man-' power from the rural milieux. Entrepreneurs found the French Canadians to be skilled, conscientious, docile, undemanding and ill-inclined to strike, and urged them to come south. The recruiting officers, whom these same entrepreneurs dispatched to Quebec's urban and rural areas and who, in turn, painted an enticing picture of the many advantages of factory work, encouraged interested French Canadians to emigrate with their families, assuring them that their children of working age would also be hired. Relatives and friends who had already heeded the invitation to go south, assured family heads that owing to the rapid development under-way in urban centers, they would easily find employment on building sites, or as sewer or aqueduct workers or in snow removal. For many, here was an unforeseen opportunity to resolve their financial problems; they became convinced that if all the family members were earning wages, and if they could reduce expenditures to a strict minimum, they would accumulate sizable economies in a short time.

13. Alice Galenson, The Migration of the Cotton Textile Industry from New England to the South: 1880-1930, New York, Garland Publishing Inc., 1985, 2.

18

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Characteristics of the migratory movement The preceding analysis underscores some interesting characteristics of the migratory movement. First of all, the temporary nature of a great many departures: Ralph D. Vicero who assesses at 325,000 the total number of French-Canadian immigrants in New England, mentions that probably "at least the same number moved south only on a temporary basis."14 Before the Civil War, the migration was seasonal in nature. The young people spent the winter in logging camps or in factories; summer found them on the farms, but once the crops were in, they returned to Quebec with their savings. Leaving for the "States" was only one element of the strategy for survival, as were logging and driving in the forests and on the waterways of Quebec. After 1865, entire families began to leave in greater numbers and for longer periods of time, but, as always, with the same purpose. That period saw a continual to-ing and fro-ing on both sides of the border. "We were prepared to rush off anywhere to make money, afterwards we returned home,"15 related a Mr. Saint-Germain to the historian Jacques Rouillard. "They would make a little money down there to settle their debts, then back they came [...] people moved for three-four years in one direction, then, three-four in another; they almost had no home at all," wrote Jos. Morin of Woonsocket.16 Emigration appeared to be a particularly advantageous option, because, as Bruno Ramirez wrote, it was one that offered a wide range of possibilities. "One could resort to it as a temporary strategy; one could move with the whole family; one could send one or more children of

14. Raph D. Vicero, "Sources statistiques pour 1'etude de rimmigration et du peuplement canadien-francais en Nouvelle-Angleterre au cours du xixe siecle" (Statistical sources for the study of the French-Canadian immigration to and settlement in New England during the nineteenth century), Recherches sociographiques, XII, 3, SeptemberDecember 1971, 361. 15. Jacques Rouillard, Ah les £tats! Les travailleurs canadiens-franc,ais dans I'industrie textile de la Nouvelle-Angleterre d'apres le temoignage des derniers migrants (Ah the States! French-Canadian workers in the textile industry of New England as related by the last migrants), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1985, 26. 16. Pierre Anctil, Aspects of Class Ideology in a New England Ethnic Minority: The Franco-Americans of Woonsocket, Rhode Island (1865-1929), Ph.D. Thesis, New School for Social Research, 1980, 65.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

19

working age as a way of redressing the family economy; temporary emigration could become a sort of testing period, in the course of which a final strategy could be determined."17 The migration could be likened to the ebb and flow of the tides. When prosperity reigned in New England, the news reached Quebec rapidly and was followed by an exodus, as in 1865-1873, 1879-1882, 1885-1888 and 1891-1893. But, when a recession hit the American economy, as in 1873-1879, 1882-1885, 1888-1891 and 1894-1896, employers cut wages, reduced working hours or dismissed employees. Again the news would travel rapidly and migration decline; and, as a result, many returned home. Each time the latter phenomenon occurred, Quebec authorities believed that the demographic bloodletting was finally over. Illusion! It was only after they had achieved their objectives, namely, accumulated sufficient savings to pay their debts, purchase a farm, or other holdings, that those migrants who had not succumbed to the attractions of the American way of life, returned home for good. The migrants viewed their stay in the United States, "as a prison term,"18 said Doctor Gedeon Archambault, in 1884, at the bicentennial Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebration in Montreal. What he meant was that migrants and their families, in order to achieve their objectives, were quite prepared to endure the greatest of sacrifices.19 It will be recalled that after 1864, Quebec's French Canadians tended to emigrate as families. Indeed, Yolande Lavoie, based on her analysis of the study by Edouard-Zotique Massicotte,20 concludes that "Families tended to emigrate in clusters: in other words, an entire family (72% of migrants) or a few members of a

17. Bruno Ramirez, On the move. French-Canadian and Italian Migrants in the North Atlantic Economy, 1860-1914, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart Inc., 1991, 81. 18. Quoted in Pierre-Philippe Charrette (ed.) Noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Compte rendu officiel des fetes de 1884 a Montreal (Bicentennial Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebration. Official report on the 1884 celebrations in Montreal), Montreal, Le Monde, 1884, 405. 19. For a description of their harsh living and working conditions, see Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains (The Franco-Americans) op. cit. note 2, Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 61-97. 20. Edouard-Zotique Massicotte, "L'emigration aux Etats-Unis il y a 40 ans et plus" (Emigration to the United States, 40 years ago and more), Bulletin de recherches historiques, XXXIX, 21-27, 86-88, 179-181, 228-231, 381-383, 427^29, 507-509, 560-562, 697, 711-712; XL, 121.

20

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

family (18%), simply packed up and left for the United States."21 The migrants were well informed by their relatives and friends already in the States that one wage-earner could not on his own support family dependents, let alone accumulate savings. Only families with working-age children could hope to remain afloat. "A large family is, indeed, a capital resource that yields great profits in the States," wrote the Jesuit Priest Hamon.22 This is but one facet of the complex role the family played in the migratory process. It was within family networks that occurred the phenomenon described by researchers as the "chain migration process." The migrants informed their relatives and friends, who had remained in Quebec, about job possibilities, wages and hiring procedures; they advised them as to the best routes to take, quite often paid their train tickets and, upon their arrival, presented them to potential employers. Moreover, they had already found them lodgings and obtained credit for them with the grocer, the butcher and the baker. Then too, the presence of relatives and friends still in Quebec afforded the new arrivals a manner of insurance, should they encounter financial difficulties or insurmountable adaptational problems. This chain migration process led to the reproduction on a smaller scale of certain Quebec regions in the industrial centers of New England. Maine was populated by Beaucerons and Rimouskois; the residents of Woonsocket and Southbridge were, for the most part, natives of SaintOurs and Sorel; those of Worcester came from the Richelieu Valley, Montreal and Saint-Hyacinthe; their compatriots in Salem and Fall River were natives of Rimouski and Sainte-Flavie; the farmers from the counties of Joliette, Berthier and Maskinonge located at Warren, whereas those from Nicolet, Yamaska and Lotbiniere settled in Manchester. According to Massicotte's survey, out of approximately 2,000 emigrants from

21. Yolande Lavoie, L'emigration des Canadiens awe £tats-Unis avant 1930. Mesure du phenomene (The emigration of Canadians to the United States before 1930. Assessing the phenomenon), Montreal, PUM, 1972, 61. 22. Edouard Hamon, Les Canadiens-Franfais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England), Quebec, N.S. Hardy, Librairie-Editeur, 1891, 16. The 1875 Rhode Island census revealed that 40.6% of French-Canadian children under 14 years of age were working in the textile mills and that 20% of their number were 10 years old or younger. In 1880, 72% of the working children of Lewiston were under 16 years of age. See Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains (The Franco-Americans), ocit, note 2, 70.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

21

Champlain County, Lowell welcomed 290 of their number, Meriden, 220, Woonsocket, 112 and Waterbury, HO.23 The Little Canadas In 1840, the French-Canadian population in New England numbered 8,700; in 1860, they were 37,420, for the most part in the states of Maine and Vermont. Except for certain centers like Burlington, Biddeford-Saco, Manchester, Southbridge and Woonsocket (see table 4), the migrants lived in small communities of a few dozen, but never more than 200 or 300 persons, isolated and dispersed, in a word, submerged in an Englishspeaking population of the Protestant persuasion. The historian Mason Wade calls this period "the dark age" of French Canadians in New England.24 In certain areas bereft of Catholic priests, the migrants were entirely deprived of all religious rites. Some young people who were in the habit of moving from one place to another adjusted to the situation more easily. In the eyes of Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, these "voyagers" represented "the group least acquainted with the Church, hence, a group that has little or no difficulty abstaining from religious duties."25 However, those people were the exception. The selfsame reality encouraged other Canadian emigrants to associate with one another and to group together. They would meet regularly in one or another of their compatriots' homes to talk about Canada, to sing their songs of yore, to recite the evening prayer and say the rosary. Three or four times a year, the bishops of Quebec, at the request of their American colleagues, would send them missionaries. These priests gathered their compatriots together in barns or houses to baptize the newborns, hear confessions, bless the marriages that had been celebrated before a justice of the peace, say Mass and distribute communion.26 In 23. Yolande Lavoie, ocit, note 21, 61. 24. Mason Wade, "The French Parish and SURVTVANCE in Nineteenth Century New England," The Catholic Historical Review, XXXVI, July 1950, 171. 25. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, Notre-Dame des Canadiens et les Canadiens aux £,tats-Unis (Our Lady of the Canadians and the Canadians in the United States), Montreal, George E. Desbarats, 1872, 143. 26. History has retained the names of Fathers Pierre-Marie Mignault in Vermont, Moyse Fortier in Maine, Ze"phyrin Levesque and Napoleon Mignault in Massachusetts, Isidore-Hermene'gilde Noiseux in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire and the Oblates in Vermont.

22

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

other places, emigrants could frequent Irish-Catholic Churches, but the experience was not always a happy one. They felt out of place in those Churches where no one spoke French and where the traditions and customs disoriented them. And so, many stopped going to Church entirely and seemed to renounce their faith.27 In the diocese of Burlington, some more fortunate migrants were able to have a national parish created at Saint-Joseph of Burlington, in 1850. Their compatriots in Swanton (1854) and Saint Johnsbury (1858) were integrated in mixed parishes.28 And so, dispersion and isolation gradually led to indifference to religion among certain emigrants. Moreover, the simple fact that they had set down permanent roots in the United States encouraged many others to abandon their mother tongue. The need to communicate with the likes of employers, government representatives, shopkeepers, doctors and their fellow workers, often left them no other option. In the end, they did everything possible to merge with the ambient milieu, even going so far, in some instances, as to renounce the family name: the surnames Dubois, Lacroix and Boisvert would become Wood, Cross and Greenwood.29 After the Civil War, the situation changed radically. From 1865 to 1900, more than 325,000 French Canadians from Quebec reached New England and stayed there. From 37,420, in 1860, the emigrants and their American-born offspring totaled 208,000 in 1880, 365,000 in 1890 and 573,000 in 1900. They represented, at that juncture, some 10% of the total population in all of the six New England states. If these statistics give the impression of a population divided and submerged in an entirely foreign milieu, then they are misleading. In fact, although French Canadians tallied barely 8.4% of the population of Maine, in certain localities of the Aroostook Valley, they represented more than 90% of the population. The 27. Louis-Alexandre Mothon, "Le resume de notre vie" (The resume of our life), in Jules-Antonin Plourde (ed.) Dominicains au Canada (Dominicans in Canada). Livre des documents (Official documents), vol. 2, Les cinq fondations avant I'autonomie 1881-1911 (The five cornerstones supporting autonomy 1881-1911), s.L, 1975, 93-94. 28. A national parish serves Catholics of a single nationality. The officiating priest is French Canadian or, at the very least, speaks excellent French and provides all the services in French. A mixed French-Canadian parish is one where the clergy and the majority of the faithful are French Canadian, but where the curate must also preach and offer services in English for the benefit of those who do not understand French. 29. Martha Crane and Tom Schulhof, "Name-Changing Patterns among French Canadians in Waterville, Maine," French Review XLIII, 3, February 1970, 460-462.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

23

same phenomenon prevailed in Vermont: constituting scarcely 11.84% of the total population, they represented 50% in Winooski and 25% in Burlington. Further south, they could be found in the median cities of 25,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, located in a large semi circle around Boston. At times, they formed a majority, for example, in Suncook (60%) and Woonsocket (60%); but most often, they were the minority population, as in Fall River (32%), Lowell (26%), Holyoke (34%), Worcester (13%), New Bedford (24%), Manchester (40%) and Nashua (40%).30 Viewed in absolute figures and not as a percentage, the statistics are equally revealing (see table 4). In 1860, of the 26 cities for which data are available, 15 counted less than 100 French-Canadian emigrants, 8, between 100 and 500 and 3, more than 500. Forty years later, out of 28 cities, 6 counted a little less than 5,000 French Canadians, 12, between 5,000 and 10,000, 7, between 10,000 and 20,000 and 3, more than 20,000. Franco-America was at the embryonic stage in 1860. Over the years, "just like the islands that a volcanic eruption brings forth from the ocean's floor,"31 sprang up here and there, especially in the vicinity of factories, pockets of French-Canadian emigrants. They were numerous enough on certain streets or blocks to give a French flavor to an entire district. This was how they came to form what Americans call the "French quarters,"32 that which the historian J.P. Dolan calls "cultural ghettos," not "residential ghettos,"33 areas that came to be called the "Little Canadas." The creation of those quarters was progressive. At the beginning, the networks of relatives and friends played the key role. Thanks to the process of chain migration, as previously described, most of the migrants, when they reached a given locality, already had family and friends awaiting their arrival. As the historian Yves Frenette writes, "A rapid glance at the census of the day shows that many families with the same surname lived on the same street or in the same quarter."34 Those people were crucial to helping the newcomers find jobs and adapt to the factory environment; for starters, they initiated them as to the rudiments of given trades, gave them advice 30. Ralph D. Vicero, loc. cit., note 3, 340, 343. 31. Louis-Alexandre Mothon, loc. cit., note 27, 94. 32. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 22, 33. 33. Jay P. Dolan, The American Catholic Experience. A History from Colonial Times to the Present, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday and Co.,1985, 201. 34. Yves Frenette, La genese d'une communaute canadienne-franc_aise en NouvelleAngleterre: Lewiston, Maine, 1800-1880 (Genesis of a French-Canadian community in New England: Lewiston, Maine, 1800-1880), Ph.D. Thesis, University Laval, 1988, 59, n. 116.

24

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND TABLE 4

French-Canadian population in several towns of New England, in 1860, 1880 and 1900 Towns Maine Lewiston-Auburn Biddeford-Saco Waterville Old Town New Hampshire Manchester Nashua Berlin Vermont* Burlington Winooski Massachusetts Fall River Lowell Holyoke Worcester New Bedford Lawrence Fitchburg Salem Springfield Southbridge Haverhill North Adams Chicopee Rhode Island Woonsocket Providence Warwick Central Falls Pawtucket Connecticut Waterbury

1860

1880

1900

1 667 470 323

4,714 4,301 1,548

13,300 10,650 4,300 3,000

442 248 13

7,753 3,248

852

423

23,000 8,200 3,000 5,000 2,900

10 266 165 386 0 84 48 1 68 573 91 88

9,000 10,000 6,000 3,500 1,007 2,500

794 25 307 45

5,953 1,000 2,276 1,895

824

17,000 8,000 7,700 6,000 5,200

1

1,000

4,000

500 200 2,446 3,200 1,500 1,011 2,022

33,000 24,800 15,500 15,300 15,000 11,500 7,200 6,900 6,500 6,027 5,500 5,000 4,200

Source: Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 289. *William Macdonald, "The French-Canadians in New England," in Madeleine Giguere (ed.) A Franco-American Overview, Vol, 3, New England, Cambridge, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual / Bicultural Education, 1981, 6. The data cover the year 1897.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

25

and informed them about the tacit rules of behavior. In times of adversity, just as when life was relatively stable, their proximity enabled them to pull through like any close-knit community. The old people often lived with their children; hence, working women could, on occasion, count on grandmothers to mind their children and prepare meals. Relatives and friends gave special attention to pregnant women or women who had just given birth. Heads of family who were ill or unemployed could rely on assistance from their compatriots before having to solicit charity from the Church or municipal authorities.35 The strong ties that were forged in those communities promoted a veritable collective existence that contributed to creating a complex institutional network centered on the parish. In the words of the historian Jay Dolan, "The families were the bricks and stones of an immigrant community, but the Church provided the mortar."36 That which Canadian emigrants miss most, wrote the missionary Chandonnet, is "their church, their parish church, their curate, their mass, their ceremonies, their vespers with the solemn intonation of the psalms, their catechism on Sunday; and just like natural complements, which—in their mind's eye, they associate intimately with the church—the opportunity to encounter relatives and friends, and to chat with them between mass and vespers on the church steps or in the immediate vicinity".37 The obligation to attend the churches of their coreligionists of Irish origin rendered that deprivation all the more acute. The French Canadian felt like a stranger in those churches where the predication and the sermons were couched in a language foreign to him, where the curate could neither hear his confession nor act as his advisor, as his Quebec counterpart would have done, and, indeed, where that same curate scorned him for seeming to be tightfisted. He also felt out of place because the traditions and customs relative to administrating parishes and performing liturgies, as practiced in the Irish-American churches, bewildered him no end.38 The massive arrival of French Canadians after 1865 aroused tension within the "Irish" parishes. The "Irish" curate, confronted with an unfamiliar reality, scarcely knew how to behave when dealing with these new 35. Tamara K. Hareven, Family Time and Industrial Time. The Relationship between the Family and Work in a New England Industrial Community, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982, 101-109. 36. Jay. P. Dolan, op. cit, note 33, 204. 37. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, op. cit., note 25, 3. 38. fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 22, 60-61; Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, id. 13-14.

26

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

parishoners. Should he request the assistance of French-Canadian missionaries or curates? In so doing, would he run the risk of displeasing the majority of his congregation who already held the recent emigrants responsible for the rarety of new jobs, the drop in wages and the intransigence of employers? Was he to disrupt their habits, force them to hear French spoken at church, impose upon them longer and more lavish ceremonies and even ask them to celebrate certain feasts, like that of Saint John the Baptist, with as much solemnity as the feast of Saint Patrick? At times, the antagonism between the two groups degenerated into open conflict. In their edition of March 11, 1887, VIndependant of Fall River mentions a brawl occurring right inside Saint-Joseph's Church between Irish and French Canadians "about occupying pews." On the advice of the missionaries from Quebec, or at their own initiative, the French-Canadian emigrants asked their diocesan bishop to grant them their very own parishes shepherded by French-Canadian priests. On the whole, the American bishops were acquiescent. If they deemed the number of applicants sufficient to assume the costs of erecting a church, a rectory and a school, along with maintaining a parish priest, quite often, the response would be affirmative. The statistics speak for themselves: the bishops granted 14 such authorizations from 1861 to 1870; 28 from 1871 to 1880; 23 from 1881 to 1890; and 19 during the last decade of the century.39 In addition, the missionaries strove to convince their superiors in Quebec to authorize priests who so desired to answer the call of their compatriots. At first, the Quebec Episcopate reacted with caution, but since the emigrants risked losing their faith, they adopted a more conciliatory stance. This attitude was confirmed by the words of the Reverend Father M. de Bruycker at the Taftville Convention in Connecticut, in 1884, who stated, "Thirty years ago, I was sent to Canada by the bishops to seek out Canadian priests, yet in vain. Today, it is much easier; we are able to recruit as many as we want."40 Those clerics played a key role within the French-Canadian emigrant communities. Builders, they erected close to one hundred churches and 39. Yves Roby, Les Franco-Amtricains (The Franco-Americans), op. cit, note 2, 115. 40. Arthur Baribault (ed.)> Congrts nationaux. Histoire et statistiques des CanadiensAm&ricains du Connecticut 1885-1898 (National Conventions. The Canadian-Americans of Connecticut 1885-1898, history and relevant statistics), Worcester, Imprimerie de 1'Opinion publique, 1899, 213.

LEAVING FOR THE "STATES"

27

75 parish schools. Animators, they promoted the founding of several hundred mutual societies and French-language newspapers. In the more heavily populated centers like Lewiston, Fall River, Manchester and Nashua, the religious communities, at the request of the clerics and under their guidance, instituted hospitals. In addition to treating the sick, those same institutions served as orphanages, hospices for the aged and child-care centers for preschoolers whose mothers worked outside the home. In 1900, close to 2,000 priests and nuns from Quebec headed hospitals and parochial schools. For the emigrants, the parish represented an oasis, a refuge, and the parish community represented their extended family. Here they led an intense religious and French-speaking existence. They felt at home; indeed, they identified with their tiny homeland. Physically, their new setting reminded them of Quebec. The church, the rectory, the school and the convent, all located within a stone's throw of the factories where they worked, and the housing blocks where they lived, formed the very core of their community. The general storekeeper, the doctor, the druggist and the lawyer offered their services nearby. As parish members, emigrants were in a position to satisfy their own basic needs while keeping contacts with the outside world to a strict minimum. The parish also assured the development of a community, promoting the creation of group solidarity rooted in common values, perceptions and interests and, most of all, in a collective vision of the future. In the towns of New England, where there existed one or several national parishes, some observers might almost have believed they were in greater Quebec; for as Father Louis-Alexandre Mothon, o.p., wrote, in 1893, "scarcely thirty years ago in this town of Lewiston, our place of residence, we would have searched in vain for but a few families of French extraction and our language was just as foreign then as it would be in China or Japan. Yet today, out of 35,000 souls, one third of the population is of our race and that proportion continues to swell year after year [...]. More than 1,700 children learn the French language in our schools; furthermore, they consider same to be their mother tongue. And, at the same time, they are learning English, the language of their new country. Today, one could spend hours walking about certain quarters of the city, without hearing any language spoken other than our own [...]. The same phenomenon continues to grow apace, although perhaps less rapidly, throughout the majority of New England's urban areas [...]. One wonders where or when this peaceful invasion of

28

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

the French language will end."41 While such remarkable vitality astonished the Quebecers who had remained in the homeland, it was beginning to irritate a growing number of Americans.

41. Louis-Alexandre Mothon, loc. cit, note 27, 112.

Chapter II IN THE EYE OF THE B E H O L D E R

(1865-1900)

What is a French Canadian? "He is a creature of God, watched over by the Almighty in a very special way. God took him by the hand to entrust him with a great and noble mission."1 Words of a participant at the eighth Convention of French Canadians of Connecticut, held at Bridgeport, in 1897. Emigrants and sons of emigrants, we have become active and respected members of the American society, to such an extent that we now feel we are just as American as the passengers on the Mayflower.2 GODFROY DUPRE, of Biddeford, at the Convention of French Canadians held in 1901, at Springfield, Massachusetts.

C

OWARDS, WASTRELS, deserters, turncoats, the Chinese of the Eastern States, the Pope's henchmen, these are but a few of the labels that the elite, Quebecers and Americans, alike, attributed to the French-Canadian emigrants of New England. In the face of such malicious and scornful assertions, how did these people manage to see themselves as members of

1. Arthur Baribault (ed.), Congres nationaux. Histoire et statistiques des CanadiensAmericains du Connecticut, 1885-1898 (National Conventions. The Canadian Americans of Connecticut 1885-1898, history and relevant statistics), Worcester, Imprimerie de 1'Opinion publique, 1899, 165. 2. Godfroy Dupre, "La naturalisation" (The naturalization) in Felix Gatineau (ed.), Historique des conventions generates des Canadien$-Fran$ais aux £tats-Unis, 1865-1901 (History of the general conventions of French Canadians in the United States, 1865-1901), Woonsocket, L'Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, 1927, 420.

30

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

God's chosen race and as model Americans? What role did their elite play in the identity-building process? This chapter will attempt to answer those queries. Turncoats or missionaries? Approximately 22,000 persons left Quebec for New England during the years 1840 to 1860. Although authorities in Quebec took a certain interest in the phenomenon, as indicated by the public inquiries of 1849,1851 and 1857, they were not otherwise alarmed; the emigration was of about as much interest as intemperance, annexation, reciprocity and colonization. It was only after the American Civil War that the issues of emigration and colonization moved to the forefront of their preoccupations. A time of contempt (1865-1873) After 1865, the emigration began to resemble a veritable demographic bloodletting; indeed, from 1860 to 1880, the net emigration towards New England may be evaluated at 118,000 persons. The anxiety that had overtaken the politico-religious elite before the Civil War gave way to panic. "What a mutilation of the homeland," exclaimed Laurent-Olivier David, when faced with the actual figures of the 1871 departure.3 Parliamentarians set up inquiries, held discussions and advocated such measures as colonization, modernizing agriculture, building factories, and constructing railways.4 A waste of time and effort! For, as Felix-Gabriel Marchand affirmed in the House, on June 24, 1868, "the damage is now so widespread that strong measures must be adopted at once to stop the march, otherwise, it will be fruitless to seek remedies."5 The parliamentarians feared that a widespread emigration of the French-Canadian population 3. Laurent-Olivier David, "Triste bilan" (A sad state of affairs), L'opinion publique, Montreal, November 2, 1871. This cry of alarm is easy to understand in that the majority of the 118,000 departures occurred during the years 1865 to 1873, alone. In fact, very few people emigrated during the Civil War (1861-1865) and the depression of 1873 to 1879. 4. See Marcel Hamelin's study on the subject, Les premieres annees du parlementarisme quebecois (1867-1878) (The early years of Quebec's parliamentary system (18671878)), Quebec, PUL, 1974, passim. 5. The National Assembly of Quebec, Debats de I'Assemblee legislative, lere legislature, 1867-1870 (Debates of the Legislative Assembly 1st term, 1867-1870), Quebec; Journal des D6bats, 1974, 69.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

31

might well entail a decrease in their representation at Ottawa. For their part, the clergy were distressed to see leave those they viewed as their children, fearing as well that the emigration might sap their power base, weaken their financial situation and encourage a religious defection among those seeking refuge in the American cities. Many witnesses believed that sooner or later the exodus would threaten the very survival of the French-Canadian nation. Incapable of eliminating the calamity, which they failed to understand despite any number of inquiries, the parliamentarians and the clergy made every effort to discredit those who left. The press and virtually all of Quebec's poets, dramatists, novelists and their like took an active part in this campaign.6 Their judgments were often merciless. "Let them go; only the rabble are leaving," George-fitienne Cartier is reputed to have said.7 Cowards, idlers, delinquents, traitors, deserters, turncoats: so many insulting epithets were hurled at the emigrants that these clearly represented as many indications of the motives attributed to their departure.8 Nonetheless, a number of parliamentarians, journalists and members of the clergy came to the defense of their emigrant compatriots, emphasizing that it was poverty, indebtedness, unemployment and a scarcity of factories that explained their decision to set out, leaving everything behind.9 However, such defenders were the minority. Others attributed the emigration to a taste for luxury, intemperance, sloth, improvidence and

6. Guildo Rousseau, L'image des £tats-Unis dans la litterature quebecoise, 1875-1930 (The United States as portrayed in Quebec literature, 1875-1930), Sherbrooke, Editions Naaman, 1981, passim. 1. The paternity of this affirmation attributed to Cartier by Alexandre Belisle in his Histoire de la presse franco-americaine et les Canadiens-Fran$ais aux £tats-Unis (History of the Franco-American press and the French Canadians in the United States), Worcester, Imprimerie de 1'Opinion publique, 1911,14, and based on word of mouth, has never been clearly proven. According to the La Presse of Montreal, June 22, 1912, the author of this tirade is said to have been a young man who, taking advantage of the absence of Arthur Dansereau, Editor of La Minerve, purportedly addressed it, in a fit of indignation, to a Canadian emigrant who had written insulting things about the Government. 8. Same phenomenon in Acadia. "Emigrer, c'est deserter sa patrie" (To emigrate means deserting the homeland), affirms Le Moniteur acadien of September 17, 1869. Quoted in Leon Theriault, "L'Acadie, 1763-1978. Synthese historique" (Acadia, 1763-1978. Historical resume", 1763-1978), Jean Daigle (ed.) Les Acadiens des Maritime* (Maritime Acadians), Moncton, Center for Acadian Studies, University of Moncton, 1980, 75. 9. As an example: Laurent-Olivier David, "L'emigration" (The emigration), L'Opinion publique, March 21, 1872.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

thriftlessness.10 Quite simply put, in their view, the main ingredients for guaranteeing the success and contentment of the working classes could be reduced to a very simple equation: hard work and thrifty ways are the keys to success. Each person is responsible for his own lot and must learn to cope with events on his own hook. The elite tended to stress, without cease, the need to acquire such virtues as temperance, foresight and thrift. They believed that if farmers and workers put aside small sums of money on a daily basis, they could avoid insolvency, thereby putting themselves in a position to give usurers and their snares a wide berth and, ultimately, escaping the disastrous consequences of debt. Those who were incapable of doing so and, as a result, had to resign themselves to emigrating to the United States were, in their eyes, victims of improvidence, sloth, intemperance and an unbridled taste for luxury. The elite of the clergy and their professional counterparts persisted in attributing to improvidence and the taste for luxury the successes throughout Quebec that were enjoyed by the recruiting agents in the employ of American industrialists; the bragging of Canadian emigrants visiting Quebec was also felt to have a disastrous influence. However, it was hoped that the persuasive force of these many individuals could be thwarted by depicting the emigrants as slaves who were not only toiling long hours and ruining their health in New England's insalubrious factories, but who were losing their soul into the bargain. For America also meant the city, the urban center, a morally polluted environment, the very kingdom of satanic forces, where, left to himself, the emigrant lost his faith and betrayed his nationality. The United States has become "a vast Sodom," wrote Jules-Paul Tardivel in Le Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe, of February 8, 1873.H "After two or three generations, how many compatriots will have lost their language, perhaps even their faith, to become Canadian in name only, if, indeed, they manage to keep that name?" asked Mgr Louis-Francois Lafleche in 1866.12 10. Some examples: Leon Provancher "Etude sur Immigration des Canadiens aux Etats-Unis," L'echo du cabinet de lecture paroissial (Essay on the emigration of Canadians to the United States), XIV, 1872,745; Joseph Desrosiers, "Le luxe, principe d'avilissement et de decadence" (Luxury, the root of degradation and decadence), Revue canadienne, 1879, 346 11. Quoted in Pierre Savard, Jules-Paul Tardivel, la France et les £tats-Unis, 1851-1905 (Jules-Paul Tardivel, France and the United States, 1851-1905), Quebec, PUL, (coll., "Le Cahiers de 1'Institut d'histoire," no. 8), 1967, 20, note 36. 12. Quoted in Nive Voisine, Louis-Francois Lafleche. Deuxieme eveque de Trois-Rivieres (Louis-Franc,ois Lafleche. Second Bishop of Trois-Rivieres), Saint-Hyacinthe, Edisem, 1980, 106, note 76.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

33

How did the emigrants or, rather, their elite, react to such a contemptuous attitude? How did this same elite interpret the migratory movement? How did they depict the tens of thousands of compatriots living in New England? Father Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, a missionary priest, the journalists Honore Beaugrand, Frederic Houde, Aritoine Moussette, Ferdinand Gagnon and Charles Lalime,13 their colleagues Laurent-Olivier David, George-fidouard Desbarats and Joseph-Alphonse Mousseau of L'Opinion publique of Montreal,14 among others, took umbrage at the attitude of their Quebec compatriots, sharply reproaching them for such abusive language. The French Canadians of the United States are not cowards, nor are they shirkers or miscreants, protested Honore Beaugrand in his novel, Jeanne lafileuse (Jeanne the spinner). Essentially, it was poverty, even famine, in some instances, and ultimately, an inability on the part of Quebec authorities to help them resolve their problems that forced them into exil. "The Franco-Canadian emigrant has journeyed to and remains in the United States because he can earn a living there more easily than in Canada. And that is the naked truth."15 And as Father Chandonnet stated, in rather ironic terms, "To start with, it is quite difficult to imagine that a populace, thus far so scanty in number, could have produced such a huge quantity of manifestly unendowed offspring, not to mention the contingent that stayed put."16 Those so inured had to stop depicting the emigrants in such an unfavorable light, presenting them as slaves obliged to serve ruthless masters, or as Catholics in the process of losing their language and their faith. For this was simply not their reality. Of course, they were hardly in the lap of luxury, but their living conditions were superior to those which Quebec could have offered them. And, in 1874, with much fanfare, this was the very news that 46 delegations of emigrants and the children of emigrants from New England, wearing costumes and carrying banners—ten thousand strong—came north to tell their Quebec 13. The first three, after several years in the United States, returned to pursue their career in Canada; the last two remained permanently in New England. 14. L'Etendard national of Worcester, directed by Gagnon and Lalime, became the American edition of the Opinion publique of Montreal, starting in 1872. 15. Honore Beaugrand, Jeanne la Fileuse (Jeanne the spinner), 2nd ed., Montreal, Les Presses de la Patrie, 1888, 190. The first edition dates from 1878. 16. Thomas-Aim^ Chandonnet, Notre-Dame-des-Canadiens et les Canadiens aux Etats-Unis (Our Lady of the Canadians and the Canadians in the United States), Montreal, George E. Desbarats, 1872, 140.

34

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

compatriots, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Montreal. Simply because the elite entertained more generous attitudes towards the emigrants and their motivations, this in no way made them unconditional apostles of emigration; not by a long shot. It was emphasized that two types of emigration existed: one that could be condoned and another that must be deplored. Because of widespread unemployment and the scarcity of industrial jobs in Quebec, many came to realize that a considerable number of workers had no other alternative than to emigrate. Their reasons were justifiable; hence, they were not to be blamed. However, the shoe was on the other foot when it came to those "farmers who hauled their families off to the United States, families with eight or ten children... [or to those] farmers who placed their property in tenancy to go and roam about America."17 Because, as Ferdinand Gagnon indicated, for some five years now, their number has gone well beyond the limits of the acceptable.18 Those people were wrong to emigrate. Indeed, they fell victim to the boasts of emigrants writing home to their relatives and friends in Quebec "that life was a bed of roses in the United States, that work was to be found everywhere and that money was easy to earn." Quebecers thinking seriously of emigrating had to be convinced that such palaver was empty talk and that except for a small number of highly qualified workers, very few emigrants managed to put any money aside.19 No allegation had a greater influence on the way in which the elite viewed the French-Canadian emigrants and their future on American soil than the one which insisted they had deserted the homeland and would most certainly lose their language and their faith, within one or two generations. And yet, many argued that the emigrants had not abandoned their homeland since the majority of their number were in the United States only on a temporary basis. "The Canadians left the homeland without renouncing her, and [they] live in the United States without any desire to 17. "L'Emigration. Fiction et realite" (Emigration, fiction and reality), by an emigrant, L'Opinion publique, May 4, 1871. 18. Ferdinand Gagnon, "Naturalisation (Naturalization), discourse on naturalization and repatriation, pronounced at Worcester in September 1871, in Malvina-E. Martineau (dir.), Ferdinand Gagnon, Biographic, eloge funebre, pages choisies (Biography, funeral elegy, selected excerpts), Manchester, s.ed., 1940, 101. 19. "L'emigration. Fiction et rEalite"" (The emigration. Fact and fiction), loc. cit, note 17, May 4 and 11, 1871.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

35

put down roots," wrote Thomas-Aime Chandonnet. "Experience shows that every year close to a quarter of the Canadian population moves away, even from places where there is a Canadian church."20 Such people submitted to temporary exile with their families in the hope of rapidly accumulating the money necessary to pay their debts, buy a farm and settle their children. The elite strove not only to stop new emigrants from heading to New England, but also to bring back to Quebec those already settled south of the border. However, they did recognize that the chronic lack of jobs impeded laborers from hastily returning home; yet the same comprehension was not extended to emigrant farmers, who were expected back without delay. Colonization, which called for strong arms and patriotism, turned coming home into a duty. For "any wellborn man shall love his country and if he is far from his native land, ever shall he seek to return home. If we no longer have that desire [...], we are indeed worthless beings, no better than the nation's bastards [...]. The greatest number among us is enjoined to return to the homeland."21 That same place could be expected to welcome them back with open arms, it was opined, for not only were the repatriates bringing back considerable sums of money, but even more importantly, they "had cultivated with great satisfaction a talent for hard work, learned how to counter energetically the domination of routine and, ultimately, refined their spirit of initiative."22 What then became of those who, either by discretion or out of necessity, elected to settle permanently in New England? They represented but a minority, if the elite are to be trusted. Did they become assimilated? Did they abandon their language and abjure their faith, as Mgr Lafleche had feared in 1866? Had they ceased to be French Canadians? Not at all, Laurent-Olivier David was to state. "One thing is certain, the Canadians in the United States do not appear to be Americanizing themselves any more than we are Anglicizing ourselves here in Canada."23 No doubt, there were grounds for concern about the fate of emigrants before 1860, because of 20. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, op.cit., note 16, 136, 137. 21. Ferdinand Gagnon, loc. cit., note 18, 100. 22. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, op. cit., note 16, 149. Everyone in Quebec did not concur with this. "The morality of our compatriots, more or less affected by their sojourn in the States, precludes any effort on our part to effect their return against their will," Leon Provancher, loc.cit, note 10, 746. 23. Laurent-Olivier David, "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste aux Etats-Unis" (Saint John the Baptist Day in the United States), L'Opinion publique, 5 juin 1873.

36

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

their dispersal and lack of cohesion as a population, but massive changes would occur later on. Chance encounters of contingents of emigrants often led to the formation of groups; in time, these groups would become villages and parishes. Many members of the clergy also accompanied the emigrants; soon, schools, academies, [...] were founded: a number of parishes were entirely French-Canadian. [...] Our emigrant compatriots have remained true to form; south of the border, surrounded by millions of Americans, they have felt no desire to become Americanized; rather, they have sought to remain French Canadians with the help of their faith, their language and their customs [...]. They have asked as well for the support of the priest, the school and the newspaper.24

Certain people—they remain the exception—saw the survival of the French and Catholic fact in the United States as directly attributable to the hand of God. "Divine Providence, which governs the universe, has designs for this astounding emigration which are quite beyond our ken," wrote Mgr Louis de Goesbriand. "Providence shall pursue its aim, thereby separating the good from that which we may view as evil."25 Whatever might have been the designs of Providence, that concept had a very positive impact on how, over time, the elite came to view the role of their emigrant compatriots. We are convinced, declared the delegates present at the tenth Convention of the French-Canadian Union for Mutual Assistance, held at New York, in September 1874, "that here, we are the harbingers, not the fugitives or deserters, of our nation, and that, if we are now more exposed to danger, it is to better protect the bosom of our motherland."26 This role imposed a compelling obligation on French Canadians in the United States and on Quebec authorities, alike. Of course, if the emigrants wanted to safeguard their interests and exert every right possible, they would have to acquire American citizenship, but even then, and above all, they would remain, at heart, French Canadians. "We may

24. Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, "Les groupes canadiens-francais aux £tats-Unis" (Cohorts of French Canadians in the United States), L'Opinion publique, April 11, 1872. The author refers here to the founding of 34 national parishes before 1880—of this number, 27 between 1867 and 1873—as well as to the establishment of nine parochial schools, and to the founding of some 40 newspapers and several dozens of mutual societies. 25. Quoted in fidouard Hamon, Les Canadiens-Fran$ais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England), Quebec, N.S. Hardy, Publisher and Bookseller, 1891, 173. 26. Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 2, 84.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

37

well become American citizens, but we must always remain faithful to our watchwords: we must ever be French: and above all else, Canadians."27 As for Quebecers, they would be better advised to counsel the emigrants, rather than criticize them for leaving, to assist them, instead of insulting them.28 And most important of all, the religious authorities should send them priests29 and acquiesce to the requests of Mgr de Goesbriand, Bishop of Burlington, in the State of Vermont. On May 13, 1869, the latter prelate published an open letter in Le Protecteur canadien of Saint Albans describing the difficult situation of Canadian emigrants and launching the following call for help. "If we do not hasten to assist these emigrants, they are doomed to losing their faith and dishonoring their nation, even in the shadow of the Cross [...]. The Canadians need missionaries from their own country; they need separate churches."30 At first, the Quebec diocese reacted with caution. The bishops were well aware that their compatriots in the United States were at risk of losing their faith, but in view of the huge scale of the exodus after 1865, they wanted to avoid anything that might be viewed as an encouragement to emigrate. However, their discourse was ambiguous. Although, on the one hand, the bishops condemned emigration to the United States, asking the Quebec clergy to direct their faithful towards the centers of colonization in Manitoba, when there was absolutely no way to prevent them from leaving Quebec, on the other hand, they still promised to send out priests to the emigrant communities.31 They did so willingly because the economic depression that plagued North America from 1873 to 1879 had halted the exodus, convincing them that the worst was over; they even hoped that the Act of Repatriation passed in 1875 by Quebec's Legislative

27. Ferdinand Gagnon, "L'Etendard national," of Worcester, Mass., July 8, 1872", in Felix Gatineau (ed.), id. 32-33. 28. As Joseph-Alfred Mousseau indicates, loc. cit., note 24, when industries have been developed in Quebec, all those in a position to do so will return to the homeland, the others will ever be our friends and remain our allies. 29. For, "wherever a Canadian prelate journeys, religion rules again," wrote Charles Thibault, "Les Canadiens aux £tats-Unis" (Canadians in the United States), L'Opinion publique, 4 mai 1871. 30. Quoted in Edouard Hamon, op. cit, note 25, 174-175. 31. On the attitude of the Quebec Bishops, see Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1776-1930 (The Franco-Americans of New England, 1776-1930), Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 100-104.

38

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Assembly would bring home a large number of emigrants. They must have been sorely disappointed. The economic depression and the repatriation projects (1873-1879) History shows that population displacements correspond to the vagaries of specific economic circumstances. "That which our governments fail to achieve will be accomplished for us by the depression now paralyzing the United States," wrote the journalist Oscar Dunn, during the early days of the 1873 recession. "The French Canadians who emigrated to the land of our southern neighbours are returning home en masse, for they can no longer find abroad the work they first set out to secure."32 Some returned to their farm, others tried out colonization. Still others went to live with relatives while waiting for more propitious times to arrive. It was that phenomenon which led the governments into error, encouraging them to believe, at least at the outset, that since the bad times were over, they could, and indeed they did, establish repatriation programs. As early as 1870, the Quebec government began to examine the problem more closely. Father Jean-Baptiste Chartier of Coaticook, a colonization officer, assumed the responsibility of covering the whole territory of New England to preach the need to return home. One thousand copies of his pamphlet, La colonisation dans les Cantons de I'Est (Colonization in the Eastern Townships), were distributed in the United States. The recession motivated the government to get things moving quickly. And so, Jerome-Adolphe Chicoyne was dispatched to the French-Canadian communities of the United States to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the possibility of a widespread repatriation. Then, Father Pierre-Edmond Gendreau, mandated by the federal government to carry out a similar mission, attended the ninth convention of French Canadians in the United States, held at Biddeford (August 13-16, 1873). In a clear majority, the delegates deplored the fact that governments were spending so much money to attract foreigners to Canada, while seeming to take no interest in the French Canadians of the United States who were anxious to return home.33 The arrival with great ceremony of 10,000 emigrants at the huge celebration of Saint John the Baptist Day at Montreal, in 1874, persuaded the authorities that their attachment to Quebec was as strong as ever. 32. Oscar Dunn, "Le rapatriement" (The repatriation), ^Opinion publique, November 20, 1873. 33. Felix Gatineau (ed.)> op. cit., note 2, 52.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

39

During the session of 1875, the Legislative Assembly adopted a Repatriation Act, creating the colony of "La Patrie" (The homeland), not far from the American border, to receive the returnees. They appointed Ferdinand Gagnon, a journalist from Worcester, Massachusetts, as repatriation officer for New England. Despite all the efforts deployed, the program failed. For each returning emigrant, five or six more crossed the border in the opposite direction. "Scarcely 600 families had been repatriated to Quebec, when, shortly after, 300 of them returned to the United States,"34 affirmed Gagnon in 1881. Bitter irony! Father Victor Chartier, in a letter to the Premier of Quebec, Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, stressed the fact that many of those same families had retained their lands with the firm intention of returning from the United States as soon as they had put aside enough money.35 The struggle to effect repatriation aroused many and varied reactions in New England, creating serious tensions among the elite. Ferdinand Gagnon became the ardent proselytizer for the return of emigrants to Quebec's farmlands and, in some instances, directed emigrants towards unsettled land in Manitoba.36 His newspaper, Le Travailleur (The worker) of Worcester, exalted the merits of country life while decrying with equal ardor the living conditions of workers in the industrial cities of New England.37 This excessive propaganda irritated certain partisans of the return to Quebec. "It is entirely untrue that we live here in slavery; indeed, any humanitarian crusade which may have been launched on our behalf should be renounced forthwith."38 "And, in the words of yet another, "if 34. Quoted in Carroll D. Wright, The Canadian French in New England, Boston, Rand, Avery and Co., 1882, 31-32. 35. Victor Chartier to the Honorable Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, June 2, 1880, in "Appendice no 4 au Rapport general du Commissaire de 1'agriculture et des travaux publics de la province de Quebec pour 1'annee financiere expiree le 30 juin 1880" (Appendix no. 4 to the general report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works for the Province of Quebec for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880), Documents de la Session de I'Assemblee legislative de Quebec (Sessional documents of the Quebec Legislative Assembly), no. 2, Quebec, Francois Langlois, 1881, 406. 36. It will be recalled that, even during the prosperous years prior to 1873 and before he was appointed repatriation officer, Gagnon advocated the repatriation of the majority of his compatriots. 37. Jocelyne Cossette, "Le Travailleur et les Canadiens fran9ais de la NouvelleAngleterre, 1874-1886" (Le Travailleur and the French Canadians of New England), paper given at the annual convention of the Historical Society of Canada, May 1985, at Montreal, unpublished text, 23-25. 38. Honore Beaugrand, op. cit, note 15, 6.

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only our Canadians were being dispatched to the beautiful parishes along the noble St Lawrence [...], but such is not the case, they are being sent into the bush or even worse into the swamps of Manitoba with the savages."39 However, Gagnon's campaign especially angered those in the Little Canadas—merchants, professionals, newspaper owners and prelates— who feared that the repatriation would mean the loss of their clients, readers and parishioners, thereby irremediably weakening the communities they had taken such great pains to shape. Beyond any personality clash, the observer will perceive here a growing tension between those who viewed the emigrants as French Canadians in the United States for but a short stay, and others, who saw them as French Canadians of the United States. The renewed exodus of 1879 would only emphasize the growing influence of the latter group. The French Canadians of the United States and the providential mission (1879-1901) With the return of prosperity in 1879, the exodus picked up steam. From 1879 to 1882, tens of thousand of French Canadians left Quebec for New England. This was the first in a series of emigration waves which, in the space of two decades, would encourage more than 200,000 persons to leave home for good. Among Quebec's elite, once again incomprehension and panic ruled the day. As was the case during the years 1865 to 1873, the leaders in the worlds of politics, the press and, particularly, the Church severely condemned the movement, attributing to those leaving only the most contemptible of motives. In 1880, Bishops Louis-Francis Lafleche, of TroisRivieres, Antoine Racine, of Sherbrooke, and Elzear-Alexandre Taschereau, of Quebec, identified sloth, intemperance and a taste for luxury to be at the root of this evil.40 Sloth is the most difficult vice to eradicate from the hearts of men, wrote Mgr Lafleche. If so many French Canadians are 39. Quoted in Felix Gatineau (dir.) op. cit., note 2, 111. 40. Louis-Francis Lafleche, "Discours sur les causes de Pemigration" (Discourse on the causes of the emigration), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.), Fete nationale des CanadiensFranfais celebree en 1880, (National Holiday of the French Canadians celebrated in 1880), Quebec, Imp. A. C6te, 326-333; "Discours de Mgr Antoine Racine, evdque de Sherbrooke, le 24 juin 1880" (Discourse of Mgr Antoine Racine, Bishop of Sherbrooke, June 24,1880), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) id., 167-186; Elzear-Alexandre Taschereau, "Mandement sur la colonisation" (Pastoral on the colonization), September, 1880, in Mandements des eveques de Quebec (Pastorals of the Bishops of Quebec), VI, 215-220.

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41

seeking to discover in the United States that which a little hard work would bring them in Quebec, it is because they refuse to submit to the tenets of labor and work the land.41 Moreover, intemperance "which in all truth may be called one of the main gates to hell," wrote Archbishop Taschereau, impoverishes families and saps the very spirit of faith. In the end, if emigration takes on such alarming proportions, it is because a taste for luxury has become the scourge of Quebec's countryside and towns. People go into debt to purchase extravagant finery; to be sure, there is no evil in procuring beautiful headwear and fine clothing provided they be homemade. "But let not one sou be given within the family to go fetch such things in the shops. Let one and all be contented with what they have. And should there be penury, then, let each one learn to suffer, for suffering is not without merit," wrote the Bishop of Trois-Rivieres. "Be happy with the lot reserved for you by Divine Providence; do not aspire to reach beyond your limits" enjoined Mgr Racine. "[...] When sons begin to be ashamed of their father's apparel, failing to respect his name is not far behind."42 These disdainful remarks repeated time and again in sermons, political speeches, editorials, novels, and plays dismayed the emigrants and their friends in Quebec. They complained of being constantly denigrated, of being presented as bogeymen to frighten the farmers of the province of Quebec.43 "If you want nothing more to do with us, be good enough to leave us at peace; this is the very least we can demand," wrote Joseph Montmarquet, Editor of the Messager of Lewiston44. In a more openhanded way, Quebec's elite were being asked to view the emigration and its conse41. If our compatriots do not earn as good a living here as down there," wrote the Nord of Saint-Jerome, "it is because for the most part they do not work (as hard) as they do down there, like Chinamen, like Negroes, like machine." Reproduced in "Insultes gratuites" (Wanton insults), Le National of Manchester, April 20, 1893, 2. 42. Charles Perin, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, writes that "Luxury is essentially a relative notion which cannot be defined rigorously or absolutely. The single general characteristic that may be attributed to the notion of luxury is that it consists of expenditures that exceed the resources of the persons incurring same." Quoted in Joseph Desrosiers, loc. cit., note 10, 338. 43. fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 136. "Except for a tiny contingent, thank God, of idlers or imbibers [...], one need but seek out those who came south because of poverty or distressing circumstances," wrote Hamon (p. 138). 44. July 29,1880. Quoted in Paul M. Par£, "Les vingt premieres annees du Messager de Lewiston, Maine" (The first two decades of the Messager of Lewiston, Maine), in Claire Quintal (ed.), Le journalisme de langue fran^aise awe £tats-Unis (French-language journalism in the United States), Quebec, Le Conseil de la vie francaise en Amerique (The Council on life in the French language in America), 1984, 89.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

quences in a radically different way, to heed those who knew what was actually happening in New England. And the latter contingent was strong in number. Every year, thousands, indeed, tens of thousands of emigrants returned to Quebec to visit relatives and friends. In fact, scarcely a week passed without the newspapers of Quebec informing their readers about life in the United States. Moreover, the clergy of Quebec enjoyed privileged information. Hundreds of priests, nuns and members of the lesser orders of Quebec corresponded regularly with their colleagues who had remained behind. Each year, many returned home for a retreat or a holiday. In the seminaries, communities, colleges and convents, life in the Little Canadas was minutely examined from every angle. And over time, Quebec leaders came to have a much more realistic appreciation of the situation of their compatriots in the United States. That which they observed astonished them, making them stop to think. The French-Canadian population in the United States, scarcely 37,420 in 1860, reached 208,000 in 1880, and 573,000, 20 years later. The tiny agglomerations, scattered and isolated at first, had become, quite often, major centers, enjoying a solidly entrenched Catholic and Frenchspeaking existence. The emigrants, gathered about their elite, organized their number in a concerted effort to preserve, alive and well on American soil, the distinctive features of their nationality. In the Little Canadas, they set up an institutional network centered on the parish, the parochial school, the mutual societies and the French press. In 1900, following a difficult start, there were 89 national parishes, some 50 mixed parishes, 75 French schools, hundreds of mutual societies, as well as dozens of French-language newspapers and periodicals. The major centers boasted hospitals, hospices, orphanages and nurseries. According to some observers, those French-Canadian communities constituted a distinct nationality, as much by their language as by their customs and religion; over time, their economic, political and social importance would assume considerable proportions. And, as Ferdinand Gagnon declared at the Saint-JeanBaptiste celebrations of 1880, at Quebec, "Everything about the United States should have encouraged them [...] to become Americans, to forget Canada. Yet, quite the opposite is happening."45 "Those emigrants constitute a nation [...], where the family traits are preserved for all to see."46 45. Quoted in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) op. cit, note 40, 226. 46. fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, XIV.

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43

How may this reality be interpreted? Could all this be the work of traitors, deserters, idlers, or the depraved? No, replied Pierre-JosephOlivier Chauveau at the celebrations of 1880. "We virtually gave up hope in the multitude of our compatriots who had emigrated to the United States [...]. Relying on exaggerated reports, we believed that they had been or soon would be submerged in that immense melting pot where so many other nationalities had disappeared. We were mistaken; the time has come for us to make amends to them in frank and open fashion."47 Might it not be best "to look on High for an understanding of this singular migration?48 If the emigration occurred, more and more people wondered, could it not be because God ordained it to happen since He divined a mission for the French-Canadian nation in America?49 Might not such a mission be to shoulder, on American soil, the same destiny as the French had accomplished in Europe: to become pioneers, messengers of the faith and of the Christian civilization, in short, to be "God's commissioners?"50 God, Charles Thibault would say, cast abroad the French Canadians "like handfuls of stars" to illuminate "the Protestant nations, steeped in dissipation, iniquity and vice."51 This perception of the French Canadians and their role in America may explain the messianic interpretation of their past by the elite on either 47. Quoted in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) op. cit, note 40, 269. 48. fidouard Hamon, op. cit, note 25, 5. 49. This reading of events, abeit surprising in the present context, was less unusual for the French Canadians of an earlier time, who believed in a mighty God and who refused to accept the notion that people, like things, could be subjected to blind fatality. That nations might have a mission ordained by God, a vocation, would never have been contested. As related by Mgr Louis-Adolphe Paquet in 1902, "A few of their number have the honour to be called to a sort of priesthood [...]. History [...] has proven same; there are nations with a strong inclination towards industrialism, others have more of a commercial bent and still others are conquerors; there are nations which are friends of the arts or of science; but, there are also others of an apostolic nature [...]. (These last) ever deserve the glorious appellation of champions of Christ and soldiers of Providence." Quoted in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) Annales de la Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Quebec, Quebec, Imprimerie du Soleil, 1902, 23-24. 50. That last designation belongs to Judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier, "Le role de la race fran^aise en Amerique" (The role of the French race in America), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) op. cit. note 40, 294. 51. Charles Thibault, Le double avenement de I'Homme-Dieu ou les deux, unites politiques et religieuses des peuples (The twin Coming of God-made-man, or the two religious and political entities of all peoples). Speech given on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, at Waterloo, June 28, 1887, Montreal, s.ed., 1887, 34.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

side of the border. For, as Edouard Roy wrote: "The history of our nation foretells the divine plans."52 From the very beginning, God had prepared the French Canadian, that special creature, that child of eternal France, descendant of such illustrious beings as Clovis, Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Saints Joan of Arc and Vincent de Paul and Bossuet, to assume the glorious roles of Champion of Christ and Soldier of Providence.53 Indeed, "the Cross cast its benevolent shadow"54 on the very cradle of the FrenchCanadian colony. France, she who discovered, then populated, a large portion of North America, made "the expansion of the realm of Jesus Christ the initial objective of all her enterprises."55 To ensure that the young colony could fulfil their destiny, God allowed them to recruit "among the working class, a group strong in their faith, natives of the excellent countryside of France."56 For their guide, the Deity gave them Mgr de Laval, "one of the race that hews nations" who "struck that youthful nation-state with an indelible seal." The eminent Bishop of Quebec and his successors "succeeded in helping every family to maintain high ideals and Christian simplicity and, by encouraging an intimate union between the people and their prelates, they forged a nation of honest tradesmen, of happy and peaceful farmers."57 To preserve the colony from "the incredible misfortunes of the ungodly and degenerate France of the Revolutionary era," 52. In a conference given to the Union Saint-Joseph, at Worcester, fidouard Roy, "La destinee du peuple canadien" (The destiny of the Canadian nation), Revue canadienne (Canadian Review), 1888, 34. 53. Louis-Adolphe Paquet, "Sermon sur la vocation de la race francaise en Ame'rique, prononce" pres du monument Champlain £ 1'occasion des noces de diamant de la Socie'te' Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Quebec le 23 juin 1902" (Sermon on the vocation of the French rac in America, pronounced near Champlain's monument on the occasion of the diamond jubilee of the Societ£ Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Quebec, June 23, 1902), in Louis-Adolphe Paquet, Discours et allocutions, Quebec, Imprimerie franciscaine missionnaire, 1915,184-185. 54. fidouard Roy, loc. cit, note 52,279. "Notre berceau est d'une purete" sans tache et toute notre histoire aussi" (Our cradle is pure, without stain, just like our entire history). Joseph-Adelard-Marie Brosseau, "Le reve de Jacques Cartier. L'avenir du Canada fran^ais" (The dream of Jacques Cartier. The future of French Canada), Revue canadienne (Canadian Review), 1905, 560. 55. L.-A. Paquet, loc. cit., note 53, 189. 56. fidouard Roy, loc. cit., note 52, 279. 57. fidouard Hamon, L'£glise et l'£tat. Discours prononce a I'tglise St. Jean-Baptiste de Quebec le 24 juin 1878, a ^occasion de la fete patronale de la Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Th Church and the State. Speech given at the St-Jean-Baptiste Church of Quebec, June 24, 1878, on the occasion of the patronal celebration of the Socie'te' Saint-Jean-Baptiste), Quebec, Imprimerie du Canadien, 1878, 4.

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God permitted that the colony change masters and be conquered by Protestant England.58 After the Conquest, in the absence of a nobility, the seigneurs and the soldiers, most of whom had returned to France, the ordinary folk remained alone to combat oppression, with the clergy as their sole guide, as if God "had decided to prove to us that He alone was in charge of our national and religious destiny."59 "Before the Conquest, [...] in what place were devised the most fanatic schemes to annihilate us? Whence came those cruel bands who [...] relentlessly set to pillaging and profaning our churches and our Catholic crosses?" From New England. Today, where do we find the French Canadians? asked George Payer, curate of New Bedford. "In the land of the very people whose forefathers sought to annihilate us, and we now live there with our priests, our friars and our nuns, erecting churches, founding schools, while ever remaining Canadians and Catholics."60 If the nationalist clerics pretty much agreed as to the nature of the mission Providence had entrusted to the French Canadians, they did diverge on the question of the role the emigrants were to play once they located in the States. The realization of that mission presupposed an occupation, an initial conquest, or a fresh conquest, of occupied territories. In such perspective, the expansion on American soil, considered by some to be a positive strategy, was viewed by others as a dangerous loss of the Nation's lifeblood. The first group accepted the emigration, the second condemned it. It seems wise to consider carefully the questions at issue. It was Rameau de Saint-Pere, a French author, who first expressed the notion of reconquest, in 1859. That same year, he published, La France aux colonies. Etudes sur le developpement de la race fran$aise hors de VEurope. Les Fran$ais en Amerique. Acadiens et Canadiens (France in the colonies. Studies on the development of the French race outside Europe. The French in 58. Charles Thibault, Hier, aujourd'hui et demain. Origines et destinies du peuple canadien (Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Origins and destiny of the Canadian nation), Montreal, s.ed. 1880, 8-9. 59. Charles Thibault, Panegyrique du Rev. Ed. Crevier, v.g., prononce a la distribution des prix du Petit Seminaire de Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir, le 30juin 1881 (Eulogy of the Rev. Ed. Crevier, v.g., pronounced at the distribution of awards at the Petit Se'minaire de SainteMarie-de-Monnoir, June 30, 1881), Montreal, s. ed., 1881, 5. 60. George Pager, "Sur le r6le des Candiens-Francais aux fitats-Unis" (On the role of French Canadians in the United States), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.), op. cit, note 40, 306-307.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

America. Acadians and Canadians). The author noted and forcefully emphasized the astounding demographic spread of the French Canadians, the strong impact of their expansion and "as a consequence, the singular process of reconquest, which is now under way, barely a century after the Conquest!"61 The French Canadians "absorb, evict, repulse" the English-speaking population. In a more comprehensive fashion, Rameau de Saint-Pere spoke of "the persistent decline of the English-speaking population as they continue to pervade ever wider areas; and, to some extent, indications of this all-embracing reality may be observed not only on the frontiers of the United States and in the English counties of Lower Canada, but also on the Ottawa River, at the outermost bounds of Upper Canada [...]. You have reclaimed and, with each passing day, you continue to reclaim your country from those who have held the reins of governance."62 The cure Antoine Labelle, along with a whole network of disciples, collaborators and thinkers, worked to promote this reconquest of the native soil by colonization, which they no longer presented as purely a victory over nature, but rather as an ongoing battle against the Anglo-Saxon occupation. The cure of Saint-Jerome dreamed of opening the north "until we reach the point where we are able to shake the hands of our Manitoba kin" and forge an indissoluble link for the French-Canadian race.63 Those same promoters vigorously condemned the emigration because it weakened the homeland, by scattering the lifeblood of the FrenchCanadian nation, thereby placing the projected reconquest at risk of being compromised. The true patriot, many were inclined to say—albeit with greater caution than earlier on—is the settler who heads towards the valleys of the Ottawa, the Saint-Maurice or the Saguenay, or even towards the west rather than going to the United States.64 Those same people also advocated repatriation. And yet, as was often shown, in times of prosperity, the finest repatriation service could do 61. Gabriel Dussault, Le cure Labelle. Messianistne, utopie et colonisation au Quebec. 1850-1900 (The cure" Labelle. Messianism, Utopia and colonization in Quebec, 1850-1900), Montreal, HMH, 1983, 84. 62. Quoted in Id., 85-86. 63. Id., 145 64. It is well to remember that certain people continued to view the emigrants as being corrupt, but the former group no longer took center stage. They were to be heard with greater impact each time the prosperity of the United States, in the wake of leaner years, attracted exceptionally large numbers of Quebecers. Such was the case during the years 1879-1883, 1886-1888, 1892-1894 and 1896-1900.

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

47

nothing to counter the propaganda of French Canadians living in the "States." But, at the earliest signs of recession, as in 1883, 1889 and 1894, repatriation officers would again set out for New England, in the hope of convincing those affected by job loss that colonization in the homeland was the definitive way to improve their lot. In most instances, such entreaties fell on deaf ears. "Repatriation is an Utopian notion," insisted Doctor Gedeon Archambault, of Woonsocket. "Attempting to repatriate us is like trying to fill the jar of the Danaides with a sieve." Anyone who has lived in the United Sates for a number of years may readily return to Quebec, "yet, once back, he feels stiffled and something stronger than himself compels him to return to the United States."65 "Something, some indefinable tie retains a great number among them in the land of their adoption" confirmed Joseph-R. Michaud, repatriation officer, in a letter to Honore Mercier.66 "We should encourage the unmarried young people [of the United States] to become settlers, but we must stop trying to encourage householders to return to the homeland when they have managed to acquire a measure of affluence [...]. Let us instead strive to keep alive in their hearts the felicitous hope of an imminent union under a single flag."67 The dream of reconquest, incarnated by Cure Labelle and his friends, seemed to exclude the French Canadians of the United States, unless they agreed to return home. However, there were others, no doubt in fewer numbers, who saw the emigrants as full-fledged participants in the mission assigned to the French Canadians by Divine Providence. Such people, to be found on either side of the border, had a particular point of view: "The French emigrant in the United States, like the French-Canadian settler in Ontario, is the vanguard, he is the trailblazer whose triumph over the coming century was predicted by Mr. Rameau," declared JosephAdolphe Chapleau, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.68 Another of the same 65. Speech of Gede"on Archambault, of Woonsocket, at the 3rd session of the National Congress, in Pierre-Philippe Charrette (ed.), Noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Compte rendu officiel des fetes de 1884 a Montreal (Golden anniversary of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Official report of the celebration of 1884, at Montreal), Montreal, Le Monde, 1884, 413. 66. "Appendix no. 3 to the general report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Colonization of the Province of Quebec, 1888" Documents de la session de I'Assemblee legislative de Quebec (Documents of the Session of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec), Quebec, Fra^ois Langlois, 1889, 165. (Our italics.) 67. Edmond de Nevers, L'avenir du peuple canadien-franfais (The future of the French-Canadian nation), Montreal, Fides, 1964 [1st edition, 1891], 329. 68. Speech given by the Honorable M. Chapleau at the national banquet, June 27, 1884, in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.), op. cit, note 65, 177.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

persuasion, Senator Fran9ois-Xavier~Anselme Trudel, was to state at the celebrations of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day of 1884, at Montreal: "These migrations [...] that barely 20 years ago, we viewed as a calamity, a national disaster, would we not define today as being the expeditionary forces launched by Providence to conquer the entire territory discovered first by our forefathers, then soaked by the blood of our martyrs?"69 Then again, Chapleau retorted to the Franco-Americans of Salem, in 1897: "In the United States you shall be the advance sentinels of our common homeland, the lightening rod destined to ward off the storms which may well wrack your compatriots from Canada."70 For Edmond de Nevers, the emigrants were more ardent, more enterprising nationalists than their compatriots in Quebec. "[They] have not left the homeland, they have expanded it."71 To emphasize the fact that the emigrants were not unaware of the future of the French Canadians, Joseph Coursol, member of the House of Commons for Montreal-Est, declared: "No matter where we settle, SUCH PLACE SHALL BE THE PROVINCE OF QUfiBEC."72 For these many persons, no mere territory ever represented the spirit of nationality, whereas religion, language and traditions could and did.73 The Acadian elite expressed like views. Judge Pierre-A. Landry refused to see the emigration of his compatriots as a threat to "the tiny Acadian race." Indeed, he declared to the Acadians of Massachusetts, "you have not abandoned the homeland, you have expanded her; you have not weakened her, you have made her stronger, more steadfast, and better able to accomplish that which Providence expects of her."74 For, as Marcel-Francois Richard would recall, at the convention of Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1902, "The homeland is to be found wherever are located those of her offspring 69. Quoted in id, 335. 70. Georges Bellerive (ed.) Orateurs canadiens awe £tats-Unis. Conferences et discours (French-Canadian Orators in the United States. Conferences and speeches), Quebec, Imprimerie H. Chasse, 1908, 155. 71. Edmond de Nevers, op. cit, note 67, 326. 72. Speech of M. Coursol, M. P., June 27, 1854, in Pierre-Philippe Charette, op. cit., note 65, 189 73. See Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 146; Ferdinand Gagnon, "Le 25 juin 1883, a Worcester, Mass." (June 25, 1883, at Worcester Mass.), in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit., note 67, 116. 74. Pierre-A. Landry, "Le Moniteur acadien, September 4, 1902," quoted in Fernand Arsenault, "L'emigration et les Acadiens" (The emigration and the Acadians), Claire Quintal (ed.), L'emigrant acadien vers les £tats-Unis: 1842—1950 (The Acadian emigrant en route for the United States: 1842-1950), Quebec, Le Conseil de la vie francaise, 1984, 53-54.

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49

who have preserved the ancestral faith, the native tongue, the family traditions and an undying affection for the age-old religion."75 The vocabulary employed by these people expresses, just as did Cure Labelle and his collaborators, the concepts of conquest and reconquest. "The Canadian emigration is a slow but steady invasion."76 In the manufacturing centers of New England,> the French Canadians, quietly and without ado, "are turning back the foreign element and are replacing them."77 "We are in the process of restoring to the former New France the immense domain seized by our forefathers, then dedicated by them to the Church."78 And F.-X.-A. Trudel was to state, "over the past 25 years, in the Cantons de TEst (Eastern Townships), that which we expected would occur, did indeed happen. Who cannot recall the preponderant English presence that flourished there, barely 15 to 25 years ago; and yet, 20 years was sufficient for our compatriots to take over a region where, but a scant 20 years before, they had not the tiniest scrap of influence, even at the municipal level."79 The victors were many and prolific. Nothing could possibly counter their resolve, especially if the wilder imaginings of their contemporaries were to be taken seriously. Telesphore Saint-Pierre envisioned a population of 25,000,000 French Canadians at the dawn of the twentieth century;80 Honore Mercier, for his part, projected a population of 100,000,000 for 1989.81 Senator Trudel was even more presumptuous: "According to very moderate calculations, it may be concluded that before a century has elapsed, perhaps even less than 50 years from now, French Canadians are going to constitute a majority in the United States and will control the collective destiny."82 75. Quoted in id., 51. 76. Speech of Camille Hogue, at the Convention of Sprinfield, 1901, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 486. 77. fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 32. 78. "Discours de M. 1'abbe Charles-Demetrius Levesque, s." (Speech of Father Charles-Demetrius Levesque, s.), in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.)> op. cit., note 65, 446. Father Levesque was convinced that fighting the emigration "would be tantamount to opposing the designs of Providence for our nation in America." 79. Quoted in Pierre-Philippe Charette, op. cit., note 65, 336. 80. Telesphore Saint-Pierre, "La marche ascendante de notre race. Trois millions de canadiens-fran^ais en Amerique" (The steady ascendancy of our race. Three million French Canadians in America), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.), op. cit., note 49, 461. 81. Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the Franco-Americans), Montreal, USJBA, 1958, 126. 82. Quoted in Pierre-Philippe Charette, op. cit. note 65, 336.

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The same optimism underlay the ambitions expressed as to the political future of the French-Canadian collectivity in the United States. Some people envisaged a time when the two constituents of the French-Canadian nation would join hearts and hands to form but a single race.83 Others foresaw the annexation of Quebec in the American union or, at the very least, they believed same to be possible.84 They viewed the survival of the collectivity to be in no way threatened. On the contrary! Instead of numbering only 400,000, over time, the French Canadians would form a compact block of two million individuals who "would exercise a dominating influence over the legislature of four or five of the New England states."85 Hamon even hypothesized that one day the French Canadians of Quebec might well become an independent nation. "Would not the national pride, so dear to the hearts of the emigrants, be vigorously confirmed, offering proof of an ever stronger confidence in the patriotic program devised by the collectivity to preserve the ancestral language, religion and mores?"86 Still others expected the collapse of the American colossus and the subsequent formation of three or four large independent states, one of which, French-speaking, would eventually encompass Quebec and part of New England.87 Many more, who very likely constituted a majority 83. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 145, 319; "Discours du dr L.-L. Auger, de Montreal, au banquet national de Great Falls, N.H." (Speech of Dr. L.-L. Auger, of Montreal, at the national banquet of Great Falls, N.H.), Le National, July 2, 1892, 2. "I, foresee in a luminous vision [...] the age-old Province of Quebec having become the very center of an uniquely French civilization," declared Doctor Armand Bedard, of Lynn, Mass, in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard, op. cit., note 49, 219 84. Louis-Alexandre Mothon, "Le resume de notre vie" (The story of our life), in Jules-Antonin Plourde (ed.) Dominicains au Canada. Livre des documents (Dominicans in Canada. Book of documents), vol. 2, Les cinq fondations avant Vautonomie, 1881-1911 (The five foundations before self-determination, 1881-1911), s.L, 1975,113; Edmond de Nevers, "Les Anglais et nous" (The English and ourselves), Revue canadienne, 1902, 12. 85. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25,129. Apparently, not everyone shared this point of view. Alfred Duclos De Celles wrote, "Here (in Canada), we are strong enough to inspire fear; down there, we would be too weak to inspire respect." Alfred Duclos De Celles, "Notre avenir" (Our future). Le Canada francais, 1, 1888, 273. 86. Ibid. 87. These viewpoints were defended by Jules-Paul Tardivel in 1887, 1901 and 1902, and by the Liberal Minister, Adelard Turgeon, in 1898. See Pierre Savard, Jules-Paul Tardivel, la France et les £tats-Unis, 1851-1905 (Jules-Paul Tardivel, France and the United States 1851-1905), Quebec, PUL, 1967, 232 and 234; Real Belanger, "Le nationalisme ultramontain: le cas de Jules-Paul Tardivel" (Ultramontane nationalism: case in point— Jules-Paul Tardivel), in Nive Voisine and Jean Hamelin (ed.), Les ultramontains canadiens francais. Etudes d'histoire religieuse presentees en hommage au professeur Philippe Sylvain

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among the French-Canadian elite in the United States, envisaged, quite simply, a separate future in the American Republic, with the survival of the distinctive elements of French-Canadian nationality: language, religion, mores and traditions. The elite, as much in Quebec as in the United States—with no exceptions, unlike the situation before 1870—viewed their compatriots as "the spoiled brats" of the Almighty, "His chosen race,"88 a missionary army embarked on the spiritual conquest of America. Obviously, such perception of reality smacks of wishful thinking, an Utopia, which, in turn, conveys the distress and utter impotence of the elite in the face of the FrenchCanadian exodus. And yet, those same dreams also incited others to act, feeding their will to conquer and reconquer new territories, to take over the territories first occupied by earlier settlers. But, even though such dreams justified the opposition to emigration as expressed by those who saw the future of French Canada more in an occupation of the hinterlands of Quebec, Ontario or the Canadian west, they were no less vital to the indispensable support accorded to their emigrant brothers by so many thousands of priests, nuns and religious figures of every stripe, Quebecers all. Finally, this collective conviction stimulated the French-Canadian elite of the United States in their ongoing effort to ensure their survival as a national entity. "No longer are we but wandering Canadians [...]," Ferdinand Gagnon would state, but rather "soldiers in the vanguard" of a French and Catholic dual reality.89 How could the French Canadians of the United States become worthy of the mission on foreign soil that appeared to be their irrevocable destiny? For, "to be chosen is to be placed under moral obligations," wrote Anthony D. Smith in a singular article entitled "Chosen people."90 Remaining true to (The French-Canadian Ultramontanes—Studies in religious history presented in tribute to Professor Philippe Sylvain), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1985, 288-289. Joseph Tasse, "L'emigration canadienne aux £tats-Unis" (The Canadian emigration to the United States), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.) op. cit. note 40, 372. 88. Philippe Masson, Le Canada-fran$ais et la Providence (French Canada and Almighty Providence), Quebec, Leger Brousseau - typographic workshop, 1875, 26. 89. "Discours de Ferdinand Gagnon au banquet national, 27 juin 1884" (Speech of Ferdinand Gagnon at the national banquet, June 27, 1884), in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.), op. cit., note 65, 209. 90. "The privilege of election is accorded only to those who are sanctified, whose lifestyle is an expression of sacred values. The benefits of election are reserved for those who fulfil the required observances." Anthony D. Smith "Chosen Peoples: Why Ethnic Groups Survive," in John Hutchinson and Anthony Smith (eds.) Oxford Readers. Ethnicity, Oxford, University Press, 1996, 190.

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themselves, in other words, preserving their Catholic faith and their native tongue,91 was the only way to avoid collective betrayal. First and foremost, they were staunch Catholics which enabled them to carry out, in the fullest sense, the mission assigned to them by Divine Providence. "The Protestant French Canadian is no longer a real French Canadian," wrote Yvonne Lemaitre.92 Next, and of equal importance, was their native tongue, since French constituted the sine qua non for preserving the faith in all its integrity; in short, the French language was its guardian.93 Such fundamental obligation explained the role and the duties assigned to each and all. The elite were expected to become the "leaders of the people," capable of defending the interests of their fellow patriots and of demanding their rights. The parish priest, in particular was to be—to borrow the words of Joseph Tasse—the guide, the North Star, the Moses of the race;94 but, most importantly, he was to act as the architect and the creator of the institutional network centered on the parish. In the United States, the parish, which was "still perceived as representing the homeland,"95 was to become "the invisible barrier that counters foreign infiltrations."96 The common folk had to accept most willingly the instructions of their pastors, to wit, their prophets;97 they had also to erect churches, provide for the needs of 91. Edouard Hamon, op. cit, note 25, 3 and 146; Pascal Poirier in Le Moniteur acadien, November 8, 1898, 1, reproduced in Fernand Arsenault, loc. cit., note 74, 54. 92. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "Revue des faits et des oeuvres. Le protestantisme et les Franco-Ame'ricains. Opinion de Mile Yvonne Lemaitre" (Review of the facts and deeds. Protestantism and the Franco-Americans. Opinion of Ms Yvonne Lemaitre), La Revue franco-americaine, June, 1, 3, 1908, 187. 93. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25,75-80. "The French Canadian is accustomed to considering his ways, as well as his language, traditions and discipline, as a sacred trust, even as the exterior witnesses to his beliefs. Whoever attacks this complement of dearly held possessions, indirectly attacks his faith. [...] But take away from him this protective assemblage, and he shall become, as was Samson, already in the power of the enemy." Mgr Antoine Racine, Memoire sur la situation des Canadiens-Fran9ais aux Etats-Unis (Memoir on the situation of the French Canadians in the United States), APFR-SRC-ASC, 58 (1982, 1): fo 246 ro. 94. Joseph Tasse, loc. cit., note 87, 369 95. Edmond de Nevers, L'dme americaine (The American Soul), vol. II, Paris, Jouve and Boyer, 1900, 328. 96. Joseph-Arthur D'Amours, Saint-Mathieu de Central Falls (Saint Matthew of Central Falls), Quebec, Imp. L'Action Sociale Lte"e, 1917, 93. 97. In 1894, the cur£ of Hartford, Paul Roy, enjoined his faithful: "you shall consult your prophets, those same whom God placed at your head to direct your steps and show you the rightful path of justice, and they, in turn, shall tell you that which you must do." Quoted in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 197.

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the priests, nuns and all other religious figures and send their children to the French school, as this was the only institution capable of educating them in their image; as well, they were expected to support the press and the French-Canadian mutual societies, considered to be the "standardbearers of all mighty patriotic and religious concepts," the "bastions of the race."98 In short, they were to turn their homes into French-language sanctuaries where the Catholic religion and their native traditions reigned. Every Quebecer had a vital role to play as concerned the emigrants. For, as Joseph Tasse wrote, it was essential, "to render our compatriots worthy of the noble mission seemingly intended for them on foreign soil."99 To begin with, Quebecers had to accept the fact that those who had left would not return, indeed, that they would fight tooth and nail against any attempt to repatriate them; next, they would have to realize that emigrants remained true to themselves in the midst of a foreign people, that they had no desire to become Americanized and, finally, that it was vital to help them. But how? In that Quebec boasted the larger population, she would have to become the fulcrum, the rallying point, in brief, the base of operations. She would send them priests, advocates and counselors. "Visa-vis the French Canadians of the United States, we are the motherland; in such capacity, we enjoy the rights and shoulder the obligations," so affirmed Honore Mercier.100 Foreigners or Americans? With some exceptions the Canadian French are the Chinese of the Eastern States. They care nothing for our institutions, civil, political, or educational. They do not come to make a home among us, to dwell with us citizens, and so become a part of us; but their purpose is merely to sojourn a few years as aliens, touching us only at a single point, that of work, and, when they have gathered out of us what will satisfy their ends, to get them away to whence they came, and bestow it there. They are a horde of industrial invaders, not a stream of stable settlers. Voting, with all that it implies, they care nothing about. Rarely does one of them become naturalized. They will not send their

98. Yves Roby, op. cit, note 31, 127, 130. 99. Joseph Tasse, loc. cit., note 87, 372. 100. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 81, 121.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

children to school if they can help it, but endeavor to crowd them into the mills at the earliest possible age. To do this they deceive about the age of their children with brazen effrontery [...]. Those people have one good trait. They are indefatigable workers, and docile [...]. To earn all they can by no matter how many hours of toil, to live in the most beggarly way so that out of their earnings they may spend as little for living as possible, and to carry out of the country what they can thus save: this is the aim of the Canadian French in our factory districts."101

This extract of the twelfth annual report of the Bureau of Labour Statistics, submitted to the Legislature of Massachusetts in January 1881, bears witness to the disquiet of the American reformists and Protestants as well as to the anger of the factory workers. In it, the emigrant is depicted as a foreigner, not really worthy of respect; indeed he is seen as a threat to the living standards of Republican workers and institutions. The arrival of the French Canadians was part and parcel of a vortextype phenomenon which, from 1860 to 1900, led 14 million aliens to the United States. Although, at the outset, the English, Germans, Scandinavians and Irish represented the largest number of newcomers, over time, the Italians and the Eastern Europeans constituted the strongest contingents. Poor and, for the most part, Catholic, these many foreigners alarmed the Americans and provoked their resentment. Simply put, industrialization and urbanization, with their difficulties and problems, such as chronic unemployment and the erosion of traditional values, can create feelings of profound anxiety within a population. The presence of immigrants is the most visible manifestation of such transformations and those individuals incapable of rationalizing the situation do not hesitate when the tension becomes unbearable, to blame the immigrants for the existing difficulties and for bringing the clouds that seem to darken the future; hence, the newcomers make excellent scapegoats.102 And so, it would have been surprising if the French Canadians, who, at the time, represented a more than significant segment of the immigrants, had es101. Extract of the twelfth annual report of the Bureau of Labour Statistics of Massachusetts (1881). Quoted by Pierre Anctil, "Chinese of the Eastern States, 1881," Recherches sociographiques, XXII, 1, January-April 1981, 131. 102. David H. Bennett, The Party of Fear. The American Far Right from Nativism to the Militia Movement, New York, Vintage Books, 1995, 166-169.

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caped the prejudices and xenophobic forces, so widespread during that era. From 1865 to 1880, the French Canadians who reached New England were well received and even sought out by future employers. That alone was sufficient to convince a goodly number of emigrants that the average American held them in high esteem. "This is an illusion, pure and simple," wrote the Jesuit, Hamon. "The emigrants furnish the elbow grease; the Americans, the brainpower."103 In reality, those destitute immigrants with their strange manners were perceived as persons of an inferior race, "who have taken little more than one step forward on the path of civilization since the time of Louis XIV";104 they were considered as victims of extreme poverty who had journeyed to the United States to find what they lacked at home, to wit, affluence, and who had little to offer except for muscle power.105 They would be well treated if they led an orderly, hard-working and frugal existence and if they agreed to become Americanized. At times, such condescension was tinged with anxiety. Indeed, according to the report of October 1866 of the Unitarian Mission Society of Lowell, "[The French Canadians] are almost all Catholics, do not speak English, [...] and are less inclined than others to improve their condition. If they are not very receptive to our influence, it is because they do not mix freely in society, nor are they affected by its dominant forces."106 In the eyes of certain Protestant groups, the growth and influence of the Catholic Church were disquieting signs of many deep-rooted transformations then affecting New England. In fact, while the Irish Americans were contesting the political domination of the Yankees, a network of 103. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 35-37. 104. The Maine Evangelist, quoted in Beatrice Craig, "Anglo-Saxons. Acadiens et Canadiens fran9ais (Anglo-Saxons, Acadians and French Canadians), type-written document, Universite d'Ottawa, 1987, 8. 105. As Edmond de Nevers was to write, "Moreover, the term 'foreigner,' for the middle-class Anglo-Saxon, means something other than it does for us. The 'foreigner' is an ignorant, nasty creature, of inferior race and, above all, he is contemptible and hateful." Edmond de Nevers, op. cit., note 95, 11. With the invasion of cheap manpower from Canada, wrote the Washington Post, "the level of intelligence has dropped several notches. The manufacturing towns have suffered a singular moral decadence and the social life of New England has been spoiled in all its finer features." Quoted in "Une paire de fanatiques" (A pair of fanatics), Le National, Manchester, September 14, 1894, 2. 106. Quoted in Frances Early, "The Settling—In process: the Beginnings of Little Canada in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the Late Nineteenth Century" in Claire Quintal (ed.), The Little Canadas of New England, Worcester, French Institute / Assumption College, 1983, 26-27.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Catholic institutions was quietly spreading its tentacles throughout the region. The French Canadians were never more visible than during the period after the exodus that resumed in 1879. They numbered 208,000 in 1880, 365,000 in 1890 and 573,000 in 1900; and, at Spencer, Suncook, Southbridge, Holyoke and Nashua, they constituted a majority of the population. As well, the national parishes, with their churches, convents and French Catholic schools, grew from 19 to 89, between 1871 and 1900. Moreover, the stated views and the activities of their elite did much to stimulate the collective imagination. In Quebec as well as in New England, those in power spoke of conquest and reconquest, of the providential mission, of the will to create an expanded French Canada on American soil, all the while leading an implacable fight against the public schools.107 Certain Protestants, incapable of rationalizing the difficult situation facing the region (industrialization, urbanization, chronic unemployment, and strikes), did not hesitate to agree with the doomsayers who attributed to Catholics, particularly French-Canadian Catholics, the responsibility for every evil, seeing in them an almost mortal threat to American institutions. French-Protestant missionaries, some of whom hailed from Quebec, actively and loudly participated in the anti-Catholic campaign of the decade 1880 to 1890. Calvin E. Amaron, pastor of the French Protestants of Lowell, editorial director of the Semeur franco-americain and president of the French Protestant International College of Springfield, was the group's most articulate spokesman. His book, Your Heritage: Or New England Threatened, published in 1891, contains the thrust of his message. In New England, he wrote, the French Canadians are a State within the State.108 They are many in number and are increasing their ranks at a prodigious rate. The elite, who saw the Hand of God in the emigration of their compatriots, dreamt of creating, in the not too distant future, a 107. The historian James S. Olson wrote that "The public schools were 'culture factories' where Anglo-American values would be perpetuated, immigrants assimilated, and democracy preserved [...]. But to Anglo-Protestants, the parochial schools were a slap in the face, a bald, callous admission that [...] Catholics had no intention of accepting American values and assimilating into the society" Catholics Immigrants in America, Chicago, Nelson-Hall, 1987, 37-38. 108. Calvin E. Amaron, Your Heritage: Or New England Threatened, Springfield, Massachusetts, French Protestant College, 1891, 2.

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French and Catholic State, forged in Quebec and in New England.109 All their efforts, Amaron went on to say, seek to assure the survival of the French language, the Catholic religion and the customs of their country of origin.110 For him, the emigrants viewed the parochial school as the preeminent way to achieve their ends, hence, the main reason why they led an implacable fight against public schools.111 The Catholic priest is "the ruthless enemy of the Protestant American civilization," the parochial school "a threat to Republican institutions" and "the surest obstacle to uniting the two races in New England."112 Only enforcing the obligation to attend public school, together with a vast campaign to evangelize them, could liberate the French-Canadian emigrants from the domination of their priests, promote their well-being and, at the same time, assure the prosperity and security of the country. Only then could New England hope to remain Protestant and American. Amaron's writings repeat, perhaps a little more coherently, the opinions of certain Protestant Yankee ministers, such as Daniel Dorchester. In his book Romanism Versus the Public School System, published in 1888, Dorchester writes that far too many children are submitted to a medieval and "un-American" pedagogical system which hinders their assimilation.113 For him and for many others, the parochial school was perceived as the paramount instrument of a foreign power (Rome) to destroy the public school system so as to establish "her power in the land of the Puritans."114 When these same ideas were taken up by a number of newspapers in widespread circulation, such as the New York Times, the Boston Herald and the British-American Citizen of Boston, their impact increased tenfold. And indeed, on December 28, 1899, the British-American Citizen wrote "Be wary, American patriots, the French Jesuits have conceived the project to form a single Catholic nation with the Province of Quebec and New England; and this selfsame project to render New England French and 109. Id., 41. 110. Id., 55-56. 111. Id., 91. 112. Quoted in Mason Wade, "The French Parish and SURVIVANCE, in NineteenthCentury New England," The Catholic Historical Review, XXXVI, July 1950, 182. 113. Dennis R. Garff, Heirs of New France: an Ethnic Minority in Search of Security, Ph.D. thesis, Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1970, 133. 114. Id., 138.

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Catholic has already assumed proportions liable to alarm even the most optimistic"115 At that time, such comments were enough to rally certain politicians, who shared these prejudices, to use their influence to contest the French school. In 1888, at Haverhill, Massachusetts, then at Boston, shortly afterwards, a number of Protestants fought to assure that local school boards had unconditional authority over the creation and functioning of private schools.116 However, the school boards failed to obtain satisfaction either at Haverhill or at Boston. These failures no doubt fueled the fears and prejudices of the anti-Catholic factions. Between 1890 and 1900 or thereabouts, the views that the United States would not be able to assimilate the waves of immigrants flooding into the country and that Catholicism represented a mortal threat to American values were widespread. In fact, the American Protective Association, founded in 1887, which recruited the majority of its members in the West, had many sympathizers in the New England states, and they were preparing for an unmitigated fight against the papist invaders.117 In addition, because very little was needed to satisfy the FrenchCanadian emigrants, they aroused the ire of other workers who accused them of provoking a drop in wages and kowtowing to the bosses. As a rule, worker anger corresponded to the fluctuations in the economic climate. During the depression years, many workers lost their job or were forced to endure an income drop because their bosses decreed that they work fewer hours, as was the case during the years 1873 to 1879.118 Obliged to incur debts, workers awaited the return of prosperity to recover their job and recuperate their wage loss. And so, when tens of thousands of French Canadians, upon learning that the factories were reopening their doors, crossed the border, in 1879,1880 and 1881, to accept reduced wages119 and 115. Quoted in fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 133-134. 116. See Yves Roby, op. cit, note 31, 190, 192-194. 117. David H. Bennett, op. cit., note 102, 171-178. Their intolerance was targeted more particularly at the newer immigrants—Poles, Greeks, Portuguese and Italians— rather than at the French Canadians. 118. For example, at Fall River, in 1879, wages in the textile industry were 40% lower than in 1873. Philip Thomas Sylvia, The Spindle City, Labor, Politics and Religion in Fall River, Massachusetts, 1870-1905, Ph.D. thesis, Fordham University, N.Y., 1973, 96. 119. In 1879, in no more than two months, 600 to 1,000 French Canadians reached Holyoke, Massachusetts, ready to work for $0.50 a day, whereas the prevailing daily wages went from $0.75 to $1.25. Francis Weil, Les Franco-Americains, 1860-1980 (The FrancoAmericans), Paris, Belin, 1989, 72.

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work as scabs, they provoked the ire of their fellow workers who accused them of being birds of passage and the Chinese of the Eastern States, as well as reproached them for exploiting their children and obstructing efforts to obtain decent working conditions. And why would they not believe this to be the case? Were not employers sending recruiting officers to Quebec, did they not vaunt the docility of the French Canadians, their enthusiasm for work, their sobriety and their frugality? Did they not prefer them to those other—European—immigrants (English and Irish) for whom "a strike is just as natural as the Sunday respite?"120 Did not the 1882 report of the Bureau of Labour Statistics for the State of Massachusetts mention that the French-Canadian habit of working for lower wages and for as long as their bosses so desired had meant that they were "outlawed from society by one and all?"121 At Fall River, did not the appellation "knobstick" literally become synonymous with the French-Canadian scab?122 Did not their virtual inability to engage in labor protests weaken the negotiating powers of unionized workers? Why should they fight within the unions to improve the situation of their peers when they were merely in the United States temporarily? To boot, their newspapers and their leaders had been preaching repatriation since 1875.123 Why should they work to eliminate child labor since they were not ashamed to profit from same? This scenario was reproduced, abeit with less intensity, when, after each recession, the French Canadians once again headed massively towards New England (1886-1888, 1892-1894, and later). How did the French-Canadian elite react to the critical way in which various groups of Americans looked upon their compatriots? With anger to be sure, but more particularly with anxiety. They feared that these sorts of rejection might reinforce strong feelings of inferiority in many, while, at the same time, precipitating their assimilation and creating tensions within the collectivity. When they entered the United States, the French Canadians could not help but note, as Edmond de Nevers emphasized in

120. Thirteenth report of the Labour Statistics Bureau for the State of Massachusetts, 1882, quoted in Sister Mary-Carmel Theriault, La litterature francaise de NouvelleAngleterre (French literature of New England), Montreal, Fides, 1946, 136-137. 121. Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 350. 122. Id, 260, n. 160. 123. This fixed "the impression in the minds of New England people that the French cared nothing whatever for the welfare of the country." Carroll D. Wright, op. cit., note 34,90.

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Vame americaine (The American soul), "that all things American and of the English language are superior, whereas all that is not American is inferior."124 Such acknowledgement encouraged many to attempt to rise to the level of their hosts; these same were rapidly assimilated. Although the contempt and hostility of the Americans insulted many others, they nonetheless refused to hold a grudge against these people who had been generous enough to welcome them and to offer them a decent living. And so, they said nothing and strove to pass unnoticed. The latter emigrants felt they were ill-served by the apostles of survival who, with their excessive declarations and noisy demonstrations belaboring their attachment to Quebec, did little more than arouse the suspicions of their hosts. Above all else, the French-Canadian elite of New England feared that the attacks of the xenophobes might weaken or even suppress the institutions they held to be essential to the survival of their race and that the workers' efforts to end uncontrolled immigration might deprive their group of indispensable reinforcements. Did not one F.K. Foster, a member of the Massachusetts Senate, echo the Wright Report in his testimony before a senatorial committee, in 1883, by declaring that the French Canadians were "ignorant, immoral, much worse than the Chinese of California and a blight on society?"125 Might not such accusations encourage certain ultraprejudiced legislators to become the champions of a restrictive immigration policy or to insist that certain jobs be reserved solely for American citizens? Each time the French Canadians of the United States were the target of the xenophobes, the French-Canadian elite—members of the clergy, journalists, professional people, politicians—would protest loudly. And, following the publication of the Wright Report, they demanded, then secured, the right to be heard by the Massachusetts Bureau of Labour Statistics so as to refute the accusations brought against them. The account of that meeting, published in 1882, under the title The Canadian French in New England is crammed with angry protests, but also with considerable data on the achievements of the French Canadians of New England (churches, schools, mutual societies, newspapers) and on their active participation in the life of the region. Because they were skilled, conscientious and hard workers who manifested an unfailing loyalty to the institutions 124. Edmond de Nevers, op. cit., note 67, 36-37. 125. Quoted in Dennis R. Garff, op. cit., note 113, 118.

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and laws of the country, the French Canadians won the respect of their American fellow citizens. Ferdinand Gagnon and Hugo Dubuque, among others, emphasized that those observers who denigrated their compatriots were forever mistaking the exception for the rule.126 The French Canadians were accused of living like animals in their hovels, of exploiting their children and of being birds of passage. How should this be construed? In reality, more often than not the French Canadians were victims. For the most part, declared Joseph-Augustin Chevalier, cure of Saint-Augustin (Manchester), before a senatorial commission in 1883, "they are generally clean people but the tenements for them in the city are bad; their sanitary condition is awful bad, I guess, in some places in the city."127 It was true however that the majority of the children, boys and girls alike, worked in the mills right from the earliest age. But, it might well be asked, who should be blamed, the parents or the employers? Was it not the latter individuals who, by refusing to pay a fair and decent wage to the parents, deprived them of the choice to have their children educated?128 Moreover, it was absolutely untrue to maintain that the emigrants were but foreigners, birds of passage. The continual toing and froing on both sides of the border and the Quebec government's Repatriation Act of 1875 might have given that impression, but all of that was in the past. The repatriation failed and the French Canadian elite were advocating naturalization.129 Ferdinand Gagnon maintained that if his compatriots were slow to accept naturalization, it was because of the severity of the laws, adding that it was even surprising, under the circumstances, that so many French Canadians became American citizens. The French-Canadian elite invited those Americans who lacked respect and affection for French-Canadian emigrants to look to the past. Were they to do so, they would see only laborious, conscientious, skilled 126. Ferdinand Gagnon, quoted in Carroll D. Wright, op. cit, note 34, 22; Hugo Dubuque in the Boston Herald of September 18, 1885, quoted in Dennis R. Garff, op. cit., note 113, 128. And which Carroll Wright confirms, op. cit., note 34, 89. 127. Quoted in Pierre Anctil, "L'identite de rimmigrant quebecois en NouvelleAngleterre. Le rapport Wright de 1882" (The identity of the Quebec immigrant in New England. The Wright Report of 1882), Recherches sociographiques (Sociographic research), XXII, 3, Sept-Dec. 1981, 355. For a more detailed description of the living conditions of the French-Canadian emigrants, see Yves Roby, op. cit., note 31, 89-95. 128. Testimony of Ferdinand Gagnon, in Carroll D. Wright, op. cit., note 34, 20-21. 129. Testimonies of Alfred-G. Lalime and of Ferdinand Gagnon, in Carroll D. Wright, op. cit., note 34, 30 and 90.

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and temperate workers, indeed, workers who constituted a key element in the prosperity of so many industrial interests.130 They would see as well that the emigrants represented, within the great Republic, a race who, during perilous times, were the strongest supporters of American institutions. In truth, theirs was the race of many great explorers and builders, men like La Salle, Jolliet, Nicolet, Lamothe Cadillac, Laurent-Salomon Juneau and Vital Guerin,131 who were of the same calibre as the heroes of the American Revolution, La Fayette and Rochambeau, and spiritual blood-brothers to the 40,000 brave men who fell in battle during the Civil War.132 The ashes of these heroes, the blood of these soldiers "should not such well-earned titles suffice to guarantee us forever the status of American citizen, while allotting us some right to the generous hospitality that has been accorded to us in this country."133 "In truth, we are not foreigners here" Edmond Mallet would exclaim, "and should ever the inhabitants of this American land be obliged to sacrifice their life in loyal and steadfast defense of the Star-Spangled Banner, you may be certain that the last to die will be a Canadian. The French-Canadian is just as much an American as any other who was born at Boston."134 Why, therefore—the elite would challenge at every opportunity—should the descendants of France, whose 130. Ferdinand Gagnon, "Plaidoyer patriotique en faveur des Canadiens de la Nouvelle-Angleterre et de 1'Etat de New York, a I'audience-enquete tenue a Boston, le 25 octobre [1881]" (Patriotic plea in defense of the [French] Canadians of New England and the State of New York, at the inquiry-hearing held at Boston, October 25, [1881]), in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit, note 18, 169. 131. Id., 170. Such views are similar to those of the Yankees. "Fearful of being displaced by an increasing number of non-Anglo-Saxon immigrants, they invoked a heroic Anglo-American past to bolster group pride. Among other things, they tracked down ancestors who had fought in the war of 1812, or the Revolution, or who had founded Jamestown or Plymouth [...]." Arthur Mann, The One and the Many. Reflections on the American Identity, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1979, 35. 132. "Fanatiques a 1'esprit etroit" (Narrow-minded fanatics), Le National, January 5, 1893, 4. 133. Hugo Dubuque, "Les Canadiens des Etat-Unis" (The [French] Canadians of the United States), [speech given at the banquet in honor of Wilfrid Laurier, Boston, Mass., November 17,1891], in Richard Santerre (ed.) Litterature franco-americaine de la NouvelleAngleterre. Anthropologie (Franco-American literature of New England. Anthology), vol. 3, Manchester, National Materials Development Center for French and Creole, 1980, 5. 134. Our italics. "Compte-rendu officiel de la 17e convention nationale des Canadiens fran^ais des Etats-Unis, tenue a Nashua, N.H., 1888" (Official report of the 17th National Convention of French Canadians of the United States, held at Nashua, N.H., 1888), in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 277.

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ancestors helped to colonize the American territory, defending it with their blood, be constrained to furnish proof of their loyalty, and beg for a place at this country's table? At a time when the American government was contemplating blocking the entry of certain immigrant categories, the elite cautioned that they refused to see their compatriots assimilated "in the wave of emigrants that Europe pushes without cease towards America."135 Consulting the criminal records of whatever city showed that the rate of criminality of French Canadians was far inferior to that of the other ethnic groups. "For example, [at Holyoke], the Irish see every twenty-second member of their population come to trial, the Americans, one out of thirty-three, the other nationalities, one out of thirty-five, yet the French Canadians, only one out of fifty-three. Such figures speak for themselves."136 No, "the French Canadian is not the reactionary individual you are inclined to depict [...]. Show me a people with steadier habits, with more moral lives, with less prejudice against American institutions, and a more enthusiastic spirit toward a republican form of government," wrote Hugo Dubuque to the editor of the Boston Herald of September 18, 1885.137 Inevitably, such incidents led the elite to protest, to justify themselves. By invoking the past, by defending themselves in the face of accusations leveled against the French Canadians of the United States, they were able to present their compatriots as model Americans with every right to the consideration of their hosts. The elite also strove to convince the emigrants themselves of their rectitude in all this. "We must always be proud of our origins," exclaimed Ferdinand Gagnon, in 1879, "and never lower our head in front of the foreigner [...]. Our ancestors handed on to us a spotless past, a past that is admirable and heroic; thanks to their religious, their civilizing, spirit, they earned for us the right to settle anywhere on the American continent."138 Since they were the sons of France and of French Canada, the French Canadians were entitled to consider themselves at

135. "Ce que nous devons faire" (What we must do), L'Avenir National, Manchester, May 25, 1896, 2. 136. "Discours du dr M.-M. Metivier, de Holyoke" (Statement of Dr. M.-M. Metivier, of Holyoke), in Pierre-Philippe Charette (dir.), op. cit., note 65, 425. 137. Quoted in Dennis R. Garff, op. cit., note 113, 128-129. 138. Ferdinand Gagnon "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste" (Feast of Saint-John the Baptist), [Speech pronounced June 24 at Worcester, Mass.] in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit., note 18, 148.

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home in a country that had been drenched by the blood of their martyrs and their pioneers.139 No other race had ever done as much as they for the American Republic. "In truth, there is perhaps no star in the great American constellation that does not shine brighter or more splendidly, thanks to you," as Joseph Tasse reminded the Franco-American delegation on the occasion of the celebrations to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, at Montreal, in 1884.140 The facts of history were clear. The French Canadians were not foreigners in the United States. After the exodus recommenced in 1879, the elite came to realize that their compatriots were no longer birds of passage in the United States, rather, the majority of them meant to remain there for good; indeed, many were already American citizens or intended to become such. Moreover, they realized that living in virtual isolation earned them only the hostility of the Americans and could seriously damage their interests. And so, their elite encouraged the emigrants to show the Americans that their attachment to the French language and the Catholic religion in no way lessened their devotion to the American Republic or attenuated their patriolic manifestations. "Petty, self-serving nationalism," declared, in 1898, AramJ. Pothier, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island,"is incompatible with our duties as citizens and always harmful when we are impudent enough to flaunt it indiscriminately [...]. It is best for us to eschew practicing exclusivism in the name of a mean-minded nationalism unless we want to encourage the envy of foreigners who seek to cast doubt on our loyalty to the American flag."141 Above all, the elite called upon their compatriots to adopt an exemplary conduct, to take a keener interest in their childrens' education and to acquire American citizenship. That same elite condemned the drunkenness and cowardice of certain individuals who, upon hearing rumors in 1898 about an impending war

139. Charles-fidouard Boivin, "La presse francaise des fitats-Unis" (The French press in the United States), Revue canadienne, 1904, 148. 140. Quoted in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.), op. cit., note 65, 204. 141. "Discours prononc6 par le lieutenant-gouverneur Pothier a Biddeford, Me" (Speech given by the Lieutenant Governor Pothier, at Biddeford, Me), L'Avenir national, Manchester, January 22, 1898, 2. In declarations such as "Above all, let us always remain Canadians," wrote fidouard Hamon, the Americans saw a challenge. "We wanted to capture their admiration, (but) we succeeded, in arousing their mistrust." fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 25, 38.

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with Spain, fled back to Quebec;142 they also censured the disgraceful behavior of unemployed young people who spent their days idling hither and thither about the towns. "It is not unusual to confront in the streets youngsters, 8 to 15 years old, who spend their time insulting the respectable people they happen to encounter. Quite often, groups can be seen parked here and there with nothing better to do than hurl obscene remarks at those who pass by."143 These young hooligans are a disgrace to their families, themselves and the entire race.144 The more lucid members of the elite not only deplored the abuses wrought by child labor, they did not hesitate to recognize the full extent of the phenomenon. And, even though they attributed the main responsibility for that situation to the lust for money and the greed of employers, they knew full well that the parents were not without blame. It was true, for many, that putting their children to work was a necessity, especially during periods of recession, but for others, particularly migrants, this was a way to accumulate savings before returning to the homeland. Desired or not, child labor had a major impact on how the Americans came to perceive the French Canadians. The elite, in their distress over the situation, launched pathetic appeals to their compatriots to send young people to school. Our ambition, argued Hugo Dubuque, in 1880, must not be "to live and die like machines, without goals, arid without a soul."145 Above all, the elite encouraged the emigrants to become naturalized. For the American, naturalization was the ultimate test for appreciating the will of an immigrant to integrate in the American social fabric. Americans saw, still see, this gesture "as symbolic of a change of heart—one in which the immigrant renounced not only loyalty to another government but also his national identity in order to assume another—that of being American."146 For, just as Carroll D. Wright reminded them in 1882, the French Canadians cannot be "loyal Americans and loyal French Canadians at the same time." "The people of the United States will always look with disap-

142. "L'Espagne et les fitats-Unis" (Spain and the United States), L'Avenir national, Manchester, March 12, 1898, 2; "Peur de la guerre" (Fear of war), L'Avenir national, Manchester, 15 mars 1898, 1. 143. "Lawrence," Le National, Manchester, July 13, 1894, 5. 144. "Une honte" (A disgrace), L'Avenir national, Manchester, April 29, 1897, 1. 145. Quoted in Dennis R. Garff, op. cit, note 113, 112. 146. Ronald A. Petrin, Ethnicity and Political Pragmatism. The French Canadians in Massachusetts, 1885-1915, Ph.D. thesis, Clark University, Mass., 1983, 146.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

probation upon any attempt upon the part of settlers to be other than American citizens"147 It will be recalled that before 1879, the French-Canadian elite saw naturalization as a sort of treason. At that point, very few were recommending the acquisition of American citizenship. On the contrary, strong in their conviction that the exile of their compatriots was only temporary, many of them participated in the Quebec government's campaign for repatriation. The failure of that campaign and the resumption of the 1879 exodus, as well as the permanent presence of hundreds of thousands of French Canadians in New England, induced the elite to modify their views on the question. Faced with the dynamic French and Catholic life in the Little Canadas and the strength of the institutional network centered on the parish, they came to believe in the survival of their collectivity in the United States. Not only did naturalization no longer seem to result in assimilation, but the political influence that could ensue represented a lever for safeguarding and promoting the interests of the collectivity.148 Naturalization was also an excellent way to silence detactors. In the last years of the nineteenth century, the French-Canadian elite embraced the cause of naturalization with as much fervor as they had once condemned it. If all the emigrants became American citizens, "we would see no more reports like that of Colonel Wright," commented Ferdinand Gagnon.149 "Once we were naturalized, those good Yankees would no longer be able to hurl that infamous epithet, "Chinese of the East," in our face. Our naturalization would prove that we fully intend to settle here and that we did not come to this country solely to earn a few miserable dollars."150 Anyone who refused to become naturalized incurred an angry response on the part of the elite. Such an individual was considered to be useless and contemptible. "He reminds one of the hornet [...] an insect which feeds on the honey stored up in the hive by the industrious bee, but which never helps to produce the wealth." He has no place in the realm of

147. Carroll D. Wright, op. cit., note 34, 12. 148. Felix Gatineau, Histoire des Franco-Amfricains de Southbridge, Massachusetts (History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts), Framingham, Mass., Lakeview Press, 1919, 158. 149. Quoted in Jocelyne Cossette, op. cit., note 37, 33. 150. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech given by Dr. Camille C6te", of Malboro, Mass., at the Convention of Springfield, Mass., in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 406.

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the bees.151 Moreover, once he is entitled to vote, his attitude is that of a good-for-nothing and a coward,152 who should not be allowed to earn even a copper in this country; "the day may come when he will have to make his own choice; to become a citizen or make his departure"153 In reality, he does not deserve to be admitted to any national organization, even one devoted to charity.154 While they were denouncing the attitude of those who refused to become naturalized, the elite spared no effort in emphasizing the advantages of naturalization for the French-Canadian emigrants. Hugo Dubuque maintained that if the more than half a million French Canadians then in New England were to unite, they would hold the balance of power.155 To win their votes, they would be courted by the political parties and even have their say as to how their taxes should be utilized and as concerns the school and labor laws; they would become the "guardians of their culture."156 In short, they would be able to do as they wished, obtain the favors they desired, punish their enemies and compensate their friends, as well as inspire fear and respect.157 "We have served long enough as stepping-stones, the time has come to play a somewhat more estimable role."158 Even after 1879, some emigrants refused to become naturalized, seeing in this gesture "a national apostasy." These were told, in no uncertain terms, that to become an American citizen did no more than change an individual's political situation. "In taking a wife, the young man does not disown his mother by becoming a good and faithful spouse."159 "Moreover," 151. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech pronounced by Dr. J.-H. Palardy at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 409. 152. "II fut un temps" (Once upon a time), L'Avenir national, April 23, 1896, 2. 153. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), April 2, 1896, 2. Indeed, it is noteworthy that in certain towns of New England, workers who were not naturalized were refused employment in public works. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), loc. cit., note 151, 413, 154. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech given by W.-Levi Bousquet, of Worcester, Mass., to the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 419. 155. "Les Canadiens de la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (The [French] Canadians of New England), L'Avenir national, July 23, 1896, 2. 156 .Ronald D. Petrin, op. cit., note 146, 158. 157. "Nouvelles locales" (Local news), Le National, Manchester, November 23,1894, 5. 158. "Faisons-nous naturaliser" (Let's become naturalized), Le National, Manchester, November 16, 1894, 5. 159. "Compte-rendu officiel de la 17e convention nationale des Canadiens-Francais des Etats-Unis, tenue a Nashua, N.H. (1888)" (Official report of the 17th national conven-

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stated Ferdinand Gagnon, "nationality is not an artificial fruit; it is a gift from God [...], no one can appropriate it and it is impossible to lose it."160 In 1882, the same year that he became naturalized , Gagnon would declare: "I am happy to be a loyal citizen of this country, but I am equally proud of being French Canadian."161 There exists a "moral homeland" which is transmitted from one generation to another, creating a cult of historical memories and traditions, the reality of the faith and of the ancestral tongue. If such heritage is rightly transmitted, then every child will be able to say: "yes, like my father before me, above all else, I am Canadian."162 For Gagnon and for so many others, then as now, nationality was not synonymous with citizenship. Nationality harkened back to the blood. A person could never lose it since it constituted the very essence of his being.163 For other French Canadians of New England, the situation did not seem as clear-cut, at least on the surface. Upon his naturalization, the emigrant signed a contract which assured him certain rights, while also exacting of him a number of obligations, such as loving his homeland enough to lay down his life for it. Americans by choice or by birth, "henceforth," declared Godfroy de Tonnancour, "home is the Republic, where we strive to work our way up to the summit, to carve out a place in the sun."164 And as Godfroy Dupre, of Biddeford, Maine, forcefully stated, "our return to the native land would have the appearance of exile. Emigrants and sons of emigrants, we have become active and respected members of the American collectivity to such an extent that we feel just as American as the passengers on the Mayflower."165 "Let us continue to love Canada [...]," tion of French Canadians of the United States, held at Nashua, N.H. [1888]), in Felix Gatineau (ed.) op. cit., note 2, 278. 160. "Restons fran9ais" (French forever), [Speech pronounced at Cohoes, N.Y., June 22, 1882], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit, note 18, 184. 161. Id., 179. 162. Ferdinand Gagnon, "La Charite"" (Charity), [conference given at Lowell, Mass., in 1883], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit., note 18, 200-201. 163. For an informative discussion about various types of nationalism, see "Entretien avec Liah Greenfeld, 22 octobre 1996" (Conversation with Liah Greenfeld, October 22, 1996), in Marcos Ancelovici and Francois Dupuis-Dery (ed.), L'archipel identitaire (The identity archipelago), Montreal, Boreal, 1997, 56-62. 164. La presse franco-americaine" (The Franco-American press), [study of G. de Tonnancour presented at the Springfield Convention in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 460. 165. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech pronounced at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 420.

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wrote Charles-Roger Daoust "but the love we feel for our adoptive country, our true homeland, since we have chosen her [...] must always take first place."166 This choice of a new country entailed the adoption of a new name. Some preferred to be called "American Canadians," others, "French Americans," but the appellation that took root progressively over the decade 1890-1900 was that of "Franco-American."167 For the Franco-Americans, as for the French Canadians of the United States, there was never any question of renouncing the essential characteristics of their nationality of origin, in particular, the French language and the Catholic religion. To the Americans who exhorted them to abandon these characteristics and acquire those of the majority,168 on the pretext that they could not be "loyal to two countries at the same time," without giving the impression of being un-American,169 the elite retorted that the nationalism of the French Canadians of the United States was in every way compatible with the finest sort of Americanism. To the meltingpot, or Anglo-conformity, theory, they opposed that of cultural pluralism. The emigrants, while remaining loyal to the institutions and laws of their adoptive homeland, were demanding the privilege of conserving the component elements of their home nationality "which meant to remain French Canadians."170 In the end, the evolution might well render the American people homogenous, but, inevitably, the transformation had to

166. Charles-Roger Daoust, "Soyons Americains" (Let us be Americans), L'Etoile de Lowell, souvenir issue, 5th anniversary, October 1890, quoted in Robert Perreault, La presse franco-americaine et la politique: I'ceuvre de Charles-Roger Daoust (The Franco-American press and politics: the work of Charles-Roger Daoust), Bedford, National Materials Development Center for French, 1981, 63-64. 167. The elite refer here, without realizing it, to the definition of ethnicity of certain recent authors: "A collective, inherited, cultural identity, buttressed by social structures and social networks, and often formulated in opposition to competing social groups." Edward R. Kantowicz, "Ethnicity," in Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Corn, Peter W. Williams (eds.), Encyclopedia of American Social History, vol. 1, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993,454. 168. That which the partisans of Anglo-conformity advocated. Norman R. Yetman "Patterns of Ethnic Integration in America," in Norman R. Yetman, Majority and Minority. The Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in American Life, 5th ed., Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1991, 212-213. 169. Carroll D. Wright, op. cit., note 34, 12; William Macdonald, "The French Canadians in New England [1898]," in Madeleine Giguere (ed.), A Franco-American Overview, vol. 3., New England, Cambridge, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual / Bicultural Education, 1981, 18. 170. Edouard Hamon, op. cit, note 25, 113.

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be slow, maintained the journalist, Godfroy de Tonnancour. "Why try to hasten events."171 "Let us therefore leave to future generations, or rather to the economic action of Providence, the task of 'amalgamating' slowly and naturally the races on this continent into one people or many new peoples [...]. The issue right now is to promote unity in diversity and variety [...]. A variety of branches does not destroy the unity or singularity of the tree."172

The way in which the French Canadian elite of the United States interpreted the emigration of their compatriots, and how they read the reaction of the Others to this event, provide the key to understanding how the emigrants came to appreciate who they were and what they wanted to become. The exodus of tens of thousands of compatriots, over the decade following the Civil War, alarmed the elite of Quebec. Because they feared for the very survival of French-Canadian society, the elite condemned their departure, accusing them of deserting the homeland and intimating that after one or two generations, they would have abandoned their language and their faith. The resumption of the exodus, in 1879, after an interruption of six years, the failure of the repatriation campaigns and the existence of prosperous "Little Canadas" in New England persuaded the elite to view the emigration in a quite different light. Many no longer depicted the emigrants as deserters, but saw in them a branch of God's chosen people, whose presence in the United States was an act of Providence. Before 1879, because the French Canadians of the United States were living in deplorable conditions and took little or no interest in American institutions, the American reformists saw them as visiting foreigners, worthy of little respect. And since they readily became the docile servants of employers, acted as scabs and accepted wages deemed insignificant, they angered American workers, some of whom demanded their exclusion. After 1879, while some American workers expressed their disapproval of emigrant comings and goings on both sides of the border, certain Protes171. At the llth convention held at Willimantic, 1886, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 284. 172. J.-Roch Magnan, "Notre position sociale aux £tats-Unis" (Our social position in the United States), [Speech pronounced at the 18th convention, held at Chicago, in 1893], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 321.

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tant groups grew alarmed at seeing the emigrants settle permanently in the United States. They viewed the audacious projects of the french Canadians for the future and their isolation as a grave threat to American institutions. It has been seen how the elite reacted to such contemptuous perceptions. In the early years of the exodus, they strove to repatriate their compatriots who had journeyed south from the Quebec farmlands and denied that those who had settled permanently in the United States were deserters in the throes of losing their language and their faith. They did not refute the allegations of American reformists and workers in connection with the conduct of their compatriots; rather, they blamed the corrupt proprietors and the unscrupulous bosses for that conduct. After 1879, the elite came to appreciate that the majority of the French-Canadian emigrants were no longer birds of passage, but that they were locating permanently on American soil. They expressed this awareness in affirmations colored first by a keener understanding of their friends from Quebec as well as of their American fellow citizens. The emigrants were viewed as missionaries, the vanguard of a mighty invading army set out to conquer Protestant America. For many different reasons, the emigrants were also depicted as model Americans whose conduct and past history could but foster the respect of native Americans. Therein existed two ideological arguments which led to quite different, often opposed, considerations and actions. The first of these affirms that the French Canadians of the United States would be worthy of their mission only if they remained themselves, in other words, Catholic and French and by recreating for that purpose the institutions of their country of origin, fighting tooth and nail against all that threatened the integrity of their mission. The second argument held that the Franco-Americans could be worthy Americans only if they became citizens and integrated in the society that welcomed them. The first argument is conservative and turned towards the past; the second looks to the future and encourages change. Ultimately, the elite came to appreciate the group's awareness of its individuality. The meaning they attributed to that growing awareness, together with the many actions that they undertook, influenced the identitybuilding process; at times, they held it back, but, in the end, they urged it forward.

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Chapter III

THE ELITE AND A C H A N G I N G REALITY

(1865-1900)

In the beginning, our leaders enjoined us to erect citadels in New England. Each family, each parish, each school, each "Little Canada" was to lock out the enemy who wanted to harm us [...]. But, in due course, a goodly number of Franco-Americans decided that they had no wish to become the Amish or the Mennonites of New England. They had not emigrated from Quebec to escape persecution or to eschew an active role in American life. They had come to better their fortune and to claim their share of the American cornucopia.1 GERARD-J. BRAULT

T

RY TO IMAGINE A FOREIGNER in the year 1900, who, having visited Trois-Rivieres, Quebec City and Montreal, journeys south to visit the Franco-American communities of Lewiston, Manchester, Fall River and Woonsocket. It would not be surprising were he to conclude that he was still in one and the same country, since, to his eye, life on both sides of the border seemed virtually identical. Be that as it may, no French Canadian from Quebec could ever be so mistaken. Apart from the similarities— certainly numerous—the "Canuck" would quickly detect obvious behavioral differences within the family, as well as at church, at school, even in the street. For, although some saw the parish as an impregnable 1. Gerard-J. Brault, "Les Franco-Americains, la langue fran^aise et la construction de I'ldentite" nationale" (The Franco-Americans, the French language and forging a national identity), in Simon Langlois (ed.), Identite et cultures nationales. L'Amerique fran$aise en mutation (National cultures and identity. A changing French America), Quebec, PUL, 1995, 285.

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fortress, it was in no way impervious to surrounding influences. How did the Franco-American elite react to so many changes and how did their reaction affect the identity-building process? These are valid queries that the following pages consider. "They did not leave the homeland, they brought it with them" In 1865, Franco-America was at the embryonic stage. Thirty-five years later, the 573,000 Franco-Americans of New England had created more than a hundred dynamic communities endowed with a complex institutional network. As was noted in Chapter 1, the Little Canadas came into being gradually. With but few exceptions, the scenario remained the same. The first small groups of French-Canadian immigrants, those who settled close to the factories where they worked, asked their diocesan bishop to create a national parish, sheparded by a pastor of their nationality. Once this cleric was appointed, he made sure that a church, a school, a rectory and a convent were built. These edifices, eloquent witnesses to the stability and permanence of the community, prompted the arrival of other adjacent services. Soon, doctors, journalists, tradesmen and businessmen, people who were emigrating for the most part on account of congestion in their professions and the economic problems of Quebec, helped complete the infrastructure of the Little Canadas. These were viewed as oases where a person could live out his life, by and large, in French. Even in the factories, at least in those where emigrant families had grouped together in the same areas, it was enough to have a smattering of English to get by. And indeed, in those Little Canadas, it could well have been written that "English was the foreign idiom."2 Yet, it was really the life led in the Franco-American national parish that was reminiscent of the homeland, much more than the mere physical surroundings. As in Quebec, the parish was a place of worship but it was also a hub around which gravitated every social, intellectual and cultural activity, with the pastor squarely at the center. The faithful expected all things, or just about, from their pastor. It was true that he enjoyed considerable power and authority; he instructed and

2. Louise Peloquin-Far£, L'identite culturelle, Les Franco-Amfricains de la NouvelleAngleterre (A cultural identity. Franco-Americans in New England), Paris, Credif, 1983, 75. Such affirmation may be ascribed only to the national parishes.

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75

led them as well as attending to the saving of their souls. Yet, this was only one facet of his role. In communities starting out with no church, no rectory, no school, no convent and no charitable institution, he had to mastermind everything, organize everything and, indeed, lay down the law. He was the confidant who heard every secret and was consulted about every occurrence; he was the adviser who pointed out the straight and narrow; he was the arbiter of disputes and the designated representative of his flock when dealing with the outside world. Depending on the circumstances, he was pastor, teacher, social worker, doctor, architect, entrepreneur, even banker. "The priest in the United States has to have the heart of an apostle, the head of a businessman, the prudence and composure of a magistrate who is acquainted with every brief and last, but not least, the energy of a leader of men who, if need be, can defend the interests of those under his governance and demand respect of their rights."3 In point of fact, he was everywhere. Particularly after 1879, the clergy, as in the Quebec dioceses from whence they originated, tended for the most part to adopt a very rigorous supervisory strategy: they founded more and more parishes, they created an incredible variety of associations, they increased religious practices and devotions and they promoted religion entering into every facet of daily life. During those same years, they also strove to take charge of education and social welfare; even cultural life did not escape them. It will be useful to have a closer look at the situation which then prevailed. The clergy involved the faithful in numerous associations that encouraged their members to seek personal sanctification by engaging in charitable works. The best known of these were the Dames de Sainte-Anne (Ladies of Saint Anne) for married women, the Enfants de Marie (Children of Mary) for young girls and the Ligue du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart League) for men, young and old alike. In many parishes, other affiliated associations also sprang up: the Societe Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (Saint Vincent de Paul Society), the Societe de couture (Sewing Society), The Dames de charite (Ladies of Charity), who cared for the indigent, and the temperance societies to combat drunkenness and alcoholism. At regular intervals, the members of these associations attended mass all together, displayed their insignia, took communion and made novenas. They also assisted the curate 3. Edouard Hamon, Les Canadiens-Fratifais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England), Quebec, N.S. Hardy, Librairie-Editeur, 1891, 101.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

in his fund-raising endeavors. In certain localities, such as Lewiston, the younger workers assembled in fraternities like the Association SaintDominique (The Order of Saint Dominic).4 In the evening, their workday over, these young men gathered together in a gymnasium, to keep them off the streets where danger lurked. Under the priest's surveillance, they could play cards, lift weights, make music or put on theatricals. The youngest members were kept in line through catechism and Bible-history classes given in the parochial schools. And so it could be said of Father Eugene Lessard of Saint-Jacques de Manville that he "has no fear of going every week to spend several hours visiting the classes, giving examinations, presiding over competitions and encouraging the children by dispensing timely advice and even various rewards."5 A similar right to inspect also applied to the charitable institutions and to the mutual assistance societies. The priest was automatically the chaplain and his influence was felt even when statutes were being drafted. "Is admissible to the [Canado-American] Association, every French Canadian [...], who is a practicing Roman Catholic, of good repute, and who has accomplished his Easter duty."6 As chaplain, the priest ensured that each member of his flock lived virtuously. He also controlled what his parishioners read by choosing the books offered by the parish library and by requiring of newspaper editors that they submit to him their choice of serialized novels. Nor did leisure activities or sports escape the attention of vigilant pastors. Indeed, each parish offered its young people as complete a program of recreational activities and sports as possible. In this way, the parish soon became the center of all social activities for young people 4. Thomas-Cyrille Couet, "Seve catholique et fran9aise. L'Association SaintDominique depuis vingt-cinq ans" (French and Catholic vim and vigor. The Association Saint-Dominique, twenty-five years on), La Nouvelle-France, XI, April 4, 1912, 163-171. 5. Franco-American, "Historique de la paroisse de Saint-Jacques de Manville, 18721908" (History of the parish of Saint-Jacques de Manville, La Revue franco-americaine (The Franco-American Review), February 2, 4, 1909, 266-267. 6. Adolphe Robert, Memorial des Actes de I'Association canado-americaine, 1896-1946 (Record of the proceedings of the Canado-American Association, 1896-1946), Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1946, 61. As a last resort, the priest was judge of all the difficulties which might arise in a given society. Hence, at Winooski, in the Socie"te Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Society of Saint John the Baptist) when a judgment was rendered by the Chaplain, all the members were obliged to submit to it without discussion, on pain of expulsion. JeanFre"de"ric Audet, Histoire de la congregation canadienne de Winooski, Vermont (History of the Canadian congregation of Winooski, Vermont), Montreal, Imprimerie de 1'Institution des Sourds-Muets, 1906, 110-111.

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77

while making it difficult for them to mix in public places with Catholics of other nationalities, or with Protestants.7 By becoming an integral part of the life of individuals, families and, in effect, of the entire community, the religious practices proposed to churchgoers sustained, stimulated and, at times, reawakened the faith of parishioners. Morning and evening prayers commenced and closed the day. The week was marked out by the mass, sermons, recourse to the sacraments, vespers and catechism lessons; the month began with First-Friday mass; the year was circumscribed by the period of Advent, followed by the feasts of Christmas, the Circumcision and the Epiphany; then came Lent, Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost Sunday and Corpus Christi.8 Year in, year out, the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Matrimony, as well as funeral services, all served as rites of passage. At regular intervals, occasions such as Forty Hours, pastoral visits, jubilees, pilgrimages, triduum and parochial missions (retreats) commenced with a sermon, usually given by a celebrated preacher, quite often from Quebec, in the hope of giving the faith of parishioners a healthy jolt.9 In fact, all the major festivities or popular manifestations, such as the Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the Fourth of July, the winter carnivals or the annual picnics of various associations, also commenced with a mass and a sermon. Such practices were not simply religious in nature, they also had a sociocultural dimension; they sought to strengthen family and parish life by creating a collective conscience. Through his preaching, be it in the confessional, in the pulpit, at his rectory or at the parochial school, the priest maintained regular contact with his parishioners, consolidating his vigilant watch over their day-today existence. For him, Confession and the Sunday sermon constituted the most effective ways to direct his flock. Confession was often utilized "to take his stiff-necked parishioners to task"10 and to combat taverns, 7. Richard Sorrell, "Sports and the Franco-Americans in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, 1870-1930," in Madeleine Giguere (ed.)> A Franco-American Overview, vol. 4, New England, Cambridge, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual/Bicultural, Education, 1981, 60. 8. Joseph-Arthur D'Amours, Saint-Mathieu de Central Falls, Quebec, Imprimerie de L'Action sociale Ltee, 1917,68-71; Marguerite Cyr, Memoire d'unefamille acadienne (Memoirs of an Acadian Family), s.l., St-John Valley Bilingual Education Program, 1977, 90 and following. 9. Ibid. 10. As in Quebec. See Jean Hamelin and Nicole Gagnon, Histoire du catholicisme quebecois (A History of Catholicism in Quebec), vol. 1, Le xx* siecle, (The twentieth century), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1984, 335.

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immoral reading matter and licentious theatre productions. From the pulpit, the pastor could announce such important events as births, marriages and deaths, as well as various community activities; here was also the opportunity to comment upon and interpret rumors, to praise certain parishioners and to censure others. This kind of informal preaching brings to mind the biography of Father Andre-Marie Garin, o.m.i., pastor of the parish of Saint-Joseph (Lowell), a classic example of a veritable magisterium, who providied his flock paternal guidance. "(A) vigilant sentry, one who kept his eyes and his ears ever open, he cogitated at leisure, from Monday to Saturday, about what he saw and what he heard; and sometimes, a few minutes before ascending the pulpit, he would make ready to disclose the existence of a trap perilous to the soul of his flock. Ever so many festive occasions, wild and dangerous escapades, dances, trips offering no spiritual or even temporal benefits, all of which the newspapers announced in glaring capital letters, were dashed by edict of the Reverend Father Garin."11 Pastors were there to teach their flock how to act and what to think. As in Quebec, the clergy who were natives of Quebec tended to demand a commanding role when it came to defining the national destiny of French Canadians in the United States. Convinced that Providence reserved a noble mission for their compatriots on American soil, the clergy ceaselessly reminded them as to the goals of their collectivity, the ways to achieve them and the role incumbent on each of their number. Catholics and French, this is what the French Canadians were in Quebec, what they were at the start of their sojourn on American soil and what they were expected to remain. From the moral point of view, the teaching dispensed by the clergy emphasized, as in Quebec, such values as respect for authority, responsibility, hard work and thrift. Authority was viewed as being vested in God who, in his wisdom, delegates a portion of same to certain persons he calls upon to govern others. In the words of Pope Pius X, in 1906, "the Church is, in essence, an unequal society, that is to say, a society comprising two categories of mankind, the shepherds and the flock [...]. In the pastoral corps lies the sole 11. Gaston Carriere, L'inoubliable fondateur, le pere Andre-Marie Garin, o.m.i., 18221895. Sa vie missionnaire, son ceuvre a Lowell (The remarkable founder, Father Andre"-Marie Garin, o.m.i., 1822-1895. His life as a missionary, his work at Lowell), Montreal, Editions Rayonnement, 1964, 157.

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right and authority needed to promote and direct all the members towards fulfilling the purpose of that society. For their part, the multitude has no right other than to let themselves be led and, as a docile flock, to follow their pastors"12 And so, nothing was more normal for the clergy of the Little Canadas than to require of the faithful their absolute submission and obedience in every domain where pastors believed they had the right and the duty to intervene. The same hierarchical model was to be found in every group, particularly in the family. The roles there were clearly defined. The husband and father dominated, controlling and protecting the interests of the household, while securing the family's financial well-being. His authority within the family and his respectability in the community depended on this. The wife and mother, submissive to her husband, had a demanding and complex role to play. She assumed all the domestic tasks in addition to paramount responsibility for educating the children; she was expected to instill in them the proper respect for traditional Catholic values; and, she was their first French teacher. According to this scheme of things, the dominant socioeconomic role always falls to the father, while that of conveying cultural values is incumbent on the mother. The mother's influence is invariably underscored within the family. "As a rule, it is she who really governs the tiny republic, including the president."13 Still she is invited never to forget the limits of her role, for, should she seek to leave the domestic arena to work outside the home or to engage in politics, notes an observer, she will have to neglect her duties as wife, mother and homemaker.14 "Women have a noble, a sublime, role to play in society [...]. It is within the home that she must exercise this role. It is there and only there that her salutary influence can bear fruit."15 Children, for their part, were expected to share the financial burden, obey their parents and took after them in their old age. Elderly family members had to care for the youngsters. 12. Nive Voisine, "Les valeurs religieuses de 1'emigrant quebecois (1850-1920)" (The religious values of the Quebec emigrant (1850-1920), in Claire Quintal (ed.), L'emigrant quebfcois vers les £tats-Unis, 1850-1920 (The Quebec emigrant heading towards the United States: 1850-1920), Le Conseil de la vie francaise en Ame'rique (The Council on French life in America), 1982, 29-30. 13. Edouard Hamon, op. cit., note 3, 25. 14. Evat, "Le suffrage des femmes" (Women's suffrage), Le National, February 1, 1895, 2.

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In the working world, as in the family and the Church, the roles and duties of each individual were clearly defined. In virtue of such precept, the just employer would risk his capital to furnish his workers employment, honest wages and decent working conditions. Of course, as noted by Ferdinand Gagnon,16 there would always be unscrupulous capitalists, greedy for profit, but these were the exception. In return for the risks he took, the employer was entitled to expect his employee to work hard and well, to be punctual, sober, skilled, honest and determined to do a good job.17 As could be expected under the principle of authority, the distribution of roles conferred rights on individuals while also assigning them duties. The father "was obliged" to be the family breadwinner, which meant that he "was obliged" to work and to save; parents "were obliged" to teach Christian virtues to their children; children "were obliged" to obey and respect their parents. The refusal or inability to meet one's obligations engendered feelings of guilt, self-contempt and the reprobation of others. The individual, rarely the collectivity, was most often blamed for social problems. Who was responsible for youth criminality and prostitution? Young people? Without doubt, but less than were the parents. In a specific instance, when he realized that the number of French Canadians brought before the courts was considerable and included many young people, a journalist with the paper L'Avenir national queried: "Who is to blame? Nine times out of ten, the parents are guilty. They fail to look after their children [...]. The law should impose an exemplary punishment [on them]."18 Whenever a husband deserted his family, it was the wife who was castigated for failing to create a warm and inviting home; however, if poverty struck a family, the father was accused of having neglected to put aside sufficient monies at the right moment. A keen appreciation of work and the need for thrift were two other virtues central to the sermons of the clergy. At Quebec, Mgr Lafleche maintained that "the work ethic is at the very essence of human nature, 15. "Le suffrage des femmes" (Women's suffrage), Le National, March 3, 1894, 3. 16. Ferdinand Gagnon, "Le travail" (Work), [Conference given at Lowell in 1873], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), Ferdinand Gagnon. Biographic, doge funebre, pages choisies (Ferdinand Gagnon, biography, funeral elegy, selected pages), Manchester, s.ed., 1940,126127. 17. Id., 129-130. 18. "En ville" (In town), L'Avenir national, October 20, 1897, 4.

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indeed, Job proclaimed that '(man) is born to work, just as the bird is created to fly.'"19 In New England, priests, teachers and journalists repeated ad nauseum that hard work is the first law imposed on man "we must bear our cross"; "we must earn our bread with the sweat of our brow"; "work is the law of the land"; "all must work to live."20 Moreover, they stressed that saving enough money would avert the specter of poverty from the homestead, while securing the affluence needed for the family to fulfil their essential obligations. "He (the worker) must learn to be content with what he has, learn to balance his assets and his liabilities, his expenditures and his earnings [...]. Knowing how to be happy within one's means was an attribute of not only divine wisdom, but also social necessity."21 Ultimately, saving money allowed for avoiding "the vitiating blight of self-indulgence, moral turpitude and intemperance."22 Obviously, the preceding considerations did not exhaust the moral instruction of the clergy. However, it is safe to affirm that the FrenchCanadian emigrant's conception of the family and of the role of each family member, how he viewed work and the need for thrift, could well explain his constant and, at times, obsessive appetite for security. It is clear that these values also reinforced the emigrant's attitude concerning the education of his children; they further explain his lack of ambition and his somewhat fatalistic acceptance of a destiny that the popular expression describes as "being born on the wrong side of the track." Religion and patriotism as experienced by French-Canadian emigrants The population of the Little Canadas was inherently religious. The emigrant quite simply believed, without ever calling into question the truths he had learned at home, or at school, and that were kept alive thanks to the sermons of the clergy. His faith was strong; and some of his demonstrations of it 19. Address delivered by Mgr Lafleche to the Congress of farm missionaries at Oka, August 9, 1895, quoted in Nive Voisine, loc. cit., note 12, 30. 20. Michael Guignard, La foi - La langue - La culture. The Franco-Americans of Biddeford, Maine (Faith - Language - Culture. The Franco-Americans of Biddeford, Maine), si, s. ed., 1982, 74. 21. A.E.R., "Economic" (Saving money), L'Avenir national, April 24, 1901, 1. 22. Fran9ois-Xavier Chagnon, "Les Canadiens-Fran9ais de 1'fitat de New York" (The Franco-Americans of New York State), La Revue franco-americaine, August 1, 5,1908, 356, Speech given at the convention of Albany, N.Y., August 4, 1894.

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amazed observers. On May 5,1873, the Lewiston Evening Journal wrote with astonishment: "What a strange yet telling spectacle is that of some 2,000 French Canadians consecrating a church at a cost of $50,000 scarcely three years after their arrival on foreign soil and even before they have homes of their own."23 To those who were astonished by such munificence or who tended to heap scorn on same, the response was clear and unequivocal. For, as declared Mrs Ovide Morin, of Old Town, "some people make fun of the Catholics for having fine churches when they haven't very good houses themselves [...]. We think the Church is the House of the Lord, and we think that house ought to be as fine as possible."24 In 1900, the French Canadians of New England possessed close to one hundred churches—some quite similar to cathedrals—as well as almost as many schools. These edifices bore witness not only to the faith of parishioners but also to the ability of the clergy to motivate their generosity.25 The parishioners also had to meet the needs associated with their religious observance, such as maintaining the specific edifices and providing for the needs of the priest, the nuns and other religious figures. In this, they always contributed most generously. In 1871, the 562 families of Notre-Damedes-Canadiens of Worcester gave $14,341.11 for their parish needs, or an average of $25.32 per family.26 This was a considerable sum for that era in that workers, even in periods of stability, earned barely a few hundred dollars per annum. Their many sacrifices created a deep-rooted attachment to the parochial institution that their religious practices only helped to strengthen. The French Canadians were practicing Catholics, virtually every one of them. They received the sacraments regularly, and Sunday was a holiday in the parish. The emigrants were, of course, neither saints nor sheep. For, as the historian Nive Voisine has written about Quebecers of that era, they "ac23. Quoted in Jules-Antonin Plourde (ed.), Dominicains au Canada. Livre des documents (The Dominicans in Canada. Book of documents), vol. 2. Les cinq fondations avant I'autonomie (The five foundations before autonomy), 1881-1911, s. 1. 1975, 129, n. 78. 24 . Quoted in C. Stewart Doty (ed.), The First Franco-Americans, New England Life Histories from the Federal Writers' Project, 1938-1939, Orono, The University of Maine at Orono Press, 1985, 67. 25. See Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1776-1930 (The Franco-Americans of New England, 1776-1930), Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 117 and following. 26. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, Notre-Dame-des-Canadiens et les Canadiens aux Etats-Unis (Our Lady of all Canadians and the French Canadians in the United Sates), Montreal, George E. Desbarats, 1872, 64-65.

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cepted Catholicism not because it was imposed upon them, but because it gave them answers to their questions, while always retaining for them a function of identification."27 Obviously, such appreciation did not exclude a marked disparity between religion as lived by the emigrants and religion as preached by the Church, along with a certain challenging of the clergy's overly strict supervision.28 The parish was also the arena of a strong national life force. French was the language utilized by the clergy to preach in the churches of the national parishes; the same reality was true, but to a lesser extent, in the mixed parishes. The parochial schools were bilingual, with catechism, Bible history, French and Canadian history taught in French, whereas in the majority of states, English was utilized for the other disciplines. The presence of French-Canadian religious figures, male and female alike, the use of programs and methods similar to those prevalent in Quebec, the importance accorded to teaching Canadian history with its systematic exaltation of the heroic virtues of discoverers, missionaries and French soldiers, such as Cartier, Champlain, Brebeuf, Jolliet, Montcalm and Vaudreuil, among others—all contributed to a keenly-felt awareness on the part of most young people to the nationalism intrinsic to the Franco-American experience. Indeed, to such an extent—some observers have opined—that the parochial school seems to have existed more to advance the nationalistic cause than for strictly religious reasons.29 The family was of course the ideal setting for transmitting the ancestral language, customs and traditions, serving, as it did, as the natural backdrop for discussions, prayer, singing and enjoying life in the ancestral tongue. In many homes, the French-language newspaper was the main link to the outside world; it recounted what was happening in Quebec, while also relaying directives from various leaders and reporting on the collectivity's activities and the successes of compatriots in business and politics, as well as in the arts and sports. By and large, emigrants took pride in their association with such accomplishments, finding therein hope for the future. The newspaper also invited its readers to promote their emigrant compatriots, namely, French-Canadian shopkeepers, doctors, pharmacists and the like, rather than foreigners. 27. Nive Voisine, loc. cit. note 12, 33 28. See Infra. 29. Hormidas Hamelin, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs ou une paroisse francoamericaine (Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs or a Franco-American parish), s. 1., s. ed., 1916, 274-275.

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"Vigilant watchdogs" of the language and traditions,30 the mutual societies also served as dynamic sponsors. Their members created and led the various literary and social clubs, theater troupes and choirs that quickly flourished in the Little Canadas. The groups represented places where it was possible to discover just the right platform for proclaiming one's attachment to the French language or for determining ways of assuring the survival and transmission of ancestral customs, or yet again, for enabling leaders such as the clergy and journalists to denounce the halfhearted, while combatting threats to the survival of the nation. The national conventions were also meant to be important moments in the life of the French-Canadian emigrants, even though they were intended more particularly for the elite. From 1865 to 1901, they convened delegates from mutual societies, as well as representatives of the clergy and of the press, all of whom came from the major centers. Once assembled, those people examined the problems facing the various local communities—problems that threatened not only their hard-earned prosperity, but, more importantly, their very survival; many resolutions were adopted at these conventions in the hope that they would be implemented by all concerned. From the start, these meetings were held to be of paramount importance. The delegates carefully prepared their reports, exchanged information, viewpoints and analyses; they actively encouraged one another, presented a united front in the fight against the "assimilators" and, thereafter, remained in contact. For the elite, the conventions were a powerful antidote to the dangers of isolation and dispersion.31 Certain occasions provided the community a nostalgic opportunity to return, for a short time, to living as they once did in Quebec. "Today, [the 1st of the year], McGregorville is just the same as any real Canadian town. Most of the shops are closed and people visit one another just as they would do at home."32 And, as could be expected, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day would always find the Little Canadas giving full vent to celebrating so many echoes from their lost homeland. Traditionally, the national holiday was celebrated with all the pomp and ceremony befitting the occasion. The 30. Rdolphe Robert, "Par-dessus les frontieres" (Beyond the frontiers), in Les FrancoAmericains peints par eux-memes (The Franco-Americans as they view themselves), Montreal, Editions Albert LeVesque, 1936, 30. 31. Only later on would their practical influence fade when they became a rostrum for any number of professional "speechifiers." 32. "En ville" (Around town), L'Avenir national, January 1st, 1901, 3.

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day began with High Mass during which the sermon to commemorate the feast was given by a celebrated preacher, preferably from Quebec. Right after, through streets decorated with flags and multi-colored banners, would come a procession of allegorical floats commemorating the high points of French life in America; all the members of the various clubs and associations participated in the festivities, decked out in full regalia. The parade eventually dispersed in a public park where the entire population would eat a picnic while sitting on the grass. In the evening, a banquet, with toasts as numerous as guests of honor, closed the holiday festivities.33 These fetes afforded many orators a sterling opportunity to encourage the preservation of close ties to Quebec. Yet, such exhortations were scarcely necessary. For indeed, each and every year, retreats, pilgrimages, organized voyages, visits to relatives and friends in Quebec, all afforded tens of thousands of French-Canadian emigrants an opportunity to stoke nationalist fires by a return visit to the homeland. The full extent of the progress achieved by building an institutional framework centered on the parish and by the quality of the religious and French-speaking life lived by parishioners engendered great optimism. What a contrast between today and yesterday, Doctor Jean-Louis Fortier stated during the Biddeford Convention, in 1892. "From the ordinary individuals we used to be, of little or no importance, today, gentlemen, we represent, in our adopted country, a distinct nation, thanks to our language, mores and customs [...]. We are needed; we cannot be excluded from the contest."34 "In the states of New England as well as in New York State, where we are strong in number and which border French Canada," wrote Edmond de Nevers, "we have every reason to believe that the movement towards Anglicization has been arrested [...]. There are 33. "Nos reunions" (Our reunions), Le Philanthrope, August, 1, 2, 1892, 10, 13. 34. La convention de Biddeford" (The Biddeford convention), Le National, July 20, 1892, 3. "Do not be surprised" declared Hugo Dubuque, in 1891, "if some fine day, one of these little Canuck Yankees reaches the White House as President of the United States; indeed, it is the privilege of any child born in this Republic to aspire to her greatest honors." Hugo Dubuque, "Les Canadiens des Etats-Unis" (The Canadians of the United States), [speech given at the banquet in honor of Wilfrid Laurier, Boston, Mass., November 17, 1891], in R.C. de Beaumont, Souvenir du banquet Laurier (Remembering the Laurier banquet), reproduced in Richard Santerre (ed.), Litterature franco-americaine de la NouvelleAngleterre, Anthologie (Franco-American literature of New England. Anthology), vol. 3, Manchester, National Materials Development Center for French and Creole, 1980, 6.

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now even fewer renegades in our midst and their sparse number has been recruited among the most inferior elements of the population."35 That same optimism tended to cloak the often subtle transformations that were occurring within the Little Canadas. Most observers perceived only the major changes that deviated so far from the norm as to be reprehensible. Public-school attendance rates, as well as affiliation with ter^itorial parishes and the English spoken by many young people are all realities belonging to that category. The Little Canadas: an arena where the forces of change and the status quo clashed head-on Despite the major role the Little Canadas played in the life of the FrenchCanadian emigrants, for many of them and their children, they were perceived solely as temporary places of residence. Moreover, just like their American compatriots, the French Canadians were constantly on the move from one town to another, owing to job scarcity or quite simply because they dreamed of improving their fortunes. Historian Yves Frenette has calculated that 67% of the people enumerated in the 1879 census at Lewiston could not be retraced ten years later.36 For his part, Father Thomas-Aime Chandonnet declared, "It is common knowledge that every year close to one quarter of the Canadian population moves away, even from places where there is a Canadian church."37 This constant renewal of the population was not viewed with alarm, since those arriving belonged to the same group as those who were leaving. And yet the phenomenon remained of vital importance. For, a sizeable proportion of these mi35. Edmond de Nevers, L'dme americaine (The American soul), vol. II. Paris, Jouve et Boyer, 1900, 367-368. 36. Yves Frenette, La genese d'une communaute canadienne-franc.aise en NouvelleAngleterre: Lewiston, Maine, 1800-188 (The genesis of a French-Canadian community in New England: Lewiston, Maine, 1800-1880), Ph.D. thesis, Universite Laval, 1988, 164. Frenetic's thesis concurs with the conclusions of many American researchers. See Alexander Keyssar, Out of Work. The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986,123; John Bodnar, The Transplanted. A History of Immigrants in Urban America, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1985, 175-178. "During the nineteenth century," summarizes Jay Dolan, "only between 40 and 60% of the population in a given city at one time was likely to be living there a decade later." Jay Dolan, The American Catholic Experience. A History from Colonial Times to the Present, Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday and Co., 1985, 203. 37. Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, op. cit., note 26, 137.

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grants38 were only "birds of passage" or rolling stones,39 namely, French Canadians who, after a few months or a few years spent in the United States returned to Quebec, their little "nest egg" well in hand. Those people adapted quite easily to an environment very similar to the one they had just left. Their attitude in regard to the language spoken in the workplace, instruction in the schools and the language used by the trade unions, differed emphatically from the position adopted by their compatriots who had elected to settle permanently in New England. These "birds of passage" saw no need, either for themselves or for their children, to learn English. On their arrival in the United States, they were welcomed by relatives or friends, who presented them to potential employers, found them housing and, quite often, took care of them for a period of time. At the receiving parish everything transpired in the French language. Only at the factory were they obliged to learn a smattering of English, in order to understand the foremen and, even then, not always. Those migrants were determied to save as much money as they could in order to facilitate their speedy return to the homeland. As a matter of course, they endured severe deprivation, lived in difficult conditions40 and, as soon as their children, of either sex, were of an age to work, hired them out to the factory. As early as ages 12 or 14, depending on the period, and sometimes at an even earlier age, the majority of migrant children were forced to abandon school to participate in the collective work effort. This was an unwritten law. In 1870, 67% of the children of Lowell under 16 years of age were working in the mills; at Lewiston, in 1880, the number had reached 72%.41 Quite often, parents committed very serious abuses, 38. A migrant moves about a given territory seeking work, no matter the political boundaries. 39. The expression belongs to Philip Thomas Sylvia, "Neighbors from the North: French-Canadian Immigrant vs Trade Unionism in Fall River, Massachusetts," in Claire Quintal (ed.), The Little Canadas of New England, Worcester, French Institute / Assumption College, 1983, 52. 40. Certain parents justified as follows their refusal to send for a doctor when a child took sick: "Let us wait and see. If the child is to survive, he will do so without the doctor's help. If his hour has come, all the doctors in the world would be unable to save him." Quoted in Martin Tetreault, La sante publique dans une ville manufacturiere de la NouvelleAngleterre, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1865-1900 (Public health in a New England factory town, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1865-1900), Ph.D. thesis, Universite de Montreal, 1985, 99-100. 41. Frances H. Early, French-Canadian Beginnings in an American Community: Lowell, Massachusetts, 1868-1886, Ph.D. thesis, Concordia University, 1979, 113; Yves Frenette, op. cit., note 36, 190.

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never hesitating to break the laws; they lied about the age of their children; they falsified their names and even removed them temporarily from the factory when they learned that inspectors were due to arrive. To justify their refusal to send the children to school any longer than was required by law, migrant parents maintained that formal instruction was not necessary to become "habitants"; they believed that "the more educated we are, the more dishonest we become."42 Still others declared: "We are here for two or three years at most and we shall send our children to school in Canada when we return home."43 A Massachusetts factory-owner confirmed that the French Canadians, who had no intention of remaining in the United States, "regard it as time thrown away to send their children to school, as they (many of them) do not understand our language, and do not want to learn it; as they will not use it when they return to Canada. Many of these, he added, will leave, and go to Rhode Island or Connecticut if compelled to attend school."44 The "birds of passage" also spared no effort to avoid the strikes then rampant in the textile industry, thereby feeding the denunciations of many American workers who accused them of being too submissive, of accepting paltry wages, of breaking the labor laws concerning women and children, of shunning the trade unions and, most deplorable, of acting as scabs. For migrant workers, the strikes represented a serious threat to their project of saving substantial sums as swiftly as possible. They well knew that "when the workers are on strike, they still have to live, to procure food, clothing and a warm shelter. To get these necessities, they need money; and when they fail to earn, they are forced to fall back on their savings, if they have any or, if they have none, to contract debts."45 Consequently, there was never any question for them to participate in strikes, to sacrifice 42. Felix Gatineau, Histoire des Franco-Americains de Southbridge, Massachusetts (History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts), Framingham, Mass., Lakeview Press, 1919, 46. 43. Arthur Baribault (ed.), Congres nationaux. Histoire et statistiques des CanadiensAmericains du Connecticut, 1885-1898 (National Congresses. History and statistics concerning the Franco-Americans of Connecticut, 1885-1898), Worcester, Mass., Imprimerie de TOpinion publique, 1899, 203. This comment was made by the Reverend JosephEdmond Senesac at the 9th Congress held at Taftville, in 1894. 44. Extract of the annual report (1870) of the Bureau of Labour Statistics of Massachusetts, quoted in Henry F. Bedford (ed.), Their Lives and Numbers. The Condition of Working People in Massachusetts, 1870-1900, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1995, 141. 45. Ferdinand Gagnon, loc. cit., note 16, 123.

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money and effort for reforms or improvements which would bring them nothing. "When a strike breaks out, they look for another job or they leave."46 These migrants were also particularly sensitive to the views expressed by the elite, in particular the clergy, on how to react to injustices and demand improvements in their situation. The calls to exercise caution and to respect authority, along with the never-ending reflections about the moral consequences of strikes, all found in them a very fertile terrain. These transotiry French Canadians were most at home in the national parishes where everything reminded them of Quebec, where debates over eventually adapting to life in America barely concerned them. While they could not have been called indifferent, they were less sensitive to the hostile remarks and actions of Americans. Some of the emigrants who settled permanently in New England belonged to the first generation, others to the second, still others to the third, or even to the fourth. The number of first-generation emigrants grew more rapidly than for the succeeding generations. TABLE 5 Franco-Americans of New England born in Canada or in the United States of one or two French-Canadian parent(s) 1890-1900 Year

Born in Canada

1890 1900

205,741 (61.6%) 275,377 (53.1%)

Born in the United States 128,014 (38.4%) 243,510 (46.9%)

Total 333,775 518,887

Source: Leon Truesdell, The Canadian Born in the United States, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1943, p. 77.

As Table 5 reveals, the number of Franco-Americans grew by 185,112 or 55%, between 1890 and 1900. The number of those born in the United States grew by 115,496 (an increase of 62.4%), thus, more rapidly than the number of those born in Canada, namely, 69,636 (an increase of 37.6%). The statistics of one Leon Truesdell, based on specific American census reports, ignore the third- and fourth-generation Franco-Americans, in other words, those who were born in the United States of parents of French-Canadian origin, who themselves had been born in the United 46. Yves Frenette, op. cit, note 36, 218.

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States. If their number is taken into account, the percentage of French Canadians born in Quebec, the majority of whom belong to the first generation tally a percentage inferior to 53.1% in 1900.47 For the period under scrutiny, there were, of course, intergenerational conflicts; but such tensions were most acute between the emigrants having recently arrived in the United States and those who had settled Stateside 10, 20 or 30 years earlier. The two groups had quite different needs and interests and so were inclined to make quite different choices. Recent arrivals were at home in the churches where French was the language of the pulpit as well as being the predominant or virtually sole language utilized in the schools and for conducting the various parishsponsored activities. Where possible, they subscribed to the Quebec newspapers in circulation in the United States, while also insisting that their Franco-American papers report just as much, if not more, about the situation in Quebec as they did about what was happening in the United States. In that the parish and its institutions afforded them great emotional security, as a rule, they willingly submitted to the orders and desiderata of their priests, without too much grumbling. For the most part, their behavior resembled that of the "birds of passage." Nonetheless, the networks of relatives and friends who received them, took them in hand and guided their first steps on American soil, were, in tandem, introducing them to a world quite different from the one they had just left. Albeit confusedly at first, they soon understood that they would have to accept any number of changes if they and their children wanted to take full advantage of the various possibilities offered them by their adoptive country. A sojourn of several years on American soil had a noticeable effect on the linguistic patterns of their predecessors. Early on, many observers noted and deplored the changes in the language spoken by the emigrants and, in particular, by their children. In more or less permanent contact with English—the language of the land, hence, the only tongue which had real political, economic and social clout—they frequently borrowed English words and phrases.48 Researchers have since identified two ways in 47. Strictly speaking, the second generation comprised only those individuals born in the United States of whom at least one parent was an immigrant. However, it appears necessary to include as well those who entered the United States before attaining their majority. See C.A. Price, "Immigration and Group Settlement," W.D. Borrie (ed.), The Cultural Integration of Immigrants, Paris, UNESCO, 1959, 272. 48. Robert A. Fischer, "La langue franco-americaine" (The Franco-American tongue), in Claire Quintal (ed.) Situation de la recherche sur la Franco-Americanie (Contemporary

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which this is done. The first consists of adopting English words per se— words like chum (copain), loafer (flaneur), ride (promenade), smart (fute), among others, come to mind. The second, of employing literal translations, both of words and of word order (syntax). "The English expression is translated literally, word for word, quite often by selecting the French word that is closest, in terms of form rather than meaning (semantics)."49 Some examples of isolated words are monnaie (money) instead of "argent," delai (delay)) instead of "retard," realiser (realize) instead of "se rendre compte," to name but a few. Examples of syntactic distortions also abound, among others, "prends 93 aise" for take it easy and "prendre une marche" for to take a walk. Observers were even more struck by the habit that certain Americanborn children of French Canadians had acquired; they conversed amongst themselves in the English language, at play, at school and even at home. And indeed, as Ferdinand Gagnon wrote in the Le Travailleur of August 8, 1882, "At the Cohoes national picnic, on June 22, and at the picnic for the Canadians of Worcester and the surrounding area which was held last Thursday, we were greatly alarmed that the vast majority of young girls spoke only English." "Anglomania [...] is wreaking extraordinary havoc in the ranks of our young people," asserted a Manchester daily,50 "in the most French of all American cities."51 In spite of the church, the school, the mutual societies, French newspapers, and what have you, "today's children prefer English; they think and behave [...] in English."52 The description offered by Calvin J. Veltman of the various levels in the Anglicizing process common to ethnic groups in the Unites States provides a clearer picture of the phenomenon, as a whole.53 Of note might

research on the Franco-American fact), Quebec, Le Conseil de la vie fran9aise en Ame"rique, 1980, 50. 49. Id., 51. 50. "II faut se revolter" (It is time to take a stand), L'Avenir national. May 12,1900,4. 51. Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the Franco-Americans), Montreal, USJBA, 1959, 166. 52. "L'education dans la famille" (Learning in the family setting), [speech of Dr. John M. Steelle of Worcester, Mass., at the Springfield Convention in 1901] in Felix Gatineau (ed.), Historique des conventions generates des Canadiens-Fran$ais aux £tats-Unis, 18651901 (History of the general conventions of French Canadians in the United States, 18651901), Woonsocket, L'Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, 1927, 435. 53. Calvin J. Veltman, Language Shifts in the United States, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam, Mouton Publishers, 1983, 17-19, 211-214.

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be the case of a specific immigrant—a child—whose first language is French and who lives in an environment where English, in all types of circumstance, is the only language employed. Obviously, that child will have to learn to cope in English; this is the first level in the process of linguistic transfer that Veltman calls "basic bilingualism." Over time, this individual, having learned to speak English fluently, will be able to make it his customary language, thereby relegating his mother tongue to the status of second language. Veltman speaks here of "English bilingualism." And so, English has every chance of becoming the mother tongue of that individual's children. And, even if those same children continue to speak French as a second language, the author still refers to their Anglicization. Finally, a more definitive process of linguistic transfer than "English bilingualism" may be contemplated. The individual under scrutiny, who speaks English fluently, could elect to stop speaking his mother tongue on a regular basis, using it only on rare occasions, such as to communicate with his parents who speak only French. For all practical purposes, he has become a "unilingual speaker of English," since he has abandoned the French language as his means of communication. Moreover, his children will speak nothing but English. Here Veltman is describing the situation as he observed it during the 1970s. However, it is certain that an environment like the national parish would have put a brake on the Anglicization process. In such an environment, it would be surprising if the majority of children had reached even a level of "basic bilingualism."54 But this was not the case in the mixed and territorial parishes. In the mixed parishes, where bilingualism was the rule at church, parents were forced to send their children to the public school or else to parochial schools where English dominated. The consequences were inevitable. Spontaneously, the children of French Canadians, who had arrived in the United States at an early age or who were born there, spoke English amongst themselves, their parents seeing no harm in this. Indeed, many emigrants, especially those whose ignorance of English had proved to be a hindrance during their early days on American soil, wanted to make sure that their children avoided such difficulties. "Being of French origin I would have had to learn two languages; and my parents felt that if I learned only one language, I'd end up better off than going to a school 54. In point of fact, English was not even taught in certain parochial schools. Michael Guignard, op. cit, note 20, 61.

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with two languages."55 Since the majority of emigrants had abandoned all thought of returning to Quebec, their priority was to ensure that their children could profit maximally from the new life they had chosen; for them, the best way to do this was to gradually integrate into American society, and not remain on the sidelines. "I did not wish to live in the past; you cannot go very far nor advance very fast if you look behind you," declared one elderly grandmother.56 No doubt such children had reached the level of "basic bilingualism" that Veltman describes. Even if the militants of survival were using the behavior of these parents as a "bete noire" to discourage their compatriots in the national parishes from becoming Anglicized, many of the latter viewed this as a model to follow. To be sure, they were proud of their origins and happy to be living in the little Canadas, but they were concerned primarily about the future of their offspring. They were quite ready to accept French unilingualism at Church and various parochial activities, but at the same time, they insisted that the parochial schools better prepare their young people for life in the United States. They urged their schools to devote the lion's share of class time to English as attested by the following item that appeared in Le National of Manchester: "As the schools must open their doors on September 1st, it is to be hoped that our Canadians do not go and seek out our Sisters to have them teach nothing but English to their children."57 Yet, every time those youngsters demonstrated their mastery of the language of Shakespeare, they earned their parents' warmest praise.58 When the pastor and the nuns refused to meet their demands, certain parents took the plunge, leaving the national parish to join a neighboring territorial parish. "At West Manchester, fully half of the Church of Saint Raphael, originally built for the Irish and German Catholics, is now filled 55. Affirmation of Raymond Dubois (fictitious name) in Tamara K. Hareven and Randolph Langenback (eds.), Amoskeag. Life and Work in an American Factory-City, New York, Pantheon Books, 1978, 164. 56. Affirmation of a "grand-mere franco-americaine" (Franco-American grandmother), in C. Stewart Doty (ed.), op. cit, note 24, 42. 57. "Nouvelles des £tats-Unis. Willimantic, Connecticut" (News from the United States. Willimantic, Connecticut), Le National, August 25, 1891. 58. "A dialogue entitled 'It pays to go to school' was rendered by the youngsters with such ease and so pure an accent that it brought forth a thunderous applause from the audience." Paul Pare, "Religion et nationalite: une voix d'autrefois" (Religion and nationality: a voice from an earlier time), in Le FAROG Forum, 6, 7 1980, 2. The author refers here to an article that appeared July 10, 1884, in Le Messager of Lewiston.

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with Canadians."59 Despite the censure they incurred, they continued to send their children to the tuition-free public school, while shunning the mutual societies of their nationality in favor of English-language organizations;60 they also preferred subscribing to American newspapers. Nor were those same parents loathe to see their children marry someone from another ethnic group. Other changes, just as significant as the linguistic transfer, were under way within the Little Canadas. Divers customs and traditions disappeared or were transformed; new modes of behavior came to the fore. And so, many parents, encouraged by their children, began to adopt the American custom of gift-giving on Christmas Day, therewith abandoning the venerable Quebec tradition, inherited from France, of distributing presents on New Year's Day.61 In any case, January 1st was quite often a sad day in the Little Canadas. As it was not everywhere a holiday, the traditional celebrations were replaced by regular factory work. "Next Monday (January 1st), while our brothers and other relatives in Canada are celebrating New Year's Day, we shall be going about our daily occupations."62 Every June 24th, the French Canadians of New England spared no effort to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day with all the pomp and ceremony befitting a national holiday. Although it is true that before the 1890s very few Franco-Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, a researcher noted that, towards the end of the century, the opposite was starting to occur at Worcester—people were beginning to celebrate the Fourth of July with greater regularity and to neglect June 24th, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.63 In 1898, the Worcester Telegram wrote that June 24th "is rapidly losing its importance for the Francophones of this part of New England."64 However, it will be recalled that there was scarcely any difference in how those two events were observed. In the Little Canadas, the Fourth-of-July festivities commenced with celebrating High 59. "A 1'egise Ste-Marie. Quelques paroles de Mgr. Hevey" (At Saint Mary's Church, A few words from Mgr. Hevey), L'Avenir national, February 8, 1898, 1. 60. "The Canadians, who are members in good standing of American or Irish societies, can be counted by the hundreds at Manchester." "Nos socie'te's" (Our societies), L'Avenir national, March 27, 1897, 2. 61. "Les cadeaux de Noel" (The Christmas presents), Le National, December 23,1892,4. 62. "Nouvelles locales" (Local news), Le National, December 27, 1893, 1. 63. Roy Rosenzweig, Eight Hours for What We Will. Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1983, 84. 64. Id., 85.

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Mass, to be followed by a parade of allegorical floats commemorating the milestones of the French fact in America; finally, the day ended with a picnic and a banquet. This no doubt explains a most surprising item that appeared in Le Philanthrope of Providence (R.I.), in August 1892: "Our compatriots of New Bedford, Mass., celebrated our national holiday, SaintJean-Baptiste Day, with great pomp on the fourth of July. More than 10,000 persons paraded in the streets."65 The absence of Midnight Mass at Christmas in the Little Canadas evoked nostalgia among the oldest members of every Franco-American community. The midnight celebration was no more "than the memory of a sweet dream that is relegated to the past. In the United States, we are far from the customs of our homeland and the traditions are entirely other."66 At Christmas Mass, the Yuletide refrains, the age-old hymns, were replaced by the masses of Mozart, Haydn and Gounod. Many agreed that these last were beautiful, but "for us, all the orchestras in the world could never surpass those sublime melodies, so full of sweetness and religious bliss, such as Nouvelle Agreable (Wondrous tidings), Dans cette etable (In that holy manger), (D Saint Berceau (O holy cradle), and so many others."67 Over time, the family entity underwent the most significant transformations. Tensions were often strong between parents, desirous of retaining their heritage, and their children, born or raised in the United States, hence, more in a hurry to integrate the American social fabric. At work, in the public school or in the parochial school of the mixed parishes, young people confronted many traumatic experiences, which ignorance of the English language could only aggravate. Quite often, they held their parents responsible for that state of affairs. Why, rather than have them learn the language of the country, did their parents force them to speak another language so useless for communicating with the world outside? No sooner had those young people sufficiently mastered the English language than they insisted on using it everywhere, even at home; and indeed, quite often, to defy their elders. The luckless parents sought to exercise their authority or else turned to that of the elite in a persistent effort to dissuade them; but, in so doing, they only widened the gap separating them from their offspring. 65. "Nos reunions" (Our reunions) Le Philanthrope, August 1, 2, 1892, 14. 66. Jean-Georges Le Boutillier, "Noel" (Christmas), Le National, December 23,1893,2. 67. "Nouvelles des £tats-Unis—Cohoes—New York" (News from the United States— Cohoes—New York), Le National, December 29, 1892, 4.

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In fact, language became the most apparent factor of tension within families. Many young people who found the parental yoke too restrictive soon contested that very authority. In the wake of often bitter disputes, a number of them left the family home to reside elsewhere. Their parents were forced to come to terms with a very difficult reality. "In the United States, one quickly learns the importance of freedom. Children, even those barely of working age, already believe that they can readily dispense with obeying their parents; caught up as they are by the contagion of their immediate surroundings, they soon believe in their absolute independence; and, if their parents resort to reprimanding their conduct, they rebel and seek to abandon the parental enclave. At that point, the unfortunate parents, who live in fear of being deprived of the weekly earnings that help them sustain the rest of the family, resort to an easy-going authority when dealing with their recalcitrant children."68 Then too, the parents themselves were changing, were evolving. Quarrels between spouses, rather than dissipating, with the priest acting as counselor, quite often ended in divorce.69 In addition, married couples began to limit births. Using the genealogy of a single family of FrenchCanadian origin (the Dumonts), Leon-F. Bouvier compared the intervals between births of the Canadian and American branches of that family. He noted that not only was there a difference between the intervals observed, but that the gap increased with the time spent in the United States. At the beginning of the twentieth century, "the difference in spacing-behaviour observed seems to indicate that couples who had originally come from Canada were guided in their behaviour more by the mores of their surroundings than by habits of their traditional (Canadian) past."70 Quite likely, with the technological transformations and a stricter enforcement of child-labor laws, large families were becoming more a liability than an asset in the urban environment. Children, who had to be housed, fed, clothed and educated, could not contribute to the family earnings before they reached adolescence. 68. Letter of Doctor R.-G. Janson-LaPalme to Senator Thomas-Alfred Bernier (of Saint-Boniface), May 10, 1888, in Adrien Verrette, "Franco-Americains au Manitoba" (Franco-Americans in Manitoba), Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-amirkaine (Bulletin of the Franco-American Historical Society), 1952, 33-34. 69. L'Avenir national, September 28, 1895, 2. 70. Le"on-F. Bouvier, "The Spacing of Births Among French-Canadian Families: An Historical Approach," The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 5, 1, February 1968, 24.

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At work, the Franco-Americans of the second and third generations were more likely to participate in union protests and resistance. Like their American fellow union-members, they reacted more aggressively to the progressive transformation of their work place. They became alarmed by the technological innovations which heightened the pace of work and their output, literally tethering them to the machines, thereby multiplying the risks of accident. They were angered by their employers taking advantage of even the slightest vacillation in the economic climate, either to impose salary cuts, or to unite forces in order to deprive workers of benefits secured during periods of prosperity. "The gentlemen factory owners believe that the rest of the world is there to grovel at their feet, to kiss their very footsteps, and should those gentlemen deign to strike a blow, to consider themselves fortunate not to have been struck harder."71 A lack of information makes it impossible to say if laxity in religious practices was more common among the first to arrive or those who came last. Since only scraps of information are available, it would be misguided and premature to draw any specific conclusions. In a speech given at the Albany Convention, August 4, 1884, Francois-Xavier Chagnon, pastor of Champlain (N.Y.), referred to the opinion of several eminent members of the clergy to support his claim that out of a population of 74,285 French Canadians or the descendents of French-Canadian parents, some 10,000 to 12,000 had renounced their faith and abandoned all religious practice.72 Other witnesses spoke of more minor deviancies. At Plattsburg, the Oblates complained that, in 1871, 230 persons out of close to 2,000, in all, had failed in their Easter duty, that the Enfants de Marie (Children of Mary) were attending the cotillions, that young people were putting buttons on the collection plate and that pews in church were not being sold.73 Certain "boorish" Catholics were reproached for missing Mass without sufficient reason on Sundays and holy days of obligation, or for attending Mass only to chat or doze. In that informative sources are scattered and monographs virtually inexistent, the preceding descriptive analysis remains impressionistic and a 71. "Capital et main d'oeuvre" (Capital and manpower), Le National, May 18,1894,4. 72. Francois-Xavier Chagnon, "Les Canadiens-Francais de 1'Etat de New York" (The French Canadians of New York State), La Revue franco-americaine, August 1, 5, 350-352. 73. Gaston Carriere, Histoire documentaire de la Congregation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie Immaculee dans Vest du Canada (Documentary history of the Missionary Oblates of Mary the Immaculate in Eastern Canada), vol, 10, Ottawa, Editions de 1'Universite d'Ottawa, 1972, 161-163.

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tad incomplete. However, it does allow the researcher to affirm, without fear of error, that the process of acculturation was well and truly underway.74 In fact, everything indicated that the emigrant and his children, confronted with a new and dynamic environment, were inevitably parting company with their Quebec brothers and that the Little Canadas they inhabited were progressively forsaking Quebec ways. How did the elite react to the transformations and existential choices, particularly in regard to language, that their compatriots were making? The elite caught between the dream and the reality In the shadow of the walls of those impregnable fortresses—the national parishes—French-Canadian emigrants and their children, according to a number of leaders, were in the process of realizing their goal, to recreate Quebec on American soil. This is the particular context in which the reactions of the elite to the ongoing changes must be analyzed. In respect of this imperative, observers and researchers, alike, evoke two scenarios. The first of these holds that certain leaders—members of the clergy and the professional sectors—men who were convinced that Providence had entrusted a noble mission to their compatriots, saw in any significant change a serious threat to the realization of that mission, and so, virulently opposed change. Others, for the most part middle-class businessmen and politicians, people more attuned to the needs and interests of their compatriots, applauded and actively promoted change.75 At the end of the century, those elites represented diametrically opposed factions, and the man in the street had to choose between the two of them. The second scenario contends that a minority of "naysayers," "who swear solely by that which is exclusively French Canadian," categorically refuse all change, however tenuous. At the opposite pole were to be found a minority of "opportunists," "infatuated with all things Yankee," who were quite prepared to abandon their heritage and vanish into the American 74. Acculturation refers to the acquisition of the characteristics of a dominant group, including their language, values, beliefs and modes of behavior. "Assimilation. Theory and Reality," in Lawrence W. Levine and Robert Middlekauff (eds.), The National Temper. Reading in American Culture and Society, 2nd ed., New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, Inc., 1972, 2nd ed., 281. 75. Richard S. Sorrell, The Sentinette Affair (1924-1929) and Militant Survivance: the Franco-American Experience in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Ph.D. thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1975, 38.

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melting pot.76 Between those two extremes, a majority of leaders, although fervently attached to the faith, language and traditions of French Canada, nonetheless ackowledged the need to advocate change so that their offspring might take every advantage of the possibilities offered them by American society. This last scenario would appear to be closest to the reality of the day. Thumbs-down on radical change The preceding pages and chapters have shown that the elite dreamed of recreating the lost homeland south of the border. Priests, professionals, journalists and middle-class business people, all of whom were convinced that Providence had an important mission in store for their compatriots, argued without cease, and as one, in favor of creating national parishes, along with French schools, mutual societies and newspapers, the four pillars of the survivance. As architects and builders of the Little Canadas, the elite were also their leaders, striving to create a vibrant Catholic and French-speaking existence, faithful to the French-Canadian model. They were also the guardians and self-proclaimed defenders of those tiny collectivities; anything that might hinder the development or imperil the integrity of their emigrant compatriots, and put them on the defensive. The many and spectacular battles waged against the assimilating ambitions of the Irish-American Episcopate are well known (see Chapter 4). And so, it was scarcely surprising to see the elite, with very few exceptions, denouncing, even condemning, compatriots whose actions and words threatened the realization of their collective project. Convinced that language is the guardian of the faith, the elite were distressed to see so many young people prefer English to French;77 moreover, they even presented English unilingualism as proof of cowardliness or treason, or, at the very least, as entailing very serious consequences for the group as a whole. Without the French language, "we are no longer either Canadians or French, and I very much doubt that we shall be able to remain Catholics." A concerted look at the individuals who were actively engaged in forgetting their mother tongue reveals that "many have re76. See the comments of Arthur Baribault on nationalism and Americanism at the 12th Convention held at Meriden, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit, note 43, 303. 77. "Les gradues de Saint-Augustin" (The graduates of Saint-Augustine), L'Avenir national, May 24, 1900, 1.

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nounced the faith, others are attending one or another of the Irish churches [...]. For us, those people are dead: they are inert, cold members, in whose bodies the lifeblood of our nation shall never flow again."78 The elite certainly recognized the impact of the milieu on the choice of their compatriots—young people in particular—for the English language; but for them, the most reprehensible effects had to be attributed to a lack of pride and acts of negligence. Pride in the race has waned without cease since the beginnings of the exodus. Those now crossing the 45th parallel are no longer heading out on the "warpath," bringing fire and sword to the Bostonians as in times past; instead, they are supplying mercenary labor, by occupying the lowest rung of the (social) ladder. They are "hardy workers," proletarians who inhabit the vast anthills of the poorest urban areas. The factory owners, the foremen, the departmentstore owners, the bankers and the magistrates, are all of another race and, to a man, speak the English language. One quite readily understands that a perfect illiterate would be sorely tempted to become a renegade, especially were he able to move up a few notches on the social ladder, thereby assuring that his children become "gentlemen," like those so far above us, who are in control!79

And those who were born in the United States, what did they know about Quebec? What sort of picture did they get from their parents who had been forced to emigrate? More often than not, that of a poor and backward country. What could be done to stem the desire of certain Franco-Americans to become "more American than native-born Americans?" How could an unmitigated "national suicide" be prevented?"80 It was the province of the priests, the teachers, the journalists, but most particularly, the parents, to constantly remind the young "why they must remain French and why they should be proud to be French." Parents were expected to impart a "moral birthright" to their progeny, one that comprised a veneration of their his78. "L'education par les cercles litteraires" (The literary societies as educators), [Speech given by Joseph Monette, of Lawrence, Mass., at the Convention of Springfield, Mass., in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 442. 79. Edmond de Nevers, "Les Anglais et nous" (The English and ourselves), Revue canadienne, 1902, 19. "Unavoidably, the notion that the foreigner belongs to an inferior race engendered boundless admiration for everything considered to be American." Edmond de Nevers, op. cit., note 35, 66-67; see also 36-39. 80. Ferdinand Gagnon, "Restons francais" (French forever), [speech given at Cohoes, N.Y., June 22, 1882], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit., note 16, 181, 183.

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tory in all its facets, as well as knowledge of the ancestral faith and tongue.81 Parents were incessantly reminded that the parochial school was the best collaborator for imparting this instruction. This institution was deemed so essential that many held that a parish without a church was better than a parish without a Catholic school;82 whence would maintain Father Joseph-Roch Magnan, "if one is not in the habit of taking the road that leads to the parish school, it is very easy to go astray on the way to church."83 For as Father Charles Boucher affirmed, "Without the French and Catholic school, farewell to the nation's salvation."84 Moreover, pastors never ceased reminding their flock that the Catholic Church allowed them no other choice. The First Plenary Council of Baltimore, in 1852, and the Second, in 1866, unequivocally recommended that in each parish a school be erected next door to the church. And, in 1884, the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore ruled definitively concerning the question. The Council decreed that before 1886 a parochial school would have to be erected in each mission or parish, unless the bishop deemed it appropriate to delay such action; and, any pastor who failed to accomplish this work within the prescribed time was liable to be relieved of his functions; furthermore, the parishioners who refrained from helping their pastor establish a school would be reprimanded by the bishop and enjoined to obey orders; finally, all Catholic parents were to send their children to parochial schools. However, the Episcopate did recognize that certain parents might have no other choice than to send their children to the public school; this meant that they had to be attentive to the dangers their children would face and first obtain their bishop's authorization.85 Rome approved that decree in 1885. 81. Ferdinand Gagnon, "La charite" (Charity), [Conference given at Lowell, Mass., in 1883], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), id., 200-201; see also "L'education dans la famille" (Education in the family setting), loc. cit., note 52, 435—437. 82. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, Notre-Dame de Lourdes de Fall River, Mass., Quebec, 2nd. ed., 1925, 82. 83. Joseph-Roch Magnan, "Nos ecoles paroissiales" (Our parochial schools), L'Avenir national, March 14, 1901, 2. 84. Charles Boucher, "Nos ecoles paroissiales" (Our parochial schools), [Speech given at the Chicago convention in 1893], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., no 52, 343. 85. Francis Cassidy, "Catholic Education in the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, II," The Catholic Historical Review, XXXIV, January 4, 1949, 432^34; Jay Dolan, op. cit., note 36, 271-272. However, the decree does recommend that bishops and pastors manifest indulgence towards parents whose children attend public school, with particular attention being accorded to the children themselves.

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The Franco-American elite maintained that the parochial school must above all inculcate in children the moral and religious training which could buttress their parents' efforts. For, "the religious education and the regular instruction of our children cannot be separated one from the other without the soul being inflicted a fatal wound."86 The elite attributed a second mission to the parochial school, that of transmitting the ancestral language and traditions. Father Louis-Onesime Triganne, pastor of NotreDame-des-Sept-Douleurs of Adams, Massachusetts, from 1893 to 1904, carefully articulated that objective. For, he wrote, "only the Canadian school can prevent your children from becoming renegades who scorn all that you hold sacred [...]. Being truly Canadian [...], the school will represent a corner of Canada transported into the parish, and the Sisters, who so admirably personify the Canadian reality, will vivify your offspring with that same reality. Under the influence of such environment, your children will be formed with yourselves as model, in essence, they will become yourselves, yet others, animated by the same spirit, driven by the same emotions, having the same Canadian values, as your own."87 The elite ardently promoted the virtues of the parochial school for the simple reason that, until the mid-18 80s, many parents flouted the instructions of their clergy by persisting in choosing the public school for their children. Hence, at the beginning of the 1880s, nearly half of all the children in the Precieux-Sang parish at Holyoke were attending public school.88 Those institutions were tuition-free, more and better Englishlanguage courses were taught and, since their school year was shorter, the children could work much longer at the factory.89 This explains to a large extent the anger with which the elite, virtually to a man, combatted the public school, censuring the parents who preferred it to the parochial school. 86. La question de 1'ecole" (The school issue), L'Avenir national, August 30, 1904, 4. For a school to be truly Catholic, declared Leo XIII, in 1881, it is necessary "that the study of religion predominate, taking first place in the educational endeavor, so that the other disciplines offered to young schoolchildren appear to be no more than 'accessory.' Quoted in Charles Boucher, loc. cit, note 84, 343. 87. Quoted in Hormidas Hamelin, op. cit., note 29, 232. 88. Peter Haebler, Habitants in Holyoke: the Development of the French-Canadian Community in a Massachusetts City, 1865-1910, Ph.D. thesis, University of New Hampshire, 1976, 135. 89. During the 1880s, various laws obliterated that last advantage, lessening to an equal extent the attraction that the public school held for parents. Ibid.

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Invoking the Pope, the bishops and even certain Protestant scribes,90 numerous people tirelessly denounced public schools where children "were being exposed to the lethal poison of impiety,"91 which "will destroy the religion and devotions of the old country, as well as the traditions and the language, in a word, ending inevitably in the loss of everything that constitutes a nation."92 Parents who chose public school because it was free of charge were made to understand that "there is no amount of money to equal the instruction in and the preservation of one's (ancestral) language";93 and, last but not least, "monies unjustly refused to the church and the school can never bring happiness"94. Considering the zeal with which the elite combatted English unilingualism and public schools, one might well believe that they disapproved of any change that distanced them from the French-Canadian model. This would be a mistake. Not only did the elite acknowledge the changes as necessary, they also saw themselves as effective authors of change. Thumbs-up to necessary change

The attitude of the elite in regard to language and politics clearly evidenced a definite open-mindedness with respect to the needs of their compatriots, as well as great sensitivity toward the Other (see Chapter 2). It will be recalled that the French language was a sacred heritage which the emigrant could not renounce without forfeiting his honor; he was expected to speak French at home, at school, at church and in social 90. Such as Richard Grand Whist, who described the disastrous consequences of public-school attendance, in the North American Review. "The large cities are filled with idle and profligate youths with no visible means of support; the rural areas are infested with vagrants and the legislative bodies are so corrupt that the law is for sale." Quoted in "Enseignement obligatoire laique aux Etats-Unis" (Obligatory lay instruction in the United States), La Semaine religieuse de Montreal, May 3, 18, 1884, 352. 91. Quoted in Charles Boucher, loc. cit, note 84, 344. 92. Camille Hogue, "Notre situation religieuse; ce qu'elle est; ce qu'elle devrait etre; mesures a prendre pour I'ameliorer" (Our religious situation; what it is; what it should be; measures to be taken to improve it), [speech pronounced at the Convention of Springfield, Mass., in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 487. 93. Speech of Ged£on Archambault of Woonsocket, at the 3rd session of the National Congress in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.), Noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Compte rendu officiel des fetes de 1884 a Montreal (Golden Anniversary of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Official Report on the celebrations of 1884 at Montreal), Montreal, Le Monde, 1884, 412. 94. Speech of Father A. Notebaert given at the Convention of Rutland, Vermont, in 1886, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 188.

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conduct and, most important of all, to transmit it to his children. However, that attachment to the French language was not to hinder his knowledge and use of English, the language of the majority. Ignorance of English led to isolation and ostracism, whereas a mastery of that idiom meant inclusion and progress.95 Here and there, the elite created evening schools devoted to teaching the rudiments of English to adults, while pastors made sure that the nuns dispensed adequate English instruction to children in the parochial schools. As the preceding chapter concedes, after 1879, the elite encouraged naturalization in order to silence American detractors and, of equal importance, so that their compatriots could acquire the political power necessary for promoting and defending their rights. From every forum and at every opportunity, the elite crusaded for the cause of naturalization, while increasing initiatives to facilitate emigrants' acquiring American citizenship and participating in American political life. To complement the resolutions adopted by the national conventions,96 many centers established naturalization clubs. Those in charge directed people who spoke no English towards the evening classes,97 while advising others, who hesitated to become naturalized because they feared conscription, "that the law states explicitly that all male persons, naturalized or not, and between the ages of 18 and 45, are obliged to enrol, should imminent danger threaten the American nation."98 They brought to bear on recalcitrants every possible moral pressure they could summon, in particular, asking the pastor to intervene, or by threatening to refuse their admission to the mutual societies.99 Indeed, in a number of New England centers, leaders reminded emigrants that "workers who are not naturalized 95. J. Camilla Caisse, "[Patriotisme]" (Patriotism), [conference given at the First Convention of French Canadians of New Hampshire], in L'Avenir national (ed.), La Saint-JeanBaptiste, Manchester, New Hampshire. Historique (History), 1868-1938, 41; J.-Roch Magnan, "Notre position sociale aux £tats-Unis" (Our social position in the United States), [speech given at the Chicago Convention in 1893], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 52, 322-325. 96. For examples, see: Felix Gatineau (ed.) op. cit., note 52, 152, 284. 97. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the aspiring citizen had to be able to read English—a major handicap for many French Canadians. 98. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech given by Dr. Camille C6te of Malboro, Mass, at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 407. 99. Id., 408.

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will be refused employment on public-works projects; in fact, there are even factories and mills where such restriction is mandatory."100 Some naturalization clubs sponsored innovative projects. For example, at Lowell, the Franco-American union, founded in 1895, set up a model municipal government to inform new citizens about the complexities of municipal politics.101 All those efforts soon bore fruit. The number of French Canadians enrolled as electors, in the State of Massachusetts, was evaluated at 20% in 1885; in 1900, it was 35%.102 Although still low, these numbers were sufficient to have a notable effect. As early as 1880-1890, those in command had a number of their compatriots elected as aldermen in the municipalities where their population constituted the majority. And over the decade that followed, some French Canadians seized power from the Yankees and the Irish Americans in a number of towns, while still others were elected to the local state legislatures. In 1890, they numbered 13 representatives. The brilliant career of Aram-J. Pothier, in Rhode Island, embodied the greatest political success ever attained by a French-Canadian emigrant. Pothier was member of the Woonsocket School Board from 1885 to 1889, as well as delegate to the General Assembly of Rhode Island in 1887-1888; he was also mayor of Woonsocket, from 1894 to 1895; and finally, became lieutenant governor of the state, in 1897. The elite: involuntary agents of change Although to some extent unaware of the fact, the elite did act as media of acculturation. Under their watch, the parish, the school, the newspapers and the national societies, all, in a subtle, yet ongoing fashion, helped the emigrant and his children to adapt to the American way of life—a phenomenon that merits closer examination. 100. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [Speech given by Dr. J.-H. Palardy, at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.)> op. cit, note 52, 413. 101. Richard Santerre, The Franco-American of Lowell, Massachusetts, s.l., FrancoAmerican Day Committee, 1972, 20. 102. Ronald A. Petrin, Ethnicity and Political Pragmatism. The French Canadians in Massachusetts, 1885-1915, Ph.D. thesis, Clark University, 1983, 148. In his thesis on Holyoke, Peter Haebler indicates that nearly 80% of all naturalized individuals were under 36 years of age and that they had spent most of their life in the United States. Peter Haebler, op. cit., note 88, 315. 103. See Chapter 1.

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The parish was viewed as an "oasis," a "refuge," the "homeland," the "native soil" the "barrier that opposes all foreign infiltration," the "center of national life."103 All true, but the parish was also something else. The emigrants might well evoke with nostalgia the ghosts of Christmases past, resurrecting all the pomp of Catholic services in Quebec, the actual reality of their new life was quite different. And although the pastor employed his sermons to laud the beauties of the French language and to extol the ancestral customs and traditions, he also described for his parishioners the many complexities extant in their new environment. For example, at election time, he would instruct his flock as to the ins and outs of the political system; he would offer his opinion on American trade unionism to workers faced with a strike; and, he would always warn young people of the many snares awaiting them in the city. Many times, he helped individuals, who wanted to become citizens to complete the naturalization forms while giving them tips about job opportunities. In those many ways, he was able to meet the needs and expectations of his parishioners. As for his flock, their life continued much as before. Whenever they met on the church steps, at the general store, at the barber shop or in the tavern, they quite naturally exchanged news about recent events back home, but, in their new surroundings, they also discussed union conflicts, municipal politics, the circus that recently came to town, boxing championships, baseball, or even the Spanish-American War. Without the parochial schools, "no salvation for the nation!"104 The elite held them to have an indispensable role in teaching French and religious values, as well as in transmitting customs and traditions inherited from the past. However, the religious brothers and sisters who staffed the schools also taught English, insisting as much on American as on Canadian history. "The bilingual parochial school brought discovery, opening the door to the Anglophone world,"105 for young people, quite obviously, but also for parents, since these last could learn much from their children. The Italian nuns in the United States, wrote John Briggs, "began to use their small charges as 'ambassadors' of the English language for adults."106 No doubt but the French-Canadian nuns were doing exactly the same thing. 104. See supra. 105. Louise Pe'loquin-Fare', op. cit, note 2, 54. 106. John Briggs, An Italian Passage. Immigrants to Three American Cities, 1890-1930, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1978, 201.

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The elite saw the press as "the standard-bearer of all the grand ideas about patriotism and religion,"107 "one of the nation's strongest ramparts."108 In fact, the press actually did play that role. In the early days, except for brief reports on the group's cultural, sporting and social activities, there was little or no real difference between the French-Canadian newspapers of New England and those of Quebec. News from home, along with the major political events of the Canadian day, were treated first and foremost in New England's French newspapers, whereas Stateside happenings were quite often relegated to the columns on events in foreign countries.109 And yet, slowly but surely, things evolved to the extent that, towards 1910, only the language precluded mistaking certain pages of New England's Francophone press with the other American newspapers.110 Sports, particularly baseball, boxing and wrestling, were covered at great length, but politics took the lion's share. Entire issues were devoted to the Spanish-American War, as well as to electoral campaigns and major labor disputes. On February 11 and 23, 1899, L'Avenir national of Manchester devoted full pages to the birthdaye of Lincoln and Washington. Some time before, on February 25, 1893, the National, again of Manchester, concluded as follows an article on the history of New Hampshire: "Our compatriots are asked to read these details with care. By acquiring a keener knowledge of our adopted country, we shall love her better, becoming therewithal increasingly proud to live in the shade of her glorious flag, and more fully appreciative of the innumerable advantages flowing from the many political and religious freedoms that the American Republic so generously dispenses to all her citizens."111 Understandably, the Frenchlanguage newspaper and its artisans soon became fiercely effective agents 107. Ferdinand Gagnon, "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste" (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day), [speech given June 24, 1879, at Worcester, Mass.], in Malvina-E. Martineau (ed.), op. cit., note 16, 146. 108. E.-R. Dufresne, "La presse" (The press), [speech given at the Chicago Convention in 1893], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 329. 109. Alexandre Belisle, Histoire de la presse franco-americaine et les CanadiensFranfais aux £tats-Unis (History of the Franco-American press and the French Canadians in the United States), Worcester, Imprimerie de 1'Opinion publique, 1911, 44—45. 110. Paul-M. Pare", "Les vingt premieres annees du Messager de Lewiston, Maine" (The first twenty years of the Messager [Messenger] of Lewiston, Maine), in Claire Quintal (ed.), Lejournalisme de langue francaise awe £tats-Unis (French-language journalism in the United States), Quebec, Le Conseil de la vie francaise en Amerique, 1984, 93. 111. "Notes interessantes" (Items of interest), Le National, February 25, 1893, 2.

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of acculturation. With every passing day, readers learned to better know and more fully appreciate the institutions and the history of the adopted country, hence, imperceptibly adopting American customs and traditions. The various clubs and associations, launched in the hope of strengthening national solidarity, thereby perpetuating the distinctive elements of nationhood, also tended to deviate somewhat from their initial objectives. One iexample was the creation at Manchester, on May 15,1896, of a "debating club." The founders intended "to give each active member an opportunity to practice public speaking and, more particularly, to get the entire group in the habit of speaking out in English when the occasion 3 arises.',"112 Breaches in the consensus

Although the elite mostly agreed as to a minimal program either for combatting or for promoting change, they were not all in agreement regarding change as a concept. A few saw therein a threat to French Canadians' realizing their God-given mission on American soil, in which they—the elite—so profoundly believed, whereas others viewed change as a sine qua non for those who had elected to become American citizens. The first group included priests, religious brothers and sisters, journalists, professionals and mutualists, all natives of Quebec or in close contact with their colleagues in Quebec; the second lot grouped those who, because of their occupation or choice of career, enjoyed more regular contacts with their American hosts: other professionals, businessmen and politicians. The first group was more receptive to the needs of the "birds of passage" and of recently arrived emigrants; the second more readily supported their compatriots who intended to remain permanently in the United States. The differences between the two groups, although as yet superficial, gave some inkling of what was in store. Superficial indeed. And so, certain actions, certain opinions, which stimulated fierce controversies among the Franco-American leaders, at the beginning of the twentieth century, had gone virtually unobserved, at an earlier time. Consequently, the elite recommended to their compatriots that they join the various Franco-American mutual societies, those watchdogs of the

112. "Club des d6bats" (Debating club), L'Avenir national, May 16, 1896, 1.

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language and the traditions.113 Moreover, large numbers of the elite themselves actively participated in the mutual societies. But at the same time they were also joining such American associations as the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Heptasophs, the Knights of the Mystic Chain, the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Ancient Order of Foresters, among others, without arousing any dissension, as would be the case later on in the twentieth century. A few influential persons, such as Hugo Dubuque and Hector Belisle, had married Irish Americans, thereby sharpening the visibility of the phenomenon. Some people worried about the "social scourge"114 of interethnic marriages, but historical sources provide only meager evidence of such fears. One author even noted that mixed marriages "are but a negligible quantity in New England."115 And yet, scarcely a decade later, Le Guide Fran$ais of Fall River, in a 1909 issue, spoke of a "crime against God and a national abomination."116 Other issues sparked livelier debates, but without creating deeper divisions in the ranks of the elite. Such issues concerned the choice of language, schools, the press and politics. Everyone agreed that the emigrants, even those who were only in transit, should acquire basic English, in addition to French. There ended the unanimity. Members of the first group felt that basic English was quite sufficient. As they feared that teaching English in the parochial schools might well lead to children losing all taste for French, with the certain risk of becoming Anglicized,117 they insisted that the schools accord priority to 113. Adolphe Robert, "Par-dessus les frontieres" (Beyond the frontiers), loc. cit, note 30, 30. 114. L'independanty March 25, 1887. 115. Telesphore Saint-Pierre, "La marche ascendante de notre race—Trois millions de Canadiens-Fran^ais en Amerique" (The ongoing progress of our race—Three million French Canadian in America), in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.), Annales de la Societe SaintJean-Baptiste de Quebec (Annals of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Quebec), Quebec, Imprimerie du Soleil, 1902, 457. 116. Quoted in E.R. Barkan, "French Canadians," in Stephen Thernstrom (ed.), Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1980, 399. 117. Honor£ Mercier explained that point of view in a conference he gave to the Socie"te Saint-Joseph, at Salem, on December 30,1889. Georges Bellerive (ed.), "Conference de 1'hon. Mercier, premier ministre" (Conference of the Honorable Honore" Mercier, Prime Minister), Orateurs canadiens aux Etat-Unis ([French-] Canadian orators in the United States). Conferences et discours (Conferences and speeches), Quebec, Imprimerie H. Chasse, 1908, 180.

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teaching French. For those people, the schools had to remain essentially French Canadian "in their teaching and their ways."118 However, the second group believed that a greater mastery of English was mandatory for young people were they to fully benefit from the advantages offered them by their new country. In such a difficult context, could the parochial school play the role expected of it? Only a few individuals on rare occasions openly expressed serious doubts. One of their number was Doctor Gedeon Archambault of Woonsocket. On the one hand, he recognized that the devotion of the nuns, who wrought miracles with inadequate resources, was not to be criticized, on the other, he was unsure that their teaching, albeit well adapted to the villages and rural areas of Quebec, could meet the requirements of American cities. Did the nuns have the necessary qualifications to teach English competently? Would a student who had completed the primary curricula in a parochial school be admitted to an American high school?119 Dr. Archambault was far from being convinced. And he declared in 1884, "[The French schools] being unable to meet our needs, half of the children are now attending American schools."120 Moreover, Archambault was one of the few people at the time to openly contest the theocratic character of the school system and to wonder if rather than leaving the responsibility for education in the hands of one man, the pastor of the parish, it might not be more prudent to entrust same to "a school board selected from among the best educated and most influential (French) Canadians."121 "We are no longer at a time," he affirmed, "when the pastor and two other men, both of whom can hardly read at all, may be expected to form an acceptable school board."122 That suggestion remained without answer—which was hardly surprising. The issue of secondary and college education was of even greater concern to the lay elite, who were in the habit of sending their children to the colleges and convents of Quebec to complete their schooling. The elite viewed such practice as a fine way to ensure that there would always be a fresh cohort ready to relieve those militating for the survival of the French 118. fidouard Hamon, op. cit, note 3, 109. 119. "L'education" (Education) [Speech given by Dr. Gideon Archambault at the Springfield Convention in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 429-431. 120. Speech of Gideon Archambault, loc. cit., note 93, 409. Indeed, he viewed such individuals more as persons to be emulated than as mere figureheads. 121. Id., 411. 122. "L'e"ducation" (Education), loc. cit., note 119, 430.

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fact. In all, 327 young people attended Canadian colleges between 1880 and 1884, and this number reached 1449 during the years 1895 to 1899.123 However, a small group of leaders viewed that phenomenon as disturbing. They wondered if it was wise to count almost exclusively on Quebec and Acadia to complete the education of Franco-American youth. They deplored the fact that young people, newly graduated from Canadian institutions, quite often felt like fish out of water on returning to the United States, ill-prepared, as it were, to keep in step with their family and fellowcitizens. Such was the opinion of the Lowell L'Etoile, of Manchester's L'Avenir national and of Worcester's L'Opinion publique. Those newspapers insisted that English-language courses left much to be desired in virtually all the colleges of Quebec.124 It followed, as a matter of course, that their poor knowledge of English handicapped many young graduates anxious to pursue their career. As well, the priests and members of the professions, who "ought to be the interpreters and representatives of the Canadian element in their requisite exchanges with the American people," are often obliged to take a back seat to others, less educated, thus, less able to enhance the status of their group, despite their better understanding of English.125 How could the situation be corrected? Doctor Archambault suggested directing all the young Franco-Americans desirous of studying in Canada towards a single college, one which would agree to give them training appropriate to their needs. "First and foremost, English, then more English, and afterwards, history and American literature, and finally, a study of all the facets of our many institutions."126 Others, such as Doctor A.-O. Boulay of Augusta, Maine and Camille Hogue, of New York, were more in favor of founding a classical college in the United States; they believed it preferable that priests, physicians and lawyers be educated in the land where they had elected to live.127 Among those who followed that 123. Robert-G. Leblanc, "A French-Canadian Education and the Persistence of La Franco-Ame'ricanie," Journal of Cultural Geography, 8, 2, Spring/Summer 1988, 59. 124. "Projet de college franco-americain" (Project for a Franco-American college) [study submitted by Doctor A.-O. Boulay of Augusta, Maine, at the Springfield Convention in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 52, 465. 125. "L'e'ducation" (Education), loc. cit., note 119, 433. 126. Ibid. 127. "Projet de college franco-americain" (Project for a Franco-American college), loc. cit., note 124, 466; "Les etudes superieures" (Higher education), [study submitted by Camille Hogue at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit.,

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rule were the likes of Papineau, Lafontaine, Cartier, Morin, Chapleau, Mercier and Laurier, men of whom the Franco-Americans had need and whom they would continue to emulate.128 Who then could they call upon? Senator Francois-Xavier-Anselme Trudel proposed establishing several branches of Canadian colleges in New England.129 Camille Hogue wanted to approach the Jesuits; Mgr Joseph-Alphonse Dugas, pastor of Cohoes, was ready to contact the French community of the Assumptionists, already established at New York.130 The project was executed in 1904 with the founding of Assumption College, at Worcester, Massachusetts. This whole issue bears witness to a certain slackening in relations with Quebec, a phenomenon which could also be observed in other domains, that of the press in particular. The latter organ had always aspired to being the clergy's faithful auxiliary in their efforts to preserve the faith and the French language. The press also served as the link between various centers and the members of a given community, by helping them to better know and appreciate one another and by creating the cohesion and the synergy which the collectivity needed to survive.131 And yet, the newspapers had a difficult, often transient existence. Readers were few in number. The French-Canadian migrants were poor people, constantly on the move, and quite often illiterate. Moreover, the far-too-few readers were solicited by the more interesting, better compiled, American and Quebec newspapers. The competition most feared by rival publications came from the Quebec newspapers, which flooded the Franco-American centers with their penny weeklies; these were snapped up by the "birds of passage" and by the emigrants who had just arrived. Many others complained bitterly about that state of affairs; they did not hesitate to criticize the "unfair and dishonest competition" of those newspapers,132 a competition that bore witness to "antinationalistic forces hard note 52,469. Certain militants—at the time, few in number—held more radical views. "As for sending our children to the classical institutions of Canada, I believe this is a wise thing to do if a child is ignorant of French or if he manifests a propensity for religious life. These considerations aside, in my view, it is better for us to send our children to American high schools." Quoted in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 43, 267. 128. "Les e"tudes supe"rieures" (Higher education), loc. cit., note 127, 469-470. 129. Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit. note 43, 195. 130. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 51, 195. 131. Charles-fidouard Boivin, "La presse francaise des £tats-Unis" (The French press in the United States), Revue canadienne, 1904, 144. 132. Remarks made by Hugo Dubuque at the Albany Convention in 1884, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 148.

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at work,"133 reason enough to call upon the common sense of their emigrant compatriots. "I trust that you will encourage our (local) newspapers over newspapers from Canada. Never forget that when you are attacked here, neither the Quebec nor the Montreal newspapers will come to your defense [...]. If the squabbles of your native village are your only concern, so be it, you have every right to ignore us in favor of a foreign newspaper, but, if you want to become good American citizens, fully aware of your rights and your obligations, if you are really determined to participate in the life of the nation, then, you must encourage the Franco-American press."134 After 1879, the elite enthusiastically took up the cause in favor of their compatriots' active participation in American politics. Yet, some of them were concerned to see that too weighty a segment of their members— priests, journalists and professionals—perceived that phenomenon as a means of assuring the promotion and defense of Franco-American rights; hence, they recommended supporting only "the national candidacies," no matter what the party. Businessmen and politicians, in particular, reckoned that since the Franco-Americans were in the United States to stay, they had to assume their full share of the citizen's obligations and responsibilities, taking an active part in every facet of political life. They also held that in politics it is dangerous to go off on one's own. "Let us waste no time with futile dreams of forming a State within the State."135 In becoming citizens, "let us merge with the mainstream and unite with the several nationalities that make up our population."136 "(Let us throw in) our lot with those who already enjoy the privileges that accrue to any American citizen."137 In the end, they left no doubt that "national" life was to be confined to the parish. A few politicians, Aram-J. Pothier, in particular, couched in different terms that which they understood to be the mission of their compatriots 133. E.-R. Dufresne, [speech given at the Rutland Convention in 1886], in Id., 223. 134. Emile Tardivel, "[La presse]" (The press), [speech given at the first Convention of the French Canadians of New Hampshire (1890)], in L'Avenir national (ed.), op. cit., note 95, 34. 135. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [speech given by Godfrey Dupre, of Biddeford, at the Springfield Convention in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 52, 421. 136. "Les elections d'automne" (The Fall elections), L'Avenir national, September 1, 1898, 2. 137. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), loc. cit., note 135, 421.

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in New England. The Franco-Americans were expected to "take an honourable place in American public life" work for the glory of the new homeland and carry on the work begun at Yorktown by La Fayette. In that way alone could they contribute to making America the finest of all nations by uniting the many and different qualities proper to each race, so that from such union might spring a superior nation, mistress of her destiny, under God's very eye."138 Were the French Canadians really in the process of fulfilling the dreams of their elite? One might well think so upon reading the description of life as lived in the Little Canadas here and there throughout New England. Prompted by need, but also by conviction, they elected to remain Catholics of French-speaking extraction and to preserve the customs and traditions of their forefathers. However, those emigrants had soon settled in to stay. Their children, born in the United States, were French Canadians only by virtue of their memories, their faith and the language they had been given. Three decades of life, of ordeals and struggles in a new environment, had appreciably modified the feelings, ideas, values and conduct inherited from the past. As one journalist wrote in L'Avenir national: "The French Canadians may well hold fast to precious memories of their past; nonetheless, they are rapidly becoming Americans, in heart and mind."139 In fact, they had become Franco-Americans. It is true that during the early years of the emigration, the elite tended to view any change, albeit minor, as one more step towards the assimilation of their compatriots; hence they vigorously opposed change. However, over time, they proved to be much more receptive to their compatriots' needs and the overwhelming desire for change. And so, they came to subscribe to all the transformations deemed necessary to their collectivity's harmonious adaptation to the American society, while continuing to oppose all that deviated in too radical a fashion from the French-Canadian model. If all members of the elite did recognize that their compatriots were no longer French Canadians of the United States, they could not, as a 138. "Discours de A.-J. Pothier [6 septembre 1897]" (Speech of A.-J. Pothier [September 6, 1897]), L'Avenir national, September 11, 1897, 2. As qualities proper to French Canadians, Pothier listed: "A logical mind, passionate feelings, lively imagination, artistic instincts and the same poetical concept of reality that from time immemorial has characterized the French genius." 139. "Dans le New Hampshire" (In New Hampshire), L'Avenir national, November 14, 1896, 2.

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body, agree about what constituted or what should constitute a FrancoAmerican. According to their convictions or their interests, they envisaged, in differing ways, the relationship that Franco-Americans should have with the English language, the "national" institutions and Quebec. Those subtle distinctions, of little consequence at that stage, would soon become much more significant.

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Chapter IV THE EMERGENCE OF A R A D I C A L D I S C O U R S E (l865-19OO)

Mgr the Bishop of Providence is saying out loud, to all who would hear him, that we shall never have a Canadian priest, that the Canadians of his diocese must resign themselves to losing their language and that ten years from now, they will all have to speak English [...]. That prelate's biased view, one that is shared by several other bishops in the United States, would see the Canadians abandon their language and their nationality in favor of becoming Englishmen or even Irishmen.1 NARCISSE-RODOLPHE MARTINEAU, Fall River, Massachusetts We wish to know if we have the right to live, for if we abandon our language, we shall die. We wish to know if it was God who helped Jacques Cartier discover Canada, if it was He who allowed Champlain to triumph over the English, if, quite simply put, He has protected our race against all our enemies and against so many adverse elements, for the single purpose of our doing His bidding, or else, is it His determination that we die out in undeserved futility, over a very short space of time.2 DOCTOR L.-OviDE MORASSE, Putnam, Connecticut 1. N.-R. Martineau to Mgr Jacobini, September 8,1835, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): folio 122. 2. Speech of Doctor L.-O. Morasse at the 11th Convention held at Willimantic, 1896, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), "Congr&s nationaux. Histoire et statistiques des Canadiens-

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Your attachment to your religion is a great consolation, just as your attachment to your mother tongue is most natural and worthy of praise. But, you must also remember that you have left the country wherein the use of that language is universal, and that you have come, of your own volition, to a country where another language is spoken. For those reasons, you may not require that we minister to you here with the same perfection in the propagation and continual use of your mother tongue.3 Mgr FRANCESCO SATOLLI

T

HE PORTRAIT OF THE ELITE that emerges from the preceding chapter is quite far removed from that of the dyed-in-the-wool militants of survivance that history customarily offers. Most certainly, they were men of conviction attached to the faith, language and traditions of French Canada, men who struggled to preserve that heritage, but who were also pragmatists, prepared to accept and promote the changes necessary for their compatriots to adapt to a new environment. There did exist pockets of radical militants, men ready to confront the "Irish" Bishop of New England, even on pain of excommunication, and to exclude from their ranks any and all who failed to share their beliefs. They led the troops into each of the battles that opposed the Franco-Americans and the Episcopate: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes of Fall River, Danielson, and North Brookfield. For them, the threats to survival came less from within the Little Canadas than from the outside; the enemy was the Bishop, the one person who could, if he so desired, bar the creation of national parishes—that invisible barrier to foreign infiltration—or leastwise hinder parish operations in so many ways. The discourse of such militants was radical. They saw themselves as the oppressed; they presented the bishops as tyrants, while inviting their compatriots to wage war relentlessly against every injustice; in a word, they refused all compromise. A description of the main elements of that discourse, an explanation of how the phenomenon evolved and an assessment of the place it occupied in the identity-building process comprise the subject of this chapter. Americains du Connecticut, 1885-1898" (National Congresses. History and Statistics about the Franco-Americans of Connecticut, 1885-1898), Worcester, Imprimerie de TOpinion publique, 1899, 274 3. Mgr Satolli to Doctor C.-J. Leclaire and others, April 1896, APFR, NS, 98, (1896), rubrica 153: folio 109.

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Two opposing views From the very beginning of their adventure, the French-Canadian emigrants encountered many difficulties in practicing their religion. Certain groups, few in number and isolated, were deprived of priests. At most, they could hope for a twice or thrice yearly visit from missionaries sent down by the Bishop of Quebec. Others, whose communities were larger, had to attend the churches of their coreligionists, who had arrived at an earlier time. They were often made to feel unwelcome by those people and so felt very ill at ease in their places of worship. Language, quite obviously, created the biggest problem. Observers deplored that many of their compatriots abandoned their language and that dispersion and isolation set others on the path towards religious indifference. The massive arrival of French Canadians after the Civil War radically transformed the situation. "French quarters" or "Little Canadas" emerged here and there throughout New England's main industrial centers; as a consequence, rapid Anglicization no longer appeared to be an inescapable fact of life. At the same time, coexistence became increasingly troublesome between Irish and French-Canadian Catholics in the Irish parishes. In fact, in certain areas, the antagonism between the two groups became so extreme that the pastor, Jean-Frederic Audet, of Winooski, began to think that the day might well arrive when God in heaven would feel obliged to separate them.4 For the emigrants who believed they were only in transit in the United States, just as for others who intended to settle there permanently, it was becoming increasingly evident that the Irish parish could no longer meet their needs. Prompted by missionaries from Quebec, they called for the creation of national parishes or, failing that, that their particular needs be met in the mixed parishes. As a rule, the Episcopate tended to acquiesce to such demands. From 1861 to 1880, the bishops authorized the creation of 42 national parishes and 13 mixed parishes. From 1881 to 1900, the number of parishes instituted was greater (82), but the percentage of national parishes, which had reached 76.3% during the two preceding decades, was not more than 51.2% (42 out of 82).5 4. Mason Wade, "The French Parish and SURVIVANCE in Nineteenth Century New England," The Catholic Historical Review, XXXVI, July 1950, 168. 5. Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1776-1930 (The Franco-Americans of New England, 1776-1930), Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 115.

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The national parishes radically transformed life for the emigrants, who found there all the fervor of their native parish, with its many accents, customs, regular encounters on the church steps, and the like. Indeed, as one parishioner told his pastor, Hormidas Hamelin, "Father, last Sunday, I practiced my religion just as I like to; I heard Mass as I have not heard it for a very long time [...].! heard a Canadian Mass; we men sang, like in Canada, with the sound "us" not "ous," as (heard) in these parts; the ceremonies, the sermon, everything reminded me of home. This is the best way to practice our religion."6 Most importantly, French regained its predominance, to the extent that some were encouraged to believe that the Anglicization movement had been halted, that in certain instances, re-Frenchifying would become the order of the day.7 Such optimistic assertions made sense only in the national parishes where French was the single language at church and the predominant language at school. But the situation in the mixed parishes soon became a major source of anxiety among the elite. With bilingualism the rule at church, parents had no other choice than to send their children to public schools or, at best, to the parochial schools where English largely dominated. Young people, who heard only English in the streets, at school or at work, soon were speaking the language of Shakespeare at home. The Jesuit Edouard Hamon clearly described the anguish of the elite in his book Les Canadiens-Fran$ais de la Nouvelle Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England):

6. Hormidas Hamelin, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs ou une paroisse francoamericaine (Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs or a Franco-American parish), s.l., s.ed., 1916, 74-75. 7. Edmond de Nevers, L'dme americaine (The American soul), vol. II, Paris, Jouve et Boyer, 1900,367-368. "As of now," declared Ge'de'on Archambault, of Woonsocket, "we shall very often encounter one another as compatriots, meeting at church and at society reunions; and it will be ever so agreable to speak about life back home! I can say in all truth and with pride, that the Canadians scarcely ever speak English amongst themselves." Quoted in Pierre-Philippe Charette (ed.), Noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Compte rendu officiel des fetes de 1884 a Montreal (Golden anniversary of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. Official report on the celebrations of 1884, at Montreal), Le Monde, 1884, 406. "Our Canadians are [...] attached to their language and to their religion—which we first taught them, and are now teaching them again" wrote a nun in 1891. Lettres de Mere Marie du Sacre-Cceur, fondatrice des ursulines de Waterville, Maine, £tats-Unis (Letters of Mother Marie du Sacre-Cceur, Foundress of the Ursulines of Waterville, Maine, United States), Quebec, Imprimerie de L'Action sociale Ltee, 1917, 184.

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It is my belief that the situation of the Canadians in the mixed parishes is at a critical stage in regard to language and nationality. The parochial school, if one exists, is necessarily English, with no French instruction given; the children speak only English amongst themselves; sermons, for the most part— and more than likely exclusively—are delivered in English; the Canadians will not long resist these many influences; they too will become Americans, unless they are able to form a separate parish.8

After 1879, as the second chapter indicates, the continuous and massive arrival of fresh immigrants, and the ever burgeoning Little Canadas, where emigrants could enjoy a truly Catholic and French-speaking existence, fed the grand dreams common to most of the elite. "These emigrants form a single people," wrote Hamon;9 they are a nation unto themselves on account of their language, mores and customs, maintained Doctor JeanLouis Fortier.10 They are part and parcel of that nation for whom God has reserved so noble a mission; theirs is an "army of missionaries" set forth to accomplish the spiritual conquest of America. Those same emigrants were held to be worthy of such a mission only if they remained true to themselves, as French-speaking Catholics. The national parish alone could animate the actual accomplishment of that holy mission. And so it was that by tapping into the wellspring of the collectivity's real and imaginative universe, the elite sought to make the national parish something sacred. The creation of the national parishes depended on the pleasure of the bishops. But, the institution of a greater number of mixed parishes after 1879 convinced more than one that something insidious was afoot. In the end, what did all this mean? At that point, the New England Episcopate was divided into two groups, each one with a particular take on the attitude to adopt regarding the national parishes.11 One group favored the rapid assimilation of all 8. fidouard Hamon, Les Canadiens-Franc,ais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England), Quebec, N.S. Hardy, Librairie-Editeur, 1891, 114-115. The Reverend Father Moi'se-Joseph Marsile, c.s.v., of Bourbonnais, Illinois, wrote in a similar fashion about the French Canadians of the Middle West in "Le fran9ais dans la famille et dans les relations sociales dans 1'Ouest des fitats-Unis" (The French language within the family and in social relationships in the western United States), Premier congres de la langue fran^aise au Canada—juin 1912—Memoires (First Congress on the French language in Canada—June 1912—Memoirs), Quebec Imprimerie L'Action sociale Ltee, 1914, 541. 9. fidouard Hamon, id., xiv. 10. "La convention de Biddeford" (The Biddeford Convention), Le National, July 20, 1892, 3. 11. Mason Wade, loc. cit., note 4, 184-185; James S. Olson, Catholic Immigrants in America, Chicago, Nelson-Hall. 1987, 58-59.

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Catholic immigrants, so as to eradicate without delay the differences in language, traditions and customs within the American Catholic Church. Those bishops were uneasy about the arrival of millions of German, French-Canadian, Eastern and Southern European Catholics. They feared that such immigrants, who were destitute and, for the most part, spoke no English, might well arouse the animosity of the American "nativists," thereby threatening the fragile advantages acquired over recent years. By promoting the assimilation of the newcomers, they could "kill two birds with one stone," first, by demonstrating that even Catholics can be good American citizens, and second, by ensuring that the immigrants avoid the difficulties which their Irish compatriots had encountered during the "Protestant Crusade" of the years 1840 and 1850.12 The same group of bishops also dreamt of a Church that would be united, strong, wealthy and influential. Yet, without a unifying single language, there would be "only fragments of a Church and not a large and strong society of the faithful able to impose, nationwide, feelings of respect and admiration for their community."13 Such objectives did not lack in grandeur. The bishops, members of this group, were in favor of founding territorial parishes where all the nations would merge under the supremacy of the English language. They believed that granting the creation of national parishes would, in the end, be one way of momentarily getting out of a prickly situation, without having to solve the entire problem. The other group of bishops, while sharing the long-term goals of their peers, feared that the immigrants might lose their faith were they forced to abandon their language, their customs and their traditions. As a consequence, they felt it would be expedient, for at least one or two generations, to authorize the creation of national parishes and to appoint pastors having the same nationality and language as the faithful. In a word, these bishops were partisans of a peacefully progressive assimilation. Indeed, as one Edward Billings Ham remarked, they were perhaps more astute politicians than their colleagues, having understood that making a less accommodating response would only force the French Canadians to dig in their heels, which, in the long run, could but delay their assimilation.14 12. See here: Ray Allen Billington, The Protestant Crusade, 1800-1860, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1938, passim. 13. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, Histoire de la race fran^aise aux Etats-Unis (A History of the French race in the United States), Paris, Charles Amat, 1912, 311. 14. Edward Billings Ham, "French National Societies in New England," The New England Quarterly, June 2, 12, 1939, 328.

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It is noteworthy that all the bishops viewed the establishment of any national parish and the appointment of a French-Canadian pastor to head it as a sort of favor. One group was prepared to tolerate the situation for a generation or two, perhaps even more, but the others appeared less indulgent. A few bishops, such as Mgr Thomas Francis Hendricken of Providence, in an outburst of intemperate zeal, did not hesitate, after only a few short years, to appoint Irish, Belgian or French priests to head up the national parishes. And, every time, war would erupt. For, in the meantime—after 1879—subsequent to the founding of several such parishes, the Canadians, that is, the Franco-Americans, came to view the appointment of Canadian pastors, not as a favor, but as a right, vital to their very survival. The pages to follow revive a few of the more memorable battles of the "war" that the Franco-American elite waged against their bishops. Each of these conflicts added fresh elements to the gradually emerging discourse of that elite, a discourse that became ever more radical with each passing year. Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes of Fall River (The Flint Affair)15

On August 24, 1884, Father Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Bedard, pastor of NotreDame-de-Lourdes, of Fall River, departed life. Father fidouard-Ephrem Nobert, who succeeded him, had to leave the parish on October 10, 1884, for reasons of health. At that point, Mgr Hendricken, Bishop of Providence (1872-1886), appointed Samuel P. McGee to remplace Father Nobert as pastor, also naming Eugene-J. Bachand as curate. The fact that Father McGee was a native of Quebec with a perfect command of the French language was of no consequence. The parishioners were outraged and revolt spread. This was not the first time that the French Canadians of the Providence diocese had had to contend with Mgr Hendricken. Six years earlier, he had appointed a certain Father Thomas Briscoe who apparently was quite unable to make himself understood "in either the pulpit or the confessional," to replace the pastor, Paul de Montaubricq, a Breton, as head of 15 . "This so-called village is only a part of Fall River. It is believed to be so designated because of the location there of a cotton manufactory, founded in 1872, bearing the name of its first president, John D. Flint." D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Fall River, Mass., Quebec, s. ed., 1925, 27.

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the Saint-Anne, of Fall River, parish. In June 1880, an "Irish" pastor, whose French was limited, succeeded Father Leon Bouland as pastor of NotreDame-du-Sacre-Cceur, of Central Falls. Two motives dictated the Bishop of Providence's actions. First of all, as administrator, he was forced to confront certain realities. His diocese numbered 57 Irish prelates, 11 French Canadians, one German and one Dutchman.16 The Irish-American clergy, established, as they were, in New England and in the Providence diocese, for a much longer time than the others, believed that they had the greater right to lead the most prosperous parishes, among which figured Saint-Anne and Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. But, more particularly, Mgr Hendricken, who had authorized the creation of those two parishes, judged that the French Canadians had had more than enough time to adapt to their new environment without running any risk of losing their faith; as a consequence, he was sure he could hasten their assimilation by placing them under the guidance of English-speaking priests. Such gestures flew in the face of an opinion, spreading rapidly among the elite, to the effect that the French Canadians enjoyed a strict right to have national parishes, directed by priests of their own nationality. Had the moment not arrived to confirm the validity of that belief, while also forcing Mgr Hendricken to withdraw? Many believed so. Through the offices of a delegation of dignitaries, the parishioners urgently demanded the recall of Father McGee and that he be replaced by a French Canadian. The delegated worthies stressed the fact that the Fall River French Canadians, having consented to enormous sacrifices to build thriving parishes, failed to see why, at both Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes and at Sainte-Anne, only priests of Irish extraction were appointed to serve them. And this despite their certain knowledge that many French-Canadian priests from Quebec, competent men of excellent repute, would be more than happy to take over the reins. The delegation also insisted that without the guidance of their own priests, the emigrants might well fall prey to religious indifference. The emigrants were extremely ill at ease with the foreign priests, but there was more at stake. The parishioners of NotreDame-de-Lourdes, who had defrayed all the costs of erecting the church, the rectory and the school, feared that "the will was alive to divest them of 16. Thomas-Francis Hendricken, "Rapport sur le diocese de Providence, 21 de"cembre 1881" (Report on the diocese of Providence, December 21, 1881), APFR, SRC-ASC, 35 (1881): folios 1270-1284.

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all those properties, the fruit of their labors and their almsgiving"; indeed, their fears were well-founded "since the parish of Sainte-Anne had been treated thusly [...] where the once Canadian Church has become Irish because it is now administrated by a pastor who scarcely ever speaks French"17 Mgr Hendricken turned down their request point-blank, openly stating that the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes parishioners were wrong to accuse their bishop of neglecting his French-Canadian flock. He further insisted that Father McGee was an excellent priest and one who spoke better French than his parishioners. Moreover, in the interest of meeting the future needs of the French-Canadian emigrants in his diocese, several young men had been sent to study theology in the seminaries of Quebec, and two had even been dispatched to the Sulpicians at Paris.18 Adding insult to injury, he further stated that experience had taught him to be wary of the priests from Quebec. "Rare are those coming down from Canada who have an 'exeat' in their possession; they wish always to return to their country whenever the mood strikes them."19 Furthermore, that class of priests "who travel" is not always of exemplary morality.20 He then derided the delegates, querying: "Why ever would you want a French priest? Ten years hence, everyone in your parishes will be speaking English."21 Bitterly disappointed and insulted, the parishioners decided to make life unbearable for Father McGee. As a result, on February 7, 1885, the latter individual, incapable of establishing a climate propitious to the exercise of his pastorate, asked to be replaced. Spurned in like manner, his successor, Father Owen Clarke, also of Irish extraction, was forced as well 17. Ambroise Fafard to Mgr Dominique Racine, March 22,1886, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): folio 15 vo. 18. Mgr Hendricken to Cardinal Simeoni, May 2, 1879, quoted in Jules-Antonin Plourde (ed.), Dominicains au Canada. Livre des documents, vol. 2. Les cinq fondations avant I'autonomie, 1881-1911 (The Dominicans in Canada. Book of documents, vol. 2. The five foundations before autonomy, 1881-1911), si, 1975, 291, n. 268. 19. Ibid. A Quebec bishop contested this allegation. "They have no justification: Canada, where there is an (overabundance of priests), can send them all the priests they want." Mgr Moreau to Cardinal Simeoni, May 4,1886, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886 II): fo 11 vo. 20. Thomas Briscoe to Mgr Jacobini, May 18, 185, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I): fo 170 vo. 21. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the FrancoAmericans), Montreal, USJBA, 1958, 106.

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to give up the parish; Mgr Hendricken then closed the church, as soon as he had had the sacred species removed. At that point, the parishioners decided to appeal to Rome. NarcisseRodolphe Martineau, their representative, met with Leo XIII on two occasions, while remaining in constant communication with Cardinal Simeoni. To both men, he asserted that the French Canadians needed priests of their own nationality, as they alone would be able to keep the flock within the Catholic fold. "Finding themselves in a foreign land, French Canadians are ever anxious to discover in their parish anything and everything that may serve to remind them of the absent homeland. The difficulties they encounter in their attempts to get on with the Irish pastors are a source of anguish to them, which sentiment, unfortunately, prompts them to spurn the sacraments, with the result that religion suffers, as does the FrenchCanadian nation."22 The Irish priests, who spoke poor French and who were ill-acquainted with their customs, treated the French Canadians with contempt; hence, only rarely did any of them manage to gain the affection of their flock. The parishioners, pursued Martineau, did not contest the Bishop's authority, yet, they could not help but note his failure to understand their point of view, coupled with his lack of benevolence towards them. Mgr Williams, Archbishop of Boston, and Mgr Hendricken gave Martineau the anticipated reply. They affirmed that the conduct of the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes parishioners had been equally violent and scandalous; the Bishop of Providence even called the ringleaders of this dispute liars and ungodly people who always heeded the unending litany of their native priests to the effect that they should have none other than priests of their own nationality.23 He had become convinced that if he yielded to them on this issue, he would never be able to govern them. Worse yet, in his view, such a capitulation would have regrettable repercussions throughout New England.24 Rome, without imputing blame in any quarter, secretly asked Mgr Hendricken to show greater leniency, suggesting that he call upon 22. "Raisons pour lesquelles les paroissiens veulent un pretre de leur nationalite" (Reasons why the parishioners want a priest of their own nationality), APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo. 142 ro. 23. Mgr Hendricken to Cardinal Simeoni, May 21, 1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I): fo 166-68 ro. 24. Mgr Hendricken to Cardinal Simeoni, May 24,1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I): fo 157-158 ro.

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regular priests, be they French or Canadian, to tend to those communities. Then, in the strictest secrecy, the Bishop offered the parish of NotreDame-de-Lourdes to the Oblates. In order to avoid the parishioners' having the last word, he "proposed placing the parish under the governance of a French congregation requesting that initially the pastor be French rather than Canadian."25 Pending the reply which would be negative, he sent a certain Father Cassidy, along with a French-Canadian priest, to attempt to open the church. When they saw that the new pastor was again another Irishman, the parishioners moved to foil the Bishop's resolve, alleging that if the appointment of yet another Irish pastor were accepted, it could result in the "negation of our most inviolable rights, quashing all our most revered hopes."26 In the wake of the foregoing incidents, Mgr Williams and Mgr de Goesbriand, of Burlington, whom Rome had mandated to resolve the conflict, noted over the ensuing weeks that the parishioners continued to demand that the appointment of a Canadian priest to head their parish be acknowledged as an inviolable right. But, both men felt that any such acknowledgment might dangerously intensify the conflict. "If such decision is seen as recognizing the right of French Canadians to always have a French Canadian as pastor, all the Canadian congregations in the United States will want the same thing, even where their priests are French or Belgian. Later on, the same difficulty will affect the other nationalities, including the Irish."27 "Only a few malcontents in a single parish would be quite sufficient to trigger major unrest everywhere, if that right is established."28 The Archbishop of Boston advised Rome that the Bishop of Providence was disposed to appoint a French-Canadian prelate "once we have decided that he shall assume the task,"29 in other words, as soon as the 25. The author's italics. Quoted in Gaston Carriere, "Histoire documentaire de la Congregation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie-Immaculee dans I'Est du Canada" (Documentary history of the Missionary Oblates of Immaculate Mary in Eastern Canada), vol. 10, Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 1972, 35. 26. N.-R. Martineau to Mgr Jacobini, July 6, 1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 134 vo. "If the Bishop of Providence imposes Irishmen everywhere in the United States, the French Canadians will be persecuted." Martineau to Mgr Jacobini, September 8, 1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 122 vo. 27. Mgr Williams to Cardinal Simeoni, October 20,1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I): fo 111 ro. "Such decision shall be considered as a precedent for the future," wrote the Archbishop. 28. Mgr Williams to Cardinal Simeoni, September 18, 1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 118ro.

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good people of Providence understand that it is a "favor" and not a "right" to call for a French-Canadian priest.30 Therein lay the crux of the problem. Mgr Williams then invited the Prefect of Propaganda to make known his views on "an issue of singular importance to all the bishops of the United States"31 Rome settled the issue on October 23, 1885. The Prefect of Propaganda had not recognized officially that the French Canadians enjoyed a strict legal right to be served solely by priests of their own nationality, thereby admitting that Mgr Hendricken was within his rights. However, in the interest of peace and for the greater good of souls, Rome invited the Bishop to recognize the validity of the reasons invoked and to give the people of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes a priest of their own nationality. To preserve the Bishop's authority and, at the same time, to allow him to save face, Rome suggested that he appoint a pastor of whatever nationality, but that the same pastor be accompanied by a French-Canadian curate, "until such time as he deems it expedient to appoint a French-Canadian pastor."32 "In this way," wrote Simeoni, "slowly, but surely, without creating a stir, the desires of the Canadian faithful will be met. Their needs will be satisfied without any precedent being created that could be invoked by the faithful of other groups, who, in their turn, might well clamor for pastors of their own nationality."33 As a consequence, Mgr Hendricken appointed as pastor a certain Abbe Feron, of Irish origin, whose command of French was beyond reproach, and as curate, Abbe Joseph Laflamme, of the SaintHyacinthe diocese. Five months later, the Bishop of Providence designated Laflamme as pastor. The French Canadians rejoiced, shouting victory. The Flint Affair was of capital importance in the history of the French Canadians of New England. Until then, the conflicts between the emigrants and the "Irish" Episcopate were of slight import and resolved effortlessly. Placing Irish priests at the helm of Sainte-Anne and Notre-Damede-Lourdes ended an era of relative tranquility. The obduracy and the 29. Mgr Williams to Cardinal Simeoni, October 20,1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I):fo llOro. 30. N.-R. Martineau to Cardinal Rossignani, October 27, 1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 98 ro. 31. Mgr Williams to Cardinal Simeoni, October 20,1885, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886, I):fo 111 ro. 32. Quoted in Philip Thomas Sylvia, "The Flint Affair: A French-Canadian Struggle for Survivance," The Catholic Historical Review, LXV, July 3, 1979, 432. 33. Cardinal Simeoni to Mgr Williams, October 23, 1885, quoted in id., 432, n. 73.

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duration of the fight opposing them and the Bishop of Providence, compounded by the latter prelate's histrionics, made the elite keenly aware of their needs, their hopes and their fears. For many, the presence of priests, natives of Quebec, at the head of their parishes now seemed absolutely indispensable for assuring the promotion and the survival of the French fact in New England. Moreover, the Fall-River "victory" boasted the group's confidence in their ability to achieve their goals. That awareness and that greater confidence earned them encouragement from many quarters. For example, the resumption of emigration after 1879 directed many tens of thousands of new recruits towards the Little Canadas, thereby giving those communities a vital boost. Numerous parishes, schools, mutual societies and newspapers sprang up. The emigrants were regarded in a fresh, more positive way. Having first disdained them, the Quebec elite now dreamt that they would come to enjoy an excellent future as American citizens. And, even though the American industrialists and the political parties were courting them, others—workers, reformists, Protestant clergymen—feared them. In Massachusetts, French-Canadian notables reacted vigorously to the contemptuous remarks of the Wright Report and obtained reparation. This is the context for examining how the elite ultimately construed the results of the crisis and its fallout. They had learned from Rome that the integrity of their institutional network was not a right, but a favor, and, as a consequence, that their acquisitions would always be tenuous, thus subject to the incomprehension, even the malevolence, of certain prelates. That knowledge ought to have discouraged them, but the events at Fall River had taught them, among other things, that indefatigable combat can prevent setbacks and even result in gains. Had not the people of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes forced Mgr Hendricken to backtrack ? And, had they not then influenced the choice of his successor, as well as that person's ideas about them ? There seemed to be no doubt whatsoever about that. Mgr Hendricken died in 1886, shortly after the Fall River episode. The French-Canadian emigrants would learn soon enough, to their utter dismay, that the name of Thomas Briscoe, pastor of Sainte-Anne, figured on the list of candidates proposed to Rome by the bishops of the Boston diocese. Once again, their leaders took up the fight. A lawyer, Hugo Dubuque, had circulated various sworn documents which tended to prove that Thomas Briscoe was "one of the Irish priests harboring feelings of

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great antipathy towards (French) Canadians."34 For his part, Charles Dauray, pastor of Woonsocket, begged Mgr Elphege Gravel, Bishop of Nicolet, to do everything in his power to have Briscoe's candidacy removed: "no greater calamity could ever befall us. He is the sworn enemy of our race (...). Do what you can to spare us this scourge."35 The opposition produced the desired results. The Archbishop of Boston, Mgr Williams, wrote to Rome, in date of November 5,1886: "Whatever merit he (Briscoe) may have, this opposition would impede his success as bishop; hence, I feel in no way obliged to recommend him for this See."36 Rome took due note of the dissent and appointed Matthew Harkins. The French Canadians were most pleased with the choice. The new bishop was of Irish origin, but had a better than acceptable command of French; more importantly, he had always been sympathetic toward the French Canadians. And, his early decisions clearly gratified them. In Autumn 1887, he transferred Father Briscoe to Saint Patrick, of Providence, offering the Sainte-Anne parish to the Dominicans, who agreed to assume the task. The "victory" of the people of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, remarked Father Louis-Alexandre Mothon, had so elated parishioners that "the situation for the two Irish priests residing there became morally insufferable."37 When Abbe Laflamme returned to Canada for reasons of health, Mgr Harkins appointed Abbe" Joseph-Alfred PreVost as pastor of Notre-Dame-deLourdes. Finally, he had a new French-Canadian parish, Saint-Mathieu, erected at Fall River. This is the particular context of the other battles—some quite ill-advised— waged against the bishops of Springfield, Portland and Hartford, but also the hopes that motivated such agitation. Ware

Inspired by the outcome of the Flint Affair, the parishioners of NotreDame-du-Mont-Carmel of Ware initiated a campaign to have their pastor, John T. Sheehan, replaced by a priest of their own nationality. They were 34. Hugo Dubuque to Abbe Edouard-Ephrem Nobert, of Warren, October 12, 1886, APFR-SOCG, 1026 (1887, n. 2): fos 409-416. 35. The Bishop of Nicolet sent that letter to Cardinal Simeon on September 27,1886, APFR-SOCG, 1026 (1887, n. 2): fos 401-403. 36. APFR-SOCG, 1026 (1887, n. 2): fo 457. 37. Father Louis-Alexandre Mothon to Provincial A. Nespoulos, October 26, 1887, quoted in Jules-Antonin Plourde, op. cit., note 18, 254.

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unable to present the same argument as their Fall River compatriots, since Sheehan had been their pastor for fully five years. And so, they reproached him for having adopted abusive and obnoxious ways of dealing with the French Canadians, alleging that he relentlessly demanded more and more money; they also accused him of refusing entrance to the church—let alone distribution of the sacraments—to those who did not obey his diktats and of insulting the Canadians, calling them "heartless niggards."38 They therefore asked the Prefect of Propaganda to invite Mgr O'Reilly, Bishop of Springfield, to replace their pastor by a French-Canadian priest, since O'Reilly was refusing to listen to them. Seizing upon the arguments of their Fall River compatriots, they alleged that "only a Canadian priest who speaks our language, who takes a real interest in our welfare, who is acquainted with our mores and our customs, is the sort of man—the sort of priest—that we need in this foreign country. Without Canadian priests, we will lose our language and our national identity. Once these are gone, our faith too will disappear before long."39 Mgr O'Reilly presented a clever defense. He insisted that Father Sheehan was a zealous and pious priest, one who knew his flock well since he had spent several years in Quebec, having completed his studies at the Nicolet Seminary. While there, he had made a number of friends, who agreed, upon the Bishop's request, to testify on Sheehan's behalf. Among those were Abbe Proven9al, pastor of Saint-Cesaire, Abbes Gelinas, Bellavance, Proulx, Douville and Blois, of the Nicolet Seminary, GedeonVitalien Villeneuve, of Assumption College, the Jesuit, Edouard Hamon, Ferdinand Gagnon, of the newspaper, Le Travailleur, and others.40 The malcontents were "nationalists above all else." "This rebellion is part of a 38. "Sworn declaration of the parishioners of Ware," May 4, 1886, APFR, SRC-ASC, 48 (1888,1): fo 536 ro—545 ro. The Jesuit Hamon maintained that big money had been at the bottom of the whole affair. "The debt on the Ware Church was considerable. Since the new pastor wanted to repay it rapidly, he took up a great many collections. As well, he wished to provide his parish with a large convent. And so, he obtained the Bishop's authorization to impose a 25 cent supplement per district on each pew space, a measure that gave rise to a considerable uproar." fidouard Hamon, op. cit., note 8, 261. 39. "Requete des paroissiens de Ware au cardinal Simeoni, 12 septembre 1887" (Petition of the parishioners of Ware to Cardinal Simeoni, September 12, 1887), APFR, SRCASC, 48 (1888,1): fo 588 vo. 40. "The pastor Sheehan," wrote Abb£ Amable L'Heureux, "is without reproach, even in terms of nationalism: he speaks and writes French quite correctly, recommends the use of French and has built a convent for the Canadians." Amable L'Heureux to Mgr O'Reilly, December 13, 1887, APFR, SRC-ASC, 48 (1888,1): fo 558 vo.

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Canadian nationalist movement that is agitating several New England centers."41 Replacing Sheehan would be detrimental to the Church.42 Rome, in no way duped by the procedure, agreed with Mgr O'Reilly, censuring the "rebel" leaders. After that censure, the influence of those leaders rapidly declined. Several of their compatriots, scandalized by their actions, came to the defense of pastor Sheehan, even going so far as to condemn their objectives. "Those who are really to be feared are the false Catholics, the so-called friends of God, the spurious Catholics whose much-vaunted slogan is never far from their lips: 'Canadians first and foremost' [...]. Those people are the real persecutors, the tyrants who ceaselessly claim to be victims."43 Brunswick

In early January 1889, the parishioners of Brunswick, Maine, called for an inquiry into the "scandalous" conduct of Abbe James P. Gorman, who had been their pastor for some ten years44. It had been discovered, alleged one of their number, that he was drunken, money-grubbing and debauched; people even called him "old man Trudeau's son-in-law."45 At first, they addressed their petition to Mgr Healy, Bishop of Portland (Maine), then to Cardinal Simeoni at Rome. Mgr Healy placed little faith in the accusation. He advised Rome that the conflict had begun when Father Gorman dismissed three French-Canadian members of the church choir. That action apparently prompted the latter individuals to seek swift revenge by spreading malicious gossip about their pastor's conduct and by having a petition circulated demanding his recall. The retraction of one L.-P. Dagneau in January 1890 proved the Bishop to be right.46 "The 41. John T. Sheehan to Cardinal Simeoni, May 1887, APFR, SRC-ASC, 48 (1888,1): fo 592 vo. 42. Mgr O'Reilly to Cardinal Simeoni, May 1887, APFR, SRC-ASC, 48 (1888, I): fo 514 vo. 43. L.-G. Gareau, Charles Lupine and Augustin Germain to Mgr O'Reilly, December 12, 1887, APFR, SRC-ASC, 48 (1888,1): fo 553 vo. 44. Albert Belanger (ed.), Guide officiel des Franco-Am£ricains (Official FrancoAmerican Guide), 1929, Fall River, Albert Belanger, 1929, 59. He replaced the pastor Isidore-Hermen£gilde Noiseux. 45. Deposition of Alexis Sainte-Marie, August 8, 1891, APFR, SRC-ASC, 58 (1892): fo 127-130, ro. 46. L.-P. Dagneau to the Prefect of Propaganda, January 21,1890, APFR, SRC-ASC, 52 (1890): fo 147 ro.

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Canadians," wrote Mgr Williams, "wanted a Canadian priest and, as they are wont to do, tried to force the hand of the Church."47 Rome left it to the diocesan authorities to settle the matter. The Ware and the Brunswick incidents were in the wake of the Flint Affair. Through such ill-advised and baseless initiatives, the French-Canadian emigrants were alienating the Vatican's goodwill, a trump card crucial to their strategy. Danielson The parish of Saint James at Danielson, Connecticut, was mixed, comprising 1,800 French Canadians and 300 Irish Americans. The Canadians had every reason to complain about their pastor, Abbe Thomas J. Preston; he preached only in English and forbad the nuns, (Congregation Saint-Joseph de France) teaching their schoolchildren in French for more than one hour and twenty minutes, a day. Since 1888, the French Canadians had been clamoring for more French at school and to have their pastor replaced by a priest of their own nationality; to back their demands, they invoked the fact that Father Preston and his curate Mr. Fox "speak scarcely any French at all," "that more than three quarters of [the] French population have no understanding of English," that the faith of the children stands in grave danger and that a significant number of their compatriots are straying from the Church.48 They also reproached their pastor for his obvious contempt; on one occasion, he was said to have declared that the French Canadians were good for nothing more than making babies. Mgr McMahon, Bishop of Hartford, partially met the wishes of the parishioners; he sent them a French-Canadian curate, Louis Dusablon, but he did nothing for the school. That action attenuated their displeasure but did not eliminate it. In June 1894, the parishioners reiterated their requests to Mgr Tierney, Mgr McMahon's successor. The new bishop asked them to be patient, declaring that the French-Canadian priests "had not, as yet, 47. Mgr Wiliams to Cardinal Simeoni, February 14, 1892, APFR, SRC-ASC, 58 (1892): fo 81 ro et 160 ro. 48. Petition to Cardinal Ledochowski, Prefect of Propaganda, March 29,1892, APFR, NS, 98 (1896), rubrica 153: fos 93-96. For a thorough background on the question, see: Dolores Ann Liptak, European Immigrants and the Catholic Church in Connecticut, 18701920, New York Center for Migration Studies, 1987,109-115. For a more partisan account by one of the main actors in the event, Charles-J. Leclaire, see: Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit, note 2, 276-282.

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enough experience in the diocese" and "he beseeched them to place hope in the future."49 Mgr Tierney spoke about all this with his pastor, who tended to prevaricate; and, worse still, he replaced Abbe Dusablon, reproaching him for siding with his compatriots.50 Doctor Charles-J. Leclaire, who was leading the movement of protest, was furious, as were his friends. In March 1895, they decided to appeal to the apostolic delegate, at Washington, Archbishop Francesco Satolli, who forcefully reprimanded them.51 At that point, the parishioners stopped attending all religious services. Then, on the advice of Mgr Elphege Gravel, who proposed their petitioning the Propaganda rather than openly rebelling, the people of Danielson sent a detailed petition to Cardinal Mieczyslaw Halka Ledochowski, Prefect of Propaganda. To no avail, since neither their petition, nor the lengthy missive that Mgr Gravel had sent to him,52 in any way affected the Prefect who simply enjoined Doctor Leclaire and his followers to submit to the Bishop's will. However, in secret, he advised Mgr Tierney to show flexibility and benevolence. Shortly thereafter, a rumor began to spread at Danielson to the effect that the Bishop of Hartford was preparing to replace Pastor Preston by a French-Canadian priest;53 the protesters then decided to go back to church. In December 1895, Pastor Preston was replaced; but, the Canadians were astonished and furious to see arrive a French priest, Father Clovis Socquet, of the Community of La Salette, at Grenoble. The Bishop apparently made it known that were he to comply with their request, "(then) by that very fact, he would be forced to do as much for the other Canadian parishes."54 For Leclaire and his followers, French or Belgian priests were little better than the Irish; all were intent on the assimilation 49. Quoted by Charles-J. Leclaire, at the 9th Taftville Convention, 1894, in Arthur Baribault (ed), op. cit., note 2, 277. 50. "We expelled from the diocese the same man who had returned to the faith two or three hundred Canadians who had begun to lose sight of their way back to the Church, a man whose life amongst us had been naught but sacrifice and love." Id., 278. 51. Dolores Ann Liptak, op. cit. Note 48, 11. 52. It will not be long, advised the Bishop of Nicolet, before the Canadians of the United States shall all be English-speaking Americans; if we wish to avoid hundreds of apostasies, we must leave to time the task of Americanizing our flocks. Mgr Gravel to Cardinal Ledochowski, May 15, 1895, APFR, NS, 98 (1896), rubrica 153, fo 84 ro—85 ro. 53. That rumor was fed by Pastor J.-£douard Bourret, of Waterbury. See Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit. note 2, 279. 54. Id., 281.

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of French Canadians. Indeed, such conviction was widespread in New England. "With the notable exception of Reverend Father R. P. Martel, as stated in L'Opinion publique of Worcester, February 8, 1895, the Belgian priests have always preached assimilation." "The French Marists," wrote Alfred Bonneau in La Justice of Biddeford, "are past masters at kowtowing to the assimilators so as to remain in their good graces, thereby cultivating their own petty interests."55 It has to be recognized that the appointment of Father Socquet complied to the letter with the policy initiated by Mgr Tierney's predecessors; Mgr McFarland recruited his priests at Louvain in Belgium; Mgr McMahon welcomed the La Salette Community at Hartford, in 1894.56 Far from appeasing the French Canadians, the arrival of Father Socquet aroused their anger. Not only did they stop paying their tithes, but Doctor Leclaire even organized a "Canadian parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste," which he intended to place at the disposal of an eventual French-Canadian pastor.57 A schism was brewing. "What our people want," wrote La Tribune of Woonsocket, "is a priest of their language, their blood, their race. It is their right."58 Fresh petitions addressed to the Apostolic delegate and to Rome met with the same repudiations as the year before. "Your obstinate hostility to that measure," wrote Cardinal Satolli to Doctor Leclaire, "arouses suspicions that you are not in good faith, rather, that you have an objective other than the one which you alleged in your original petition," the spiritual welfare of French Canadians.59 Despite those repudiations, the parishioners of Danielson remained certain that if the Pope would just hear their grievances, they would win the day; and so, they decided upon a last resort. Doctor Leclaire 55. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 21, 267. A foreign pastor, maintains Edmond de Nevers, even if he speaks French "is unable to cultivate in their souls the holy attachments and the pious recollections of the past [...] indeed, the very things that constitute for religion the most unassailable ramparts. He knows not, in any meaningful way, how to invoke the authority of respected traditions; nor does he know the secret of certain magical words which can stir every feeling in humans of like origin." op. cit., note 7, 331. 56. Dolores Ann Liptak, op. cit., note 48, 34-40. As early as 1883, Hugo Dubuque noted: "In certain dioceses, such as Hartford, people boast that there will never be any (French-) Canadian priests at the head of the Canadian congregations." Hugo Dubuque to Cardinal Simeoni, November 9, 1883, APFR, SRC-ASC, 39 (1883, II): fo 435 ro—435 vo. 57. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 21, 153. 58. Ibid. 59. Cardinal Satolli to Doctor Leclaire, April 27, 1896, APFR, NS, 98 (1896) rubrica 153, 120-123.

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convinced Abbe Jean-Baptiste Proulx, former vice-rector of Montreal's Laval University and co-author with Mgr Antoine Racine, of Sherbrooke, of Memoir on the situation of French Canadians in the United States of North America,60 to go and plead their case before the Roman Curia. He was entrusted with a lengthy memoir, drafted by Hugo Dubuque and approved by the delegates to the eleventh Convention of French Canadians of Connecticut, held at Willimantic; that memoir afforded the Canadians a platform for revolting against the will of the American bishops to have them assimilate "with no thought being given to the ensuing fatal consequences which necessarily would affect the Catholic faith."61 Rome was ready and waiting for them, as the bishops of the Ecclesiastic Province of Boston had already written to the Prefect of Propaganda expressing their angry reaction to this most recent move. "We feel bound to assert that the priest to whom we referred earlier must have no say in the affair at issue; moreover, should future difficulties arise, it must be made clear that Ecclesiastics, who are neither our Superiors, nor so authorized by those Superiors, may ever claim to be the defenders of those who have been placed under our jurisdiction."62 The Roman authorities, already aggravated by the obstinacy of Doctor Leclaire and his followers, could not take the risk, in the wake of the Cahensly Affair,63 of further antagonizing the American Episcopate. The battle was lost. And, over time, most of the parishioners would again toe the mark. North Brookfield

In January 1897, Father Stephane Proulx, a Quebec Jesuit, who preached a retreat to the 1,200 French Canadians of the mixed parish of SaintJoseph, at North Brookfield (Massachusetts), gave them to understand, in no uncertain terms, that because of their large number, they could, if so inclined, obtain a national parish directed by a priest of their own nationality.64 The parishioners at once created a committee to petition 60. Rome, A. Befani Printers, 1896. The memoir was presented to Cardinal Ledochowski, in February 1892. 61. Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit, note 21, 269. 62. Bishops of the Ecclesiastic Province of Boston to Cardinal Ledochowski, September 30, 1896, APFR, NS, 98 (1896) rubrica 153, 126-127. 63. See page xxx. 64. Ten citizens of North Brookfield to the Bishops of Canada, early 1899, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 703 ro.

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Mgr Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield, for the purpose of obtaining "that which they believe to be their right." They alleged that since a large number of parishioners did not understand English, they could not take advantage of their pastor's instructions; hence, their procedure was intended more particularly to improve their religious status. Mgr Beaven refused on the excuse that they were not yet ready for a separation. Shortly after, things began to go wrong. Unable to convince the pastor, J. P. Tuite, to authorize teaching French at the parochial school, many parents withdrew their children from that school in order to send them to the public school. The pastor openly criticized the parents, while subjecting the children to harsh treatment when they came to the church for catechism classes. He apparently told people that if they wanted French, they had only to return to Canada.65 Tensions rose to a point where the French Canadians decided to stop attending the Irish Church. To show their resolution, they purchased a lot on which they hoped to erect their future church, once they had amassed enough money to finance the project. "The division of the Saint Joseph parish is a fait accompli" L.-E. Dionne wrote to Leo XIII, at that juncture. "Never again will it be possible to merge the two components that once composed the whole. Unless the Canadians have their own priests, over time, they will abandon the faith."66 Dionne asked the Pope to intervene; his letter remained unanswered. Since things were at a standstill, the parochial committee appealed to the Bishops of Canada in the hope that they might intervene, "for in vain have we sought to obtain justice from our Ordinary [...] who is widely known for his antipathy towards all things French."67 In a "private and confidential" letter, Mgr Louis-Nazaire Begin, of Quebec, intervened with Cardinal Ledochowski,68 without much success. At most, he was able to induce the Prefect of Propaganda to ask the Bishop of Springfield for certain clarifications. The latter replied on April 24, 1899, that Saint 65. Committee of French Canadians of North Brookfield to the Propaganda, May 17, 1899, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 711 and following. 66. L.-E. Dionne to Leo XIII, March 29, 1898, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 694 ro—699 ro. 67. Ten citizens of North Brookfield to the Bishops of Canada, early 1899, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 703 ro. 68. He writes that he would never be able to broach the subject with Mgr Beaven, for he is too much in fear "of stirring Nationalist feelings, always a highly emotional, highly precarious risk." L.-N. Begin to Cardinal Ledochowski, February 20, 1899, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 704 ro—705 ro.

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Joseph's was a mixed parish, well-equipped and well-administered, counting some 1,900 souls, in all, including 750 French Canadians, of very limited means;69 the parish also had a French-Canadian curate. The separation in question would only further weaken the existing indebted parish; as well, it would preclude the Canadians' continuing access to the many fine services then at their disposal. Indeed, it would no doubt take them several or more years to open their own school. Under the circumstances, the petition had to be refused, if only in the interest of religion. The explanations as furnished satisfied the Propaganda.70 On May 16, Cardinal Ledochowski invited Mgr Beaven to advise the people of North Brookfield accordingly; this he did on June 21, 1899. Beaven adopted a hard line. He really had no other choice. Indeed, to force his hand, the French Canadians of Saint Joseph "had founded" a new parish—Sainte-Anne's; they elected trustees, and built a chapel; they also agreed to accept as their pastor a Belgian priest, Abbe Jean Berger, a priest somewhat on the fringes of ecclesiastic discipline. On August 30, 1900, Mgr Beaven gave the Canadians until September 16 to leave Abbe" Berger's parish and reintegrate Saint Joseph's, on pain of excommunication. "We must submit," advised L'&oile de Lowell; "we must remain Catholics above all else."71 The majority of the people refused and, on September 17, they were excommunicated. The news rent the French-Canadian communities of New England. The majority, although sympathetic to the cause of their compatriots, were greatly distressed; they preached caution and obedience. Others, recognizing "injustices" on the part of the bishops, invited those prelates to examine their conscience, to query if they were not the cause of such aberrations, rather than blaming revolt and apostasy for same. "They enjoyed every right, [...] and because of an odious impulse, disastrous both for them and for us, they have destroyed everything; indeed, by their recourse to dishonest means, their revolt against the established authority and by

69. It will be noted that Mgr Beaven evaluates the number of French-Canadian parishioners at 1,200. This may be explained, in part, by the fact that the Bishop, by referring to census data, considers as Americans all those born in the United States. (However), the Canadians did accuse the Episcopate of knowingly misleading Rome. 70. They "demonstrate," added Ledochowski, "that such petition has no raison d'etre'' Ledochowski to Beaven, May 16, 1899, APFR, NS, 169 (1899) rubrica 153, fo 730 ro. 71. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 21, 177.

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their apostasy, they have tarnished their solid gold claims."72 A smaller group supported the obdurates. "Even were we to believe all that has been attributed to Abbe Berger, [...] must we conclude that our compatriots have lost their prerogatives? Does the fact of excommunication, thrust upon them by the Bishop, deprive them of their right to have a Canadian priest? No [...]. They are in right against all and in spite of everything."73 A Canadian curate, Abbe Joseph-Octave Comtois, arrived at North Brookfield on the 29th of September. At that point, tensions eased and most of the communities gradually reintegrated in the ranks of the Catholic Church. However, the wounds took infinitely more time to heal; more importantly, the impact on perceptions was to prove indelible. "The Irish clergy [...] appears to feel nostalgia for oppression"74 Repercussion from the battles of Fall River, Ware, Brunswick, Danielson and North Brookfield were felt well beyond the boundaries of each parish of origin. Leaders, such as Hugo Dubuque, Charles-J. Leclaire and others, who were invited from all over, soon acquired national importance. With their privileged access to every forum, they had enormous influence on the discourse of the elite, helping them to specify objectives, identify "the enemy" and their tactics, and even prescribe the strategy to be followed. For those combatants, the "enemies" were the Irish whom they reproached for their desire to lead the American Catholic Church. "On the pretext that they speak the common language, they have seized the right, while ignoring the other races, to claim a kind of monopoly in the politico-religious domain [...]. These last-minute apostles demand not just the gospel tithe, which no one refuses them, but the entire till."75 As for the bishops of Irish origin, who then monopolized 75% of the Episcopal Sees in New England,76 the nationalist elite reproached them for their manifest intent to turn French Canadians "by proceeding in violent and 72. Extract of the Courrier national of Lawrence, reproduced in "Justice, droits et torts dans I'affaire de North Brookfield" (Justice, rights and wrongs in the North-Brookfield Affair), L'Avenir national, December 19, 1900, 2. 73. Le"o Richard, "North Brookfield," L'Avenir national, December 19, 1900, 2. 74. Edmond de Nevers, op. cit. note 7, 326. 75. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit, note 13, 313. 76. Jay Dolan, The American Catholic Experience. A History from Colonial Times to the Present, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday and Co., 1985, 180.

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arbitrary fashion, into English-speaking Americans."77 In particular, they reprimanded them for refusing to create national parishes where they were needed or for doing so grudgingly. "Every time the powers-that-be reach the stage where they have no choice but to allow the creation of a national parish, actually doing so galls them no end, as it upsets their plans and forces their hand."78 They also reproached them for invoking the presence of a handful of Irish-American Catholics in a given locality as reason enough to impose the maintenance of a mixed parish. The pastor was usually of Irish origin and, on the pretext of wanting to be understood by all, most often spoke English only to his flock; likewise, he reduced to virtually nil the use of French at the parochial school. Behind the most noble motives hid the most execrable intentions. For indeed, in the parochial schools, "our children are taught English rather than French for the willful purpose of destroying our compatriots' attachment to their mother tongue, on the pretext of American patriotism; but, in reality, such action is dictated by a growing fear that our people, whose numbers continue to increase, may demand a much greater representation in the cures or even in the Episcopate."79 However, it was the oft repeated efforts of the bishops to deprive the national parishes of French-Canadian priests that provoked the sharpest censure on the part of the emigrants. In fact, L'Avenir national reported that even if the French Canadians of New Hampshire constituted the majority of Catholics in such centers as Franklin, Westville, Coos, Claremont, Derry, Gorham, New Market, Hinsdale and Peterboro, there were no Canadian pastors to be found in those localities.80 The elite noted that the Episcopate did not lack for imagination in striving to achieve their purposes, as amply illustrated by the many battles fought from 1884 to 1900. Some bishops sanctioned outright the appointment of Irish priests, some of whom spoke little or no French; in many instances, though not 77. Hugo Dubuque at the llth Convention of French Canadians, of Connecticut, held in 1896, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit, note 2, 269. This refers to an extract of a memoir, prepared by Dubuque, on the religious situation of the French Canadians living in Connecticut, to be dispatched to Rome, but also presented to the Convention. 78. Id., 314. 79. Hugo Dubuque, in Id., 269. 80. "Ou est la justice?" (Where is justice?), L'Avenir national, December 26, 1900, 2. The publication further stated: "To add insult to injury, we form half of the Catholic population at Wilton, Exeter, Littleton, Jaffrey and Penacook; but whom do we see at the head of these five congregations? Five Irish pastors."

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always, they appointed French-Canadian curates. In 1886, in a long letter to Mgr Dominique Racine, of Chicoutimi, Abbe Ambroise Fafard pointed out the disastrous consequences of such decisions. He wrote that in those parishes the Canadians with a limited command of English were quite incapable of "benefiting from the sermons delivered by their pastor or attending the confessional. Quite often, they simply stop going to church; or even commit apostasy by defecting to the Protestant persuasion." A significant number of Canadian emigrants, he further noted, are convinced that the presence of Irish priests at the head of national parishes will, in time, sound the death knell for those parishes: "because a church served by an Irish priest is soon overwhelmed by the Irish population who rush in to buy up the church pews; the Church Board soon becomes Irish; and that same church is rapidly lost to the Canadians who, under such circumstances, are forced to abandon the game.81 Other bishops, some people affirmed, preferred to appoint secular or regular Belgian and French priests. Those same, "who have little sympathy for our compatriots and no knowledge of their particular customs," provided a ministry scarcely more successful than that of the Irish priests.82 The elite condemned the habit of certain bishops of sending their theology students to Quebec, to learn French, and at the same time, become familiar with the customs and traditions of her inhabitants.83 There was also widespread criticism of the way other bishops curtailed at the source the recruiting of French-Canadian priests. Sometimes, it is the seminarians in our Canadian colleges who are marked to fail an admission exam, with little or no attention being paid either to their school certificates or to the successes they may have achieved earlier; at other times, it becomes impossible for the Canadian priests who want to devote themselves to the salvation of their emigrant compatriots to be admitted to an American diocese even as mere curates; most often, in the end, the situation for these appointees becomes so insecure that, utterly discouraged, they return to Canada.84 81. Ambroise Fafard to Mgr Dominique Racine, March 22,1886, APFR, SRC-ASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 14 ro—15 ro. Abbe Fafard spent four months among the French Canadians of the United States in 1882. 82. Hugo Dubuque, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 269. 83. "Les etudiants en theologie [du diocese de Manchester]" (The theology students [of the Manchester diocese]), L'Avenir national, September 19, 1899, 4. 84. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit., note 13, 315. Here, Magnan summarizes the complaints formulated in every quarter, over many years, against the bishops.

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Deemed boldfaced lies were the declarations of certain bishops that they did not have sufficient numbers of French-Canadian priests at their disposal to meet all the.demands, or that those on site continued to depend on their Quebec superiors who could recall them at their leisure.85 For, as some affirmed, if it is true that the bishops are in want of Canadian priests, the question is why "the young priests of Canadian extraction, who were born and raised here, are dispatched to the Irish parishes as curates." Others were wont to suggest that the phenomenon might be viewed as yet another clever trick on the part of the bishops. Perhaps too, their aim was to have those young priests lose all feelings of nationalism, even to the point of gradually forgetting their French. "Then they will really be ripe and ready for ministering to our Canadian parishes," ironized Doctor Omer Larue.86 There is no doubt that that discourse sought to present the FrenchCanadian emigrants as the oppressed, worse still, the persecuted, with the bishops as so many tyrants or despots. "The authority that [the latter prelates] have recently seized seems to have blinded them and quite often they are tempted to abuse same. They feel a sort of need to impose the yoke of their often arbitrary will upon people who are unable to defend themselves. Once the oppressed, they are now the oppressors".87 "In the United States, the Irish clergy is the most ferocious enemy of every French, German, Polish and Italian Catholic";88 their goal is to impose the English language alone on all Catholic immigrants, "English, the high road to Protestantism"89 As was their wont, the French-Canadian leaders convened the two parties to stand before History's tribune. "We should like to know if an Episcopate, recruited from among a race of men who have no past in America, has the right, even—as they maintain—for God's greater 85. Nonetheless, this did not stop the same people from writing to the bishops of Quebec: "We want you to send us (priests). But if you comply, make sure that we are allowed to keep them." Jean-Le"on Kemmer-Laflamme, "Les Canadiens aux Etats-Unis" (The Canadians in the United States), La Revue canadienne, 1902, 303. 86. Omer Larue, comments made during the Springfield Convention, in 1901, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), Historique des conventions generates des Canadiens-Franfais aux £tatsUnis, 1865-1901 (History of the General Assemblies of French Canadians in the United States, 1865-1901), Woonsocket, Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amenque, 1927, 476. 87. "La naturalisation" (Naturalization), [speech given by Dr. J.-H. Palardy at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), id., 411. 88. Edmond de Nevers, op. cit, note 7, 88 89. Id., 325.

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glory, to strip a fellow race of all they hold dearest, a race that boasts martyrs and that has always served the interests of the Catholic Church in this country."90 That discourse astounded and not simply because it actually transpired; more important was the fact that its thrust, based on real, although isolated, cases, sought to impute to all the bishops a hostile, even an aggressive, attitude towards the French Canadians. As a consequence, the creation of dozens of national parishes and the presence of hundreds of French-Canadian priests were seen, not as indications of a benevolent attitude on the part of most prelates, but solely as the result of an unrelenting battle. That fight had given the main perpetrators a sterling opportunity to achieve national status by incarnating the sacred cause of survivance and also sounding the call for permanent mobilization. "We must keep on demanding [...], not just once, nor even one hundred-fold, but today, but tomorrow, but forever, until such time as we have obtained that which is rightfully ours."91 As with every ideological discourse, this one laid down the law; simply put, the French Canadians had to require "as a right" that parishes headed by priests of their own nationality be established everywhere that their number was large enough to warrant maintaining same; and, where they formed the majority in the mixed parishes, they had also to insist upon having as their pastors, priests of their own nationality,92 and "not some official agent sent to Americanize people who have no such desire whatsoever."93 For "once we have a national clergy, our traditions and our customs will be shielded from all manner of attacks."94 There was to be no question 90. Speech given by L.-Ovide Morasse at the eleventh Convention held at Willimantic, 1896, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 274-275. 91. Omer Larue, comments made at the New Haven Convention in 1895, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), id., 239. 92. See the resolutions adopted at the Springfield Convention. Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 86, 492. A few leaders suggested that those claims be presented "not as an absolute right, but as a powerful means for helping us preserve our religion and our customs." Camille Hogues in id., 489. 93. "Vieux articles et vieux ouvrages. Lettres a M. 1'abbe Talbot Smith, redacteur en chef de la Catholic Review en reponse a ses articles contre les Canadiens-Francais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, Par J.-M. [Joseph-Henri] Guillet" (Outdated articles and outdated essays. Letters to Abbe Talbot Smith, Editor-in-chief of the Catholic Review in reply to his articles against the French Canadians of New England, by J.-M. [Joseph-Henri] Guillet), La Revue franco-americaine, 6, 3, January 1911, 222. 94. A.-E.-R., "Le congres" (The Congress), L'Avenir national, May 22, 1901, 2.

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of exceptions which might serve as dangerous precedents later on. It was the province of laymen to lead the fight since the priests, who were obliged to preserve secrecy, could not intervene. The observers agreed to recognize that the majority of French-Canadian priests ministering to the FrancoAmerican parishes were sympathetic to the objectives that their compatriots were pursuing, but "their submission and their duty to those in authority are obstacles that hamper their devoting themselves, in the fullest sense, to their compatriots."95 Since the adversary was the Bishop, certain observers recommended caution and moderation. In brief, requests were to be presented "in an intelligent, yet compliant, manner," "avoiding all noisy demonstrations," and always acting with "respect for authority," for the powers-that-be "can never accord to a rebellious congregation either a request or a favor, no matter how warranted."96 Well aware that their every comment, during the national conventions, was being scrutinized by diocesan authorities, some adopted a more diplomatic stance: "Let us never forget that although we may view their attitude as vexatious, even unjust, they [the bishops] may be excused on account of their convictions [...] diametrically opposed to our own."97 The most militant group had had more than enough of those calls for moderation. Certainly, "we must act cautiously," recognized Doctor Omer Larue, but we must also continue to advance our cause. "If we move ahead with too much restraint, ultimately, our children will speak nothing but English."98 "As for me," exclaimed Charles-J. Leclaire, "I have lost all confidence in the honesty of our ecclesiastical superiors and I hunger for that fight which will some day accord us our due."99 What strategy was best for the compatriots to adopt? Repeated requests had to be addressed to the bishops, but on that score, no illusions were to be entertained. Should such efforts prove fruitless, they would have to petition at a higher level. Laymen have rights in the Catholic Church. "The priests and the bishops are not the Church, they are but a part, as are 95. Alphonse Chagnon, of Willimantic, at the Congress held at Jewett City, 1898, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit, note 2, 329. 96. Omer Larue, comments made at the New Haven Convention, in 1895, in id., 241. 97. "Nos freres des fitats-Unis. Congres de Springfield" (Our American brothers. Springfield Congress), in H.-J.-J.B. Chouinard (ed.), Annales de la Socilte Saint-JeanBaptiste de Quebec, Quebec, Imprimerie du Soleil, 1902, 413. 98. Omer Larue, comments made at the Danielsonville Convention, in 1890, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., no 2, 90. 99. Comments made at the Jewett City Convention, in 1898, in id., 234.

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we [...]. If we believe that we have been wrongly condemned by one or more magistrates, we are free to appeal to the Supreme Court. The same rule applies regarding the jurisdiction of the Church [...]. Each time we shall confront a case, more or less similar to that of the Canadians at Fall River, with the Episcopate rendering a judgment counter to that of Rome, then again, we shall have to petition Rome to obtain justice."100 Every Catholic has the inalienable right to appeal to the Pope and he may do so in all confidence. "If our claims are valid [...], we may be sure that, ultimately, Rome will render us justice, granting us all that we have sought to obtain."101 At first glance, such proposal appears disconcerting, since, thus far, in every incident under scrutiny, papal authorities had never failed to side with the Episcopate, viewing the creation of national parishes and the appointment of French-Canadian priests as a favor. At times, however, they did indicate that they were prepared to intercede with certain bishops by encouraging them to show flexibility and benevolence; but they would go no further. Still and all, despite the decisions rendered in the Ware, Brunswick, Danielson and North-Brookfield dossiers, the French Canadians of the United States never once lost confidence in the papacy. Two reasons appear to elucidate that reality. First of all, the conviction—a fantasy—that "Rome recognized the validity of our requests and our claims regarding the cause of the Fall River Canadians."102 Secondly, the belief that the failures that followed the Flint Affair were attributable to the disinformation policy of the American bishops. If better informed, the Roman authorities would do justice to the French Canadians.103 Controlling so many particulars demanded money and an airtight organization; this was why the delegates to the Springfield Convention, in 1901, welcomed with enthusiasm the proposal to create a standing committee charged with conducting a full inquiry into all their compatriots' grievances, gathering accurate data, soliciting the declared sympathies of the Quebec Episcopate and drafting a memoir, intended for Roman authorities, which would

100. Omer Larue, comments made at the Springfield Convention, in 1901, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 86, 475. 101. Omer Larue, comments made at the New Haven Convention, in 1895, in Arthur Baribault (ed.), op. cit., note 2, 241. 102. Omer Larue, comments made at the Springfield Convention, in 1901, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 86, 475. 103. "Rome, once duly apprised of the situation, will speak and the recalcitrants will fall back into line," "Lutte fratricide" (Fratricidal struggle), Le National, August 13, 1891.

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describe the real canonical situation of the French Canadian of New England at that juncture.104 "We must seize this opportunity to tell him (the Pope) of our (collective) will to see our nationality duly represented within the Episcopate of New England."105 A national Episcopate

Because of the issues opposing them and the American Episcopate, the French Canadians came to believe that all would be well if they had dealings with bishops of their own nationality In 1886, Abbe Ambroise Fafard advised Mgr Dominique Racine that he had heard many Canadian priests in the United States106 deplore the fact that there was not one Canadian bishop anywhere, who had been given the specific mandate to attend to the spiritual interests of all the Canadians in every American diocese. Such prelate, were he to be appointed, would see to the needs of his Canadian flock; he would designate pastors, organize new parishes and, when he deemed it necessary, send to Canada for more priests; in short, he would settle every difficulty that might arise. Then too, in light of the recognized American guidelines relating to ecclesiastical property, this new Episcopal system would assure for Canadians the perpetuity of their own ecclesiastical properties by preventing same from falling into foreign hands. And finally, what could be more legitimate for a population of some five hundred thousand Canadian souls than that they have at least one of their number representing them within the Catholic hierarchy of the United States.107

French-Canadian priests dreamt of a national, rather than a territorial, diocese, one which would head up all the French-Canadian national parishes. The emigrants must have discussed such a project at great length amongst themselves and with their compatriots of Quebec, but there is no evidence that they made any effort to achieve their goal. However, Honore 104. Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 86, 492. 105. Joseph-Henri Guillet, comments made at the Springfield Convention, in 1901, in id., 484. 106. The number of those priests was estimated as 134, in 1886, and 200, in 1891. See Yves Roby, op. cit., note 5, 104. 107. Abb£ Ambroise Fafard to Mgr Dominique Racine, March 22,1886, APFR, SRCASC, 44 (1886,1): fo 15v. Earlier, in 1880, a few French Canadians of Rhode Island had written to Cardinal Simeoni: "that our greatest desire would be to fall under the immediate jurisdiction of the bishops of Canada." Magloire G. Morin to Cardinal Simeoni, June 1880, APFR, SRC-ASC, 34 (1880): fo 929 vo.

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Mercier and Mgr Antoine Racine later acted as spokesmen in defending that issue before the Holy See, following the Cahensly Affair. On April 16, 1891, one Pierre-Paul Cahensly presented to Pope Leo XIII a memoir, called the Lucerne Memoir, in honor of the Association of Saint Raphael, an organization devoted to the defense of German Catholic emigrants. The authors of that document claimed that the Catholic Church in the United States had lost more than ten million faithful owing to inadequate ecclesiastical support; and so, as a remedial measure, they recommended the creation of separate parishes, one for each nationality, to be served by priests of the given nationality, as well as the establishment of parochial schools for each nationality, the founding of divers mutual societies and, where feasible, the inclusion in the American Episcopate of bishops of each nationality.108 Honore Mercier, at the time, Premier of Quebec, undertook a trip to Europe. In May, he continued on to Rome, where he was received in papal audience by Leo XIII. On the same occasion, he defended the Cahensly Memoir that he and his fellow travelers had signed. He also gave a "highly confidential" note to Mgr Jacobini, stating that the existence of a million of his compatriots in the United States made the presence of a French-Canadian bishop in that country an absolute necessity.109 But, vain were his compatriots' hopes that such would come to pass since virtually only the Irish bishops and priests participated in composing the lists of candidates for submission to the Pope.110 Under that guise, Mercier was asking Rome implicitly to intervene and appoint a French Canadian, thereby correcting the injustices of the 108. John J. Meng, "Cahenslysm: the First Stage, 1883-1891," The Catholic Historical Review, XXXI, January 4, 1946, 402. 109. Honore" Mercier to Mgr Jocobini, APFR, SRC-ASC, 56 (1891, II): fo 416 ro. 110. "This is the procedure followed upon the death of a bishop: the rectors or pastors, members of the Diocesan Council meet to appoint three priests whom they designate as 1- dignissimus, 2- dignior, 3- dignius. These names are at once forwarded, in the preceding order, to the Council of Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province, which body is presided over by the archbishop. The bishops then choose three names—they may, if they so wish, reject the names chosen by the pastors—and dispose those names in the same order. The bishops describe at length the qualities of the three candidates [...]. Finally, the names are sent to Rome and the pope consecrates the new bishop. The pope is under no obligation to appoint one of the three candidates proposed; he can select some other priest although, as a rule, he does not do this." "Le successeur de Mgr McNierney" (The successor of Mgr McNierney), Le National, Manchester, January 13, 1894, 2.

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existing procedure for designating bishops.111 In consequence, the composition of the Episcopate would reflect more faithfully the reality of the Catholic Church in that part of the United States. Both the Cahensly Memoir and Mercier's intervention provoked anger and anxiety in Irish-American Catholic milieux. "The strangest thing about this Lucerne movement," declared Archbishop John Ireland, of Saint Paul, to the New York Herald, on June 1, 1891, "is the effrontery of these people who, under any pretext at all, try to become actively involved in the concerns of the American Catholic Church."112 "The Church, in this country, is quite able to conduct its affairs without any assistance from Quebec," wrote the Baltimore Mirror.113 What most distressed the Irish-American bishops, when confronted with the question, was that the appointment of national bishops might attenuate the dominant position that they occupied within the American Church, thereby deterring their efforts to steer the Church in a direction of their own choosing. They also feared that Catholics might be reproached for remaining "strangers in a foreign land." Rome was quick to reassure them, advising Cardinal Gibbons, of Baltimore, that the Pope rejected the appointment of national bishops.114 But, all was not yet over. The Bishop of Sherbrooke again approached Cardinal Ledochowski, a move that rekindled the anger of the American Episcopate. In 1892, Mgr Antoine Racine and Abbe Jean-Baptiste Proulx, who had come to Rome to request a greater measure of autonomy for Laval University's Montreal branch, seized upon the opportunity to submit to the Prefect of Propaganda, their Memoir on the Situation of French Canadians in the United States of North America. However, that memoir was somewhat timid when it came to the issue of national bishops. "That the bishops be sympathetic toward their Canadian flock, that they in no way contest their legitimate customs, we can ask for nothing more. Indeed, it is not even necessary for them to speak French. But, where such be the case, we feel that it would be more acceptable that they enjoy the presence of a vicar-general or a well-respected priest capable of understanding 111. At the head of one of the New England dioceses? The Premier's suggestion is not entirely clear as to that question. If such be the case, Mercier's suggestion would therefore differ from that which the Canadian priests active in the United States hoped to obtain. 112. Quoted in John J. Meng, loc. cit, note 108, 41. 113. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 21, 138. 114. John J. Meng, "Cahenslyism: the Second Chapter, 1891-1910," The Catholic Historical Review XXXII, October 3, 1946, 309-310.

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them."115 In private, however, they called for national bishops. Mgr Ireland's riposte was scathing: "There are certain people in America and in Europe who see the United States as one vast Congo which can be divided up into so many foreign colonies"116. Not at all indifferent to the overriding issues, the elite of New England supported, albeit somewhat timorously, the positions adopted by Honore Mercier and Mgr Racine; on several occasions, they affirmed that the French-Canadian Catholics formed the majority in the dioceses of Ogdensburg, Burlington, Manchester and Portland, as well as representing a significant minority in the other dioceses of the region117. "In dioceses where we comprise the majority, let alone the virtual totality of Catholics," wrote Joseph-Henri Guillet, "we must choose as our bishop the man best fitted to occupy such position, he who will actively promote the interests of his subordinates." If that individual was born in Canada, why should he be excluded? "What right have the Americans to claim the monopoly on that high office."118 In fact, the elite were readying for the fray and preparing their arguments for the great battles of the beginning of the new century. In the meantime, as they were predominantly realists, they were expending every effort to remind Rome of their need for bishops who could speak French and were favorable to their cause. With all discretion, Rome took their needs into account when appointing bishops: Mgr Harkins, who succeeded Mgr Hendricken, was already known; Mgr John Stephen Michaud, designated coadjutor with right of succession, for the diocese of Burlington, was born in the United States of an Irish mother and a French-Canadian father; and, at Springfield, Mgr Beaven had the advantage over his rivals because he possessed a virtually flawless command of French. How should those historical facts be read? From the outset, it is important to recall certain inescapable realities. In 1860, the 37,420 FrenchCanadian emigrants, scattered throughout New England, were enduring a difficult existence. According to some observers, the realities of religious indifference and an ineluctable Anglicization seemed to have become the 115. op. cit, note 60, 3. 116. Quoted in John. J. Meng, loc. cit., note 114, 321. 117. "Vieux articles et vieux ouvrages. Lettre a M. 1'abbe Talbot Smith..." (Outdated articles and outdated works. Letter to Abbe Talbot Smith...), in La Revue francoamericaine, November 1 and 6, 1910, 57-58. 118. Vieux articles et vieux ouvrages..." (Outdated articles and outdated works...), loc. cit., note 93, 223.

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destiny of the majority. The massive arrival of French Canadians after the Civil War—reputedly, more than 100,000 between 1865 and 1873—radically altered the situation, with numerous and dynamic Little Canadas springing up in the important industrial cities of the region. To meet the religious needs of those emigrants, the Bishops authorized the creation of 42 national and 13 mixed parishes between 1861 and 1880. And yet, anxiety persisted among the ranks. In the territorial and mixed parishes, Anglicization remained a crude reality, with certain actions on the part of the Episcopate giving cause for concern. Following the crisis of 1873-1879, which had deprived the FrenchCanadian communities of fresh unilingual recruits, certain bishops decided that the time had come to accelerate the assimilation process. Even though they agreed to create national parishes, more often than not, they were beginning to integrate the Canadian emigrants into mixed parishes. Then too, convinced as they were that the Canadian emigrants had had sufficient time to adapt to their new environment, without any risk to their faith, thanks to the national parishes, they deemed it expedient to appoint Irish pastors in the place of others originating from Quebec. This is what Mgr Hendricken did at Sainte-Anne, of Fall River, in 1878, and at NotreDame-du-Sacre-Cceur, of Central Falls, in 1880. However, when the Bishop of Providence wanted to place Abbe Samuel P. McGee at the head of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, of Fall River, revolt ensued, simply because the context had undergone a momentous change. In short, after 1879, French-Canadian emigration had resumed without respite, bringing south tens of thousands of unilingual French newcomers ready to settle in the United States; those people did not take well to the presence at the head of their parishes of pastors who spoke little or no French or who were ignorant of their customs. As well, over that same period of time, the elite gradually came to believe that if they could retain their collective definition as French-speaking Catholics, they and their compatriots would play a great and noble role on American soil. At the end of an exceedingly arduous battle, the parishioners of NotreDame-de-Lourdes forced Bishop Hendricken to give ground. Impelled by that "victory" and by the arrival of fresh recruits, the elite began to nourish great hopes for the future of their community. They were certain of obtaining, with few difficulties, the creation of new national parishes directed by priests of their own nationality; they even considered it possible that priests from Quebec would replace certain "Irish" pastors at the head of parishes already constituted. They were quite mistaken. The adversary was

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even more determined, more astute, than ever they could have imagined. The battles of Ware, Brunswick, Danielson and North Brookfield all ended in defeat and the bishops continued to sanction the creation of mixed parishes. The consequences of those many battles, those many failures, are crucial to understanding Franco-American history. The lay elite—for the most part, journalists and professional people—who had led the fight against the Episcopate acquired over time national stature by imposing their perception of reality and, more importantly, by incarnating the sacred cause of survivance. The discourse that they sustained evolved and changed with every battle fought. As a consequence, the same elite, who, before 1865, had rejoiced at the creation of mixed parishes, came to see in them a quasimortal danger for the survival of their collectivities. Over time, the national parish became, in their eyes, the sole institution capable of safeguarding the distinctive characteristics of the French-Canadian nation. Even as early as the 1880s, such terms as "homeland," "native country," "fortress," "invisible rampart," and the like, were being bandied about to forestal foreign encroachments; they became the "keystones" of survivance, conferring upon it an ostensible sacredness. At all cost, the integrity of the thing had to be assured. For everyone concerned, the French-Canadian pastor was and always would be the ideal guardian of survivance. Over the years, the ongoing discourse became more radical, the product of dashed hopes and unrelenting failures. The bishops bore the brunt of every grievance. People reproached them for lacking in sensitivity, for prevaricating, for being crafty and resorting to clever tricks, but above all, for acting like despots. Ultimately, they came to be demonized. In the end, the weightiest and most conclusive consequences derived not from adapting the institutional infrastructure to American realities, but rather, from the many attempts to preserve it untouched, an option that tended to define all discourse on identity. And, although for a time, the enemy remained outside the walls, soon, all too soon, the fox would be sent to mind the sheep; videlicet, dissension was about to infiltrate the ranks of the elite.

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Chapter V P R O G R E S S , CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION (1901-1914)

All those who have an interest in the future of our race in the United States wonder, often with anxiety, exactly what status our people will have a few years hence, what we Franco-Americans will eventually become. Were we to believe the naysayers, our future is doomed, we are condemned to die out. Our French language no longer has any more than a few days [years] left [...]. Next to those pessimists, [...] are the optimists who see life as a bed of roses where hope springs eternal. Chockful of enthusiasm, they predict a glorious future for the Franco-American race. We have a providential mission to fulfil here below and God will help us. The Almighty has dispersed the Canadians throughout North America to have them accomplish prodigious works [...]. Objective truth must hold to the middle ground. [...] As a race, we will survive if we abandon our torpor to better defend ourselves. We will survive, but our victory will cost us dearly, as we shall have to write for posterity one of our history's darkest pages. We will survive if we stand firm, arms at the ready. But, if we abandon the combat out of despondency, apathy or treason, then, we are a fallen people. We must therefore tread in the footsteps of our ancestors, honorable men who never ceased to fight, as best they could, for the respect of our rights [...]. Are we too cowardly to defend our priceless patrimony, one which we inherited from our forefathers? [...]

154 THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND Never, the thing is impossible; the blood that flows in our veins would have to turn to sludge.1 L'Avenir national

A

CCORDING TO SOME OBSERVERS, the early years of the twentieth century were the golden age of Franco-American history. The institutional network was developing more rapidly than the population. Workers managed to improve their living conditions considerably, while a few offspring of the "Chinese of the Eastern States" were enjoying overwhelming successes in politics, business and sports. However, the fact that FrenchCanadian emigration to New England had virtually come to a halt, coupled with the huge transformations in American society and the American economy during those crucial years greatly modified the way of life in the Little Canadas, while reshaping the dreams of every emigrant. Some members of the elite, those more conscious of the superficial aspects of reality, looked to the future with boundless optimism, whereas others, troubled by the speed with which the Franco-American community was changing, were more pessimistic; the latter contingent fiercely opposed the significant changes to the Quebec model; the optimists, for their part, advocated adapting to change, and even tried to accelerate its rhythm. The resulting tensions played a central role in the process to define an identity. Progress and jubilation "The history of the Franco-Americans," declared Henri Ledoux, in 1912, at Quebec City, on the occasion of the First Congress on the French Language, "is in many ways similar to that of the French Canadians, a seemingly never-ending miracle."2 The early emigrants were a destitute and isolated lot, who were scorned by their compatriots. And, since they were floundering in an Anglo-Saxon sea, they appeared to be destined for rapid 1. "Que deviendrons-nous?" (What will become of us?), L'Avenir national, November 20, 1913, 4; November 21, 1913, 4. 2. Henri Ledoux, "La mission de la langue francaise aux Etats-Unis" (The mission of the French language in the United States), reprinted in Richard Santerre (ed.)> Litterature franco-amiricaine de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Anthologie, (Franco-American literature of New England. Anthology), vol. 5, Manchester, National Materials Development Center for French and Creole, 1981, 3.

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assimilation. On the eve of the 1914 war, scarcely fifty years later, the contrast was phenomenal! "We have planted strong and deep roots in the American soil; we have carved out for ourselves a spacious and comfortable niche," declared one Charles-Edouard Boivin, of Fall River.3 Some 700,000 Franco-Americans (half of the Francophone population of Quebec, which had reached 1,606,535 by 1911), installed in the manufacturing cities of New England, constituted, according to observers, a nationality that was distinct by virtue of language, customs and practices. In that Franco-Americans composed populous entities of more than 10,000 persons in 13 of those cities, and more than 5,000, in 13 others, with yet another 2,500 in 13 more, it is easy to see that the Franco-Americans had been progressing by leaps and bounds.4 After Montreal and Quebec City, Fall River was "the third largest Francophone city in America"; Manchester was known as "the most Frenchified city in the United States"; Woonsocket was proclamed "the Quebec City of New England"; and last, but hardly least, Lewiston was called "the Athens of French-speaking America."5 All these cities displayed French characteristics in varying degrees, as witnessed by a French artist, France Ariel, who set down her lively recollections upon returning from a voyage to the region, saying, "New England [...]; (but), perhaps it would be more realistic to speak of New Canada."6 "The French Province of Quebec has expanded—there's an end to it!"7 wrote Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan. The national parishes and their institutions, which were growing more rapidly than the population, bore witness to that vitality. During the first 14 years of the twentieth 3. Charles-fidouard Boivin, "La presse fran9aise des £tats-Unis" (The French Press in the United States), Revue canadienne, 1904, 147. 4. J.-Arthur Favreau, "Les Canadiens fran9ais" (The French Canadians), L'Avenir national, February 6, 1913, 4. Article taken from the Boston Sunday Globe of February 2, 1913. 5. Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the Franco-Americans), Montreal, USJBA, 1958, 166. 6. France Ariel, Canadiens et Americains chez eux. Journal, Lettres, Impressions d'une artiste franc,aise (Canadians and Americans at home. Journal, Letters, Impressions of a French Artist), Montreal, Granger Freres, 1920, 233. 7. Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan, Histoire de la race franc,aise aux £tats-Unis (History of the French race in the United States), Paris, Librairie Vic et Amat, 1912, 253. Magnan might have written: "La province de Quebec et 1'Acadie" (The Province of Quebec and Acadia), since Little Acadias were to be found at Waltham, Gardner, Worcester, Fitchburg, Old Town, Lynn and Boston.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

century, 45 new national parishes (an increase of 50.5%) came into being.8 Hundreds of thousands of French souls, exclaimed Henri Ledoux, "pray, think and hope in the French idiom within those parishes."9 French-speaking New England boasted churches that were veritable basilicas, as well as schools, convents and even a classical college, the College de 1'Assomption, located at Worcester; and each of the main Franco-American centers had its hospital.10 Since the founding of the first caisse populaire (credit union) at Sainte-Marie de Manchester, in November 1908, by Alphonse Desjardins, in person,11 that savings and credit cooperative, which completed the parish infrastructure, began to spread like wildfire. L'Independant of Fall River12 claimed that six French-language dailies, more than in the Province of Quebec, linked the many different communities. Finally, in the time since the Springfield Congress, in 1901, the work of the major FrancoAmerican National Conventions was carried out by the Congresses of such large mutual assistance societies as the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Ame"rique (Saint John the Baptist Union of America), the Association canadoamericaine (Canado-American Association), the Ordre des forestiers franco-americains (Order of Franco-American Foresters), the Ordre des chevaliers de Jacques-Cartier (Order of the Knights of Jacques Cartier) and the Societe de 1'Assomption (Society of the Assumption). In New England, the newcomers from Quebec, who had little acquaintance with the English language, felt as much at home as at Montreal. 8. Paul-P. Chasse, "Chronological List of Franco-American Parishes in New England," in Dyke Hendrickson, Quiet Presence: Histoires de Franco-Americains en New England (Chronicles of Franco-Americans in New England), Portland, Gay Gannett Publishing Co., 1980, 40-41. 9. Henri Ledoux, loc. cit, note 2, 5. 10 Sainte-Marie de Manchester is quite representative of many other Franco-American communities, in that it boasted a church, a hospital, two orphanages — one for boys, the other for girls — two schools frequented by more than 1,800 children, a residence for the Brothers, another for the Sisters, a hospice and a sumptuous rectory, the whole kit and caboodle worth $525,000. D.-M.-A. Magnan, op. cit., note 7, 283. 11. Adrien Verrette, Paroisse Sainte-Marie, Manchester, New Hampshire. Manchester, the centennial parish committee, 1931, 290. "Next to the temple of prayer, the temple of light (school) and the temple of brotherhood, you would do well to erect a temple of thrift!" counseled Alphonse Desjardins. "M. Desjardins a Ste-Marie. Resum£ de I'int6ressante et instructive conference qu'il a donnee hier soir" (Mr. Desjardins at Ste-Marie. Resume of the interesting and thought-provoking conference that he gave last evening), L'Avenir national, October 11, 1910, 8. 12. Quoted in "Encourageons nos journaux" (We must encourage our newspapers), L'Avenir national, December 24, 1908, 2.

PROGRESS, CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION

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Speaking French, they were able to make themselves understood almost everywhere: most certainly in the parish, but also at the factory, in the shops and even at City Hall.13 What a difference between the present time and that earlier period when, so few in number, the Francophones were "forgotten, scorned and reviled."14 Even out in the streets, as at Woonsocket, "a Franco-American could be sure that two out of every three persons he was likely to encounter would be of his own nationality."15 In the Little Canadas, the living conditions of working-class families had vastly improved. Although true that before the end of the nineteenth century, the Franco-Americans occupied the most menial and poorly paid jobs available, such was no longer the case on the eve of the Great War of 1914 to 1918. In fact, at Central Falls (R.I.) in 1915, a study indicated that approximately 60% of Franco-American workers earned $14 or more weekly, that is, higher wages than the average amount earned by other workers.16 They toiled in the textile factories, in machine shops and on construction sites. The others—the 40% earning less than $14 per week— were employed as day laborers and unskilled workers in those same industries.17 It would be risky to generalize on the basis of a single study, yet, for New England as a whole, the proportion of adults employed as day laborers was much smaller than before 1900, whereas the number of white-collar workers, shopkeepers, businessmen and professionals

13. J.-Arthur Favreau, "Le francais dans le commerce et dans 1'industrie dans Test des Etat-Unis" (The French language in commerce and industry in the American East); and "Le fran9ais dans les services publics dans Test des Etats-Unis" (The French language in the public services in the American East), in "Le Premier Congres de la langue franfaise au Canada, Quebec, 1912, Memoires" (The First Congress on the French Language in Canada, Quebec, 1912, Memoirs), Quebec, Imprimerie L'Action sociale Ltee, 1914, 567-571; 559562. 14. Id., 567. 15. Richard D. Sorrell, The Sentinelle Affair (1924-1929) and Militant Survivance: the Franco-American Experience in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Ph.D. thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1975, 125, 16. Louise Lamphere, From working Daughters to Working Mothers. Immigrant Women in a New England Industrial Community, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1987, 132. Researchers have evaluated as follows the average annual wage in 1914 dollars: $532 for the period 1895-1899; $606 for the period 1901-1905; $685 for the period 1911-1915. See Yves-Henri Nouailhat, Evolution economique des Etats-Unis du milieu du xixf siecle a 1914 (Economic evolution in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to 1914), Paris, SEDES, 1982, 342. 17. Louise Lamphere, op. cit., note 16.

158

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

had increased; in addition, the lot of blue-collar workers had improved considerably. And yet, living conditions for workers earning wages inferior to the average changed hardly at all. Lacking the wherewithal to leave the most poverty-stricken areas of the Little Canadas, they and their families continued to live from hand to mouth in dilapidated dwellings. Indeed, an inquiry undertaken, in 1910, by the Health Bureau of the City of Fall River, revealed that 40% of the flats examined presented risks to health.18 However, for the majority, whose incomes had risen, the situation had noticeably improved since the end of the nineteenth century. "Their way of life has changed," declared, in 1912, Doctor Armand Bedard of Lynn, Massachusetts. "Our people no longer live, as they did before, in the large buildings belonging to the corporations; we have become homeowners or else we reside in elegant, modern apartments; no longer are we crammed one on top of the other [...]. Living conditions are much more sanitary, allowing scant leeway for the promiscuity of an earlier time."19 "The Franco-Americans have abandoned their filthy tenement houses and noxious environs to the Portuguese, Slavic or Hungarian immigrants," noted Henri Bourassa in 1915. "Quietly but steadily, they have taken over the bourgeois and aristocratic districts."20 Geographically, the contours of the Little Canadas had changed very little, but their aspect was quite different. The new European immigrants took possession of the dilapidated dwellings left vacant by the FrancoAmericans who, having garnered better paid jobs, were able to relocate in the more attractive neighboring areas, districts that the American workers or those of English or Irish origin had, in turn, vacated to move into the even more affluent areas on the outskirts of the Little Canadas. In the Little Canadas, the Franco-Americans were now able to take pride of place. Visitors, like Henri Bourassa, who had returned to New England after several years of absence, were struck by the affluence they observed. They could not help but note the greater cleanliness of the houses, the better paved 18. Philip Thomas Sylvia, The Spindle City: Labor, Politics and Religion in Fall River, Massachusetts 1870-1905, Ph.D. thesis, Fordham University, N.Y., 1973, 670. 19. Armand Bedard, "La langue fran9aise dans la famille et dans les relations sociales aux £tats-Unis" (The French language in the family setting and in social relations, in the United States), L'Avenir national, July 6, 1912, 4. 20. Henri Bourassa, "Les Franco-Am£ricains" (The Franco-Americans), text reprinted in Le Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-americaine, 1956, 161.

PROGRESS, CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION

159

roads and the collection of refuse, as well as the sewerage systems and the ready availability of drinking water. At church, in the public assemblies and at the village fairs, people seemed to be better dressed, well-fed and more relaxed. That which most impressed observers and visitors alike and which filled with pride the inhabitants of the Little Canadas were the brilliant successes that a minority of Franco-Americans were enjoying in politics, commerce and sports. In November 1908, Aram-Jules Pothier was elected governor of Rhode Island, a "signal page" in the history of the FrancoAmericans and "the heading of a new chapter in the evolution of their life as a society."21 He would be reelected with no difficulty in 1909, 1910 and 1911. In 1912, Governor Pothier was host to President William Howard Taft at Beverly (Massachusetts), where the latter dignitary was spending the summer. At the time, rumor had it that Pothier would be invited to assume the function of Secretary of the Treasury and that Cardinal Gibbons and various other important prelates were inclined to view such possibility in a favorable light.22 The appointment of Abbe Georges-Albert Guertin, pastor of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue, as bishop of the diocese of Manchester, on December 18, 1906, was received with the greatest enthusiasm. The same was true when Hugo Dubuque, celebrated for his fights against the nativists and the Irish Episcopate, was appointed judge of the Superior Court of Massachusetts;23 and that was only the tip of the iceberg. Soon enough, the Franco-Americans counted senators and congressmen in all the New England states, as well as consuls at Prague, Santillo (Mexico) and Marseille; they occupied the mayoralty at Woonsocket (Rhode Island), Central Falls (Rhode Island), Chicopee (Massachusetts), Berlin (New Hampshire) and at Biddeford (Maine).24 Finally, a great many individuals were sitting all over the map in the capacity of alderman, municipal counselor, and the like. They also counted among their number physicians, lawyers, well-known journalists, financiers and resourceful 21. Joseph-Adelard-Marie Brosseau, "Le premier gouverneur canadien-fran9ais aux fitats-Unis" (The first French-Canadian Governor in the United States), La Nouvelle-France, January 1 and 8, 1909, 69. 22. "Le gouverneur Pothier" (Governor Pothier), L'Avenir national, August 13,1912,1. 23. "L'honorable juge Dubuque"(The Honorable Justice Dubuque), L'Avenir national, August 12, 1911,4. 24. Maxime-O. Freniere, "Les maires franco-americains des villes aux fitats-Unis" (The Franco-American mayors of cities in the United States), Le Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-americaine, 1942, 110-113; and 1943, 110.

160

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

businessmen.25 In the world of sports, some Franco-Americans became famous and, even, heroes: Henri Renaud won over 176 competitors in the celebrated marathon organized by the Boston Athletic Association in 1909.26 Francis Ouimet became the champion golfer of the United States,27 and Napoleon "Larry" Lajoie, the brightest star of professional baseball. In 1901, Lajoie, dubbed the Big Frenchman, won the batting championship of the American Baseball League with the superb average of .422. Throughout his al-year career, as a second-base player in the major leagues, he had a splendid .339 average. He would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.28 Never before had Franco-America aroused so much admiration and excitement. Having once endured the scorn of their Quebec compatriots, the Franco-Americans were now being extravagantly praised for their passionate fight to promote survivance. "There was a time," declared Henri Bourassa, to the immense pleasure of the members of the Saint John the Baptist Union of America, participants at the Worcester Congress, in 1915, "when we came down here to bring the solace of French-Canadian patriotism to our brothers in exile. Today, it would be much more appropriate for us to solicit lessons in dignity and national endurance from the Franco-Americans."29 25. In that a significant number of Franco-American enterprises, in particular, the larger-scale businesses, bore an English corporate name, it is sometimes difficult for the historian to identify them. How could one know, at first glance, that the Self Closing Paper Bag Company, The Prudential Fire Insurance Company, The Granite Construction and Realty Co., to name a few, were owned by Franco-Americans? Certain successes are quite impressive. For example, Claudia Leblanc (nee Gosselin), at age 27, was "the proprietor of 40 brokerage companies in New England, employing 478 persons, [...] owned 30 residential properties at Lowell, 31, at Fall River, six retail outlets and many beautiful properties throughout New England," "Une femme d'affaires" (A skillful businesswoman), L'Avenir national, March 5, 1908, 3. 26. "Victoire de Renaud" (Victory for Renaud), L'Avenir national, April 20, 1909, 1. 27. "Superbe exploit de Franc. Ouimet" (Superb exploit of Franc. Ouimet), L'Avenir national, August 1, 1914, 7. 28. Richard S. Sorrell, "Sports and Franco-Americans in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, 1870-1930" in Madeleine Giguere (ed.), A Franco-American Overview, vol. 4. New England, Cambridge, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual/Bicultural Education, 1981, 56; Rosaire Dion-LeVesque, "Napoleon "Larry" Lajoie, in "Silhouettes franco-americaines" (Franco-American Silhouettes), Manchester, ACA Publications, 1957, 460^65. 29. Henri Bourassa, loc. cit, note 20,167. And again, on April 24, 1905, Le Moniteur acadien wrote that the "enlightened and zealous patriotism of brothers in the United States can today serve as a model for those of us who have remained in the homeland."

PROGRESS, C R I S I S , AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION

l6l

The majority of observers, as much in New England as in Quebec, noted that the Franco-Americans had sustained heavy losses in the past, particularly in the large cities and localities where they were few in number. "We continue to speak English at home and in our social and professional relations, but such bad habits are on the wane. National apostasies are becoming increasingly rare."30 Better yet! "The main body of our forces" has escaped the disaster and, thanks to the fresh recruits from Quebec and the beneficial efforts of the national parishes, the losses have been fully recouped.31 The progress achieved since the beginning of the century, along with the enthusiastic testimonies of key figures in French Canada, reassured the Franco-Americans and encouraged many of their leaders to envisage the future with unbounded optimism. "They have transplanted on American soil a branch of the national tree"; that branch has grown deep roots, has flourished and become "a mighty tree."32 How could one fail to see in this the work of Providence? They were indeed mistaken, maintained Abbe Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan, those who, 25 or 30 years ago, had announced the disappearance of the French fact in the United States. The Franco-American collectivity is doing remarkably well. "Even the most painstaking diagnosis could not discover among them the slightest alarming symptom. The organism is healthy, and, barring an assassination, we can predict nothing less than amazing longevity [...] for undertakers."33 Was there not some other motive than optimism prompting such declarations? Could not bravado, or an attempt to conjure the fear inspired by transformations in the milieu, also be detected? More than likely. Demographic changes and uncertainty According to American census data, the net immigration of French Canadians to the United States totalled 61,764, between 1900 and 1910, to represent minus 12,724 over the following decade.34 This represents a 30. Henri Bourassa, loc. cit, note 20, 165. 31. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit., note 7, 306-307 32. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, at the banquet of June 23,1902, at Quebec City, in H.-J.-J.-B. Chouinard (ed.), Annales de la Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Quebec, Quebec, Imprimerie du Soleil, 1903, 126. 33. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit., note 7, 289. 34. Quoted in Yolande Lavoie, L'emigration des Canadiens-franfais aux £tats-Unis avant 1930. Mesure duphernomene (The emigration of French Canadians to the United States

162

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

considerable drop in comparison with previous years. Contemporaries even spoke of a halt. In her book on the early days of the Franco-American colony of Woonsocket, published in 1920, Marie-Louise Bonier mentions that, for some 20 years, Quebec had been able to retain virtually all her people. "Even though we continue to receive annually a certain complement of compatriots, we lose an equal number, either because they return to the Province of Quebec, or because they head out to settle in the Canadian West."35 On March 29,1910, upon his return from New England where he had effected a tour to promote repatriation, Abbe Ivanhoe Caron, missionary-colonizer, addressed a letter to the managing editor of the Manchester daily, L'Avenir national, stating his belief that the exodus of French Canadians was virtually over. This at least was the opinion repeatedly expressed to him, both by the pastors of the Franco-American parishes he visited and the immigration officers that he encountered.36 How could this phenomenon be explained? In Canada, as in most industrialized countries, the years 1896 to 1920, a period marked by persistent price increases, had engendered widespread euphoria. After a number of difficult years, Quebec too was seized by that euphoria.37 From 1896 to 1914, every sector of Quebec's economy registered considerable progress, as was evidenced by the specific agricultural sector where gross value production rose from $46,188,000, in 1900, to before 1930. Measuring the phenomena), Montreal, PUM. 1972, 21. For his part, Gilles Paquet estimates that 48,873 French Canadians reached New England during the first decade of the twentieth century; Ralph D. Vicero speaks of slightly less than 45,000 for the same period, a decrease of nearly 58% compared with the ten years preceding. Gilles Paquet, "Immigration des Canadiens fran9ais vers la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1870-1910: prises de vues quantitatives" (The emigration of French Canadians towards New England, 1870-1910: a quantitative overview," Recherches sociographiques (Sociographic Research), Vol. 3, September-December 1964, 328; Ralph D. Vicero, Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900. A Geographical Analysis, Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1968, 237. 35. Marie-Louise Bonier, Debuts de la colonie franco-americaine de Woonsocket (The early days of the Franco-American colony of Woonsocket), Framingham (Mass.), Lakeview, Press, 1920, 78. 36. "Les notres aux Etats-Unis" (Our people in the United States), L'Avenir national, March 31, 1910, 1. 37. The reader wanting more information about the economic situation of Quebec, at the beginning of the twentieth century should consult the excellent synopsis of PaulAndr£ Linteau, Rene Durocher and Jean-Claude Robert, Histoire du Quebec contemporain. De la Confederation a la crise (A History of Contemporary Quebec. From Confederation to the Depression), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1979, 351^46.

PROGRESS, CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION

163

$87,720,000, in 1914.38 Anxious to glean every benefit possible from the fresh opportunities that the market was offering, the many farmers of the Montreal Plain, the Richelieu Valley, the Eastern Townships and the Quebec region, planted more crops, increased their herds and accelerated mechanization. To do that, the majority of them contracted loans. However, since prices were stable or rising, except during short periods of recession (1904, 1907), they were not drawn into the infernal round of debt with its disastrous consequences, as had experienced their counterparts over previous years. In the more remote regions, farmers were still able to make ends meet as loggers or with road work or, again, in railway construction. Moreover, because of the prosperity then reigning in the pulp and paper industries, in sawmills, in the production of firewood and in the proliferation of major public-works projects, seasonal jobs abounded in those regions. Both the rural and the urban areas were much more able to retain their sons than in days of yore. The industrial sector also progressed by leaps and bounds, the gross worth of manufacturing production rising from $153,574,000 to $340,177,000, between 1900 and 1910.39 Lighter manufacturing industries such as those producing clothing, foodstuffs, tobacco products, wood and its by-products, along with heavy industry comprising the iron, steel and rolling stock sectors continued to dominate manufacturing production; but, at the same time, several new sectors, based on the exploitation of natural resources, were rapidly developing. Hydroelectricity, pulp and paper, electrometallurgy (aluminium) and electrochemistry eventually made the fortune of such regions as the Mauricie and the Saguenay-Lac-SaintJean. And so, it came to be that rural-based Quebecers, by many thousands, indeed, by tens of thousands, headed towards Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Chicoutimi and Hull. Montreal, alone, saw its population increase from 267,730, in 1901, to 467,986, in 1911, a rise of 74.3%. As a result, except for the short-lived recessions of 1904 and 1907, the widespread prosperity enabled workers to earn a living in 38. In current dollars. Andre Raynaud, Croissance et structure economique de la province de Quebec (Economic growth and structures in the Province of Quebec), Quebec, Department of Industry and Commerce, 1961, 590. 39. Marc Vallieres, Les industries manufacturieres de Quebec, 1900-1959. Essai de normalisation des donnees statistiques en dix-sept groupes industriels et etude sommaire de la croissance de ces groupes (The manufacturing industries of Quebec, 1900-1959. Essay on the standardization of statistical data in seventeen industrial groups and a summary study of their growth), M.A. thesis (History), Laval University, 1973, 137.

164

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Quebec, avoiding exile to the United States. Moreover, the economic situation in New England was not quite as prosperous as in the past. As has been seen, most French-Canadian emigrants in the nineteenth century went south to find work in the textile industry and, more particularly, the cotton textile industry. In consequence, as of 1900, they represented 33.4% of that industry's manpower. At the beginning of the century, the cotton textile industry continued to flourish in New England. The number of spindles grew from 12,893,000, in 1899, to 15,385,000, in 1909, then, to 17,543,000, in 1919,40 representing increases of 19.3% and 14%. The upsurge was particularly significant in Massachusetts, where the number of spindles increased by 3,422,000 between 1899 and 1919, or by 43.9%.41 The stiff competition of the Southern States often provoked radical changes in that industry. In the South, the states of Georgia and the two Carolinas boasted a total of 4,043,000 spindles, in 1899,9,838,000, in 1909, and 14,029,000, ten years later, representing, respectively, 23.9%, 39.0% and 47.7% of the total number.42 Such rapid growth may be explained by the lower wages that the southern factory owners paid their employees. One researcher has estimated the average wage of the southern textile worker at 40% less than that of workers in other regions, between 1894 and 1927.43 To maintain their market share, New England factory owners were left with no other choice: they had to reduce production costs and increase productivity; this, of course, had a considerable impact on FrenchCanadian immigration. Entirely convinced of the need to reduce the disparity between NewEngland wages and wages paid in the Southern States, they adopted a multitiered strategy. When an appreciable drop in demand increased inventories, with a determined price reduction proving insufficient to correct the situation, as in 1900-1901 and 1903-1904, at Fall River, employers used the situation to force their employees to accept wage reductions of 10%, 15% and, at times, as much as 25%. However, when profits rose, as in 1902, and workers sought to recuperate lost ground, their bosses fought 40. Alice Galenson, The Migration of the Cotton Textile Industry from New England to the South: 1880-1930, New York, Garland Publishing Inc., 1985, 2. 41. Ibid. 42. Ibid. 43. Quoted in Alice Galenson, id., 10.

PROGRESS, CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION 165

tooth and nail against wage hikes. At both junctures, there followed many bitter and costly strikes.44 These had a dual effect on the Franco-American collectivity: they discouraged the advent of fresh immigrants and incited many inhabitants of the Little Canadas, the new arrivals, in particular, to return to Quebec. "It is estimated that some 9,000 persons have left Fall River to return to the homeland since the start of the strike [that lasted six months]."45 As a common strategy and thanks to the scientific organization of labor, as well as various technical innovations, the factory owners sought to step up the work pace and, at the same time, increase productivity. Such measures had the noteworthy effect of reducing the number of female workers in the factories, particularly in jobs that taxed their strength. Seeking to replace not only the female workers but also the children in their employ (from 10 to 14 years of age and, later, from 14 to 16), who had been exiled from the factories by more stringent and better enforced labor laws, employers began hiring greater numbers of Polish, Greek, Portuguese and Italian immigrants who, like the French Canadians at the end of the Civil War, were prepared to accept starvation wages and wretched working conditions.46 The existence of an over supply of workers, whose unskilled status precluded their making oversupply, rendered New England much less attractive to French-Canadian workers. Moreover, because of the new child-labor laws, families, most of whose children were under 16 years of age, no longer had any incentive to emigrate.47 As already seen, even if the authors fail to agree as to the exact figures, there is no doubt that French-Canadian immigration declined substantially at the beginning of the twentieth century. Such a phenomenon signifies that, over the years, the number of Franco-Americans born in Quebec and in Acadia continued to decline, whereas the number of those born in the United States continued to grow. The figures compiled by Leon Truesdell are noteworthy: 44. See Philip Thomas Sylvia, op. cit, note 18, 591 and following. 45. "Fall River se depeuple" (Fall River facing depopulation), L'Avenir national, September 16, 1904, 1. 46. Concerning these questions, the reader may be interested in consulting: Bruno Ramirez, "French-Canadian Immigrants in the New England Cotton Industry: a Socioeconomic Profile," Labour/Le Travailleur, Spring 1983,128; Peter Haebler, Habitants in Holyoke. The Development of the French-Canadian Community in a Massachusetts City, 1865-1910, Ph.D. thesis, University of New Hampshire, 1976, 38^0. 47. Peter Haebler, id., 39.

166

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND TABLE 6

Franco Americans of New England born in Canada or born in the United States of one or two French-Canadian parent(s), 1890-1920 Year

Born in Canada

1890 1900 1910 1920

205,741 275,377 278,156 240,385

(61.6%) (53.1%) (45.3%) (38.3%)

Born in the United States 128,014 243,510 335,840 386,769

(38.4%) (46.9%) (54.7%) (61.7%)

Total 333,755 518,887 613,996 627,154

Source: Leon Truesdell, The Canadian Born in the United States, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1944, 77.

Between 1900 and 1910, the number of Franco-Americans grew by 95,109, or 18.3%. However, if those who were born in Canada numbered only 2,779 more, in 1910, than in 1900 (increase of 1%), the number of those born in the United States grew by 92,330 (increase of 37.9%). Over the second decade, the number of Franco-Americans grew by only 2.14% (13,158 persons). Those born in Canada were 13.6% less in number, in 1920, than in 1910, for a decrease of 37,771—which implies many returns to Quebec; and yet, the number of those born in the United States grew by 50,929 (an increase of 15.2%). The Truesdell statistics, based on American census counts, ignored the Franco-Americans of the third and fourth generations, in other words, those born in the United States of parents of French-Canadian origin, who themselves were born Stateside. According to the data furnished by Ralph D. Vicero, they would have numbered approximately 54,000, in 1900. It is certain that they were appreciably more numerous in 1910 and 1920. If their number were taken into account, the percentages of Franco-Americans born in Canada would thus have been less than 45.3% and 38.3% for the years 1910 and 1920. The presence of a greater number of American born FrancoAmericans—a large majority in 1914—and who had elected to make that county their homeland, would necessarily have had major consequences for the evolution of the Little Canadas. Many observers and leaders realized this and raised troubling questions. "If our compatriots are to remain down there forever," queried Abbe Joseph-Adelard-Marie Brosseau, "can we really hope that by becoming increasingly steeped in American life they will be able to retain even a smidgen of their original ethnicity?"48 Accord48. Joseph-Adelard-Marie Brosseau, loc. cit, note 21, 71.

PROGRESS, CRISIS, AND THE SEEDS OF DISSENSION

167

ing to Father Brosseau, their faith was in little danger, but his predictions were much less optimistic concerning the chances of survival for the French language. In his opinion, the assimilators themselves had most delayed the assimilation of Franco-Americans; their attacks had forced the Francos to unite to better defend themselves, a result compounded by the welcome support of fresh arrivals from Canada to swell their ranks. Of course, they vigorously persisted in doing battle with the Irish Episcopate; but what was to happen now that the emigration of French Canadians had come to a virtual halt, spelling the eventual disappearance of persons whose sole language was French? Would not the generation born in the United States and who, more often than not, preferred speaking English, be just as likely to assimilate?49 "What will become of us?" queried a journalist for L'Avenir national. "We will survive if we stand firm, arms at the ready [...]. We must tread in the footsteps of our ancestors, honorable men who never ceased to fight, as best they could, for the respect of our rights" and to defend the patrimony we inherited from our forefathers.50 The fight against the "Irish" Episcopate: new strategies "What will become of us?" "Will we survive?" These cries concluded an anguished assessment of the situation that Franco-Americans were facing in 1913. In his article, the journalist for L'Avenir national pointed out that according to one observer approximately 25% of the Franco-American members of the diocese of Manchester (25,000 out of 100,000), were already assimilated.51 He also affirmed that they tended to assimilate more readily in places where they were deprived of national parishes directed by priests of their own nationality. "Make a tour of all the rural areas and all the smaller parishes in this diocese and you will find an entire generation who have grown up in Irish public schools. These people can neither read nor write French; they speak with a pronounced accent and, worse yet, reluctantly. In all truth, they worry little about having Canadian priests for

49. Id., 72 50. "Que deviendrons-nous?" (What will become of us?), L'Avenir national, November 21, 1913, 4. 51. Ibid. In 1912, D.-M.-Aristide Magnan pointed out that some 200,000 to 300,000 Franco-Americans had become "full-fledged Americans" and, what is even worse, barely 10% of their number had escaped "spiritual ruination." D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit, note 7, 319.

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they would be incapable of understanding them."52 As early as 1891, the Jesuit Hamon had sounded the alarm concerning mixed parishes. The potential danger which that priest foresaw at the time53 would become reality less than 25 years later. In 1913, as that observer noted, there was an urgent need to act. Indeed, the all but full-scale halt of immigration from Quebec, going back more than a decade, meant that each Franco-American who assimilated was a total loss for the cause of survivance since no newcomer would arrive to take his place. Moreover, the militants remained demoralized and somewhat divided by the loss of the many hard battles waged against the "Irish" Episcopate. This was why the article in L'Avenir national ended by a call to arms. A look back in time would appear to be expedient. Franco-American bishops: a vital necessity In the autumn of 1900, the Franco-Americans of the Portland diocese learned that the bishops of the ecclesiastic province of Boston had suggested, in the following order, the names of Fathers Michael Walsh, Edward Hurley and Thomas Wallace to succeed Mgr James Healy, who had died earlier on.54 On October 8, 1900, 18 Francophone pastors wrote to the Prefect of Propaganda. Having first reminded him that 55,000 of the 90,000 Catholics in diocese were Franco-Americans, they advised him of their hope that the Holy See would give them "a bishop in accordance with God's desire and, in every way, able to accomplish the task that will devolve upon him." Then, they noted, with some apprehension, that the terna furnished by Mgr Williams contained the names of priests who, in their view, had not the qualities required to assume the exalted function of bishop.55 On March 14, 1901,117 Franco-American laymen went one step 52. Ibid. 53. "[The Canadians in the mixed parishes]," he wrote, "will become Americans, unless they succeed in forming a separate parish." fidouard Hamon, Les Canadiens-Franfais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (The French Canadians of New England), Quebec, N.S. Hardy Bookseller-Editor, 1891, 115. 54. Letter of John J. Williams, Archbishop of Boston, to Cardinal Ledochowski, APFR, NS, 125 (1901), rubrica 153: fo 255. 55. The French-Canadian priests of the diocese of Portland to Cardinal Ledochowski, October 8, 1900, APFR, NS, 125 (1901), rubrica 153: fo 263-265. Abbe" Narcisse Charland wrote that Thomas W. Wallace spoke no French at all and had always proved to be an enemy of Franco-Americans; that Michael Walsh was a likeable chap, but one who spoke very little French and was seen to be indecisive; that Edward Hurley, for his part, was a born fool. Narcisse Charland to Cardinal Ledochowski, October 19,1900, APFR, NS, 215 (1901), rubrica 153: fo 267 and following.

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further. In their petition to Cardinal Ledochowski, which repeated the criticisms of the 18 pastors with regard to the list prepared by the bishops, they strongly recommended the appointment of Narcisse Charland, pastor of Waterville (Maine).56 Rome settled the issue by designating Mgr WiUiam H. O'Connell. That event was important. For the very first time, the FrancoAmericans, all laymen, were demanding that Rome appoint a bishop of their own nationality. It might be surmised that after the bitter failures at Danielson and North Brookfield, the lay elite of Maine had come to believe that were they to have a bishop of their own nationality, all the problems between them and the religious authorities would be settled straightaway. For indeed, who could imagine that a Franco-American bishop would refuse the creation of national parishes, where they were needed, or hesitate to designate French-Canadian priests in areas where there resided a sufficient number of compatriots or, worst of all, dare to replace a Canadian pastor by an Irish priest! The message was clear: "We want Franco-American bishops." Before long, the opportunity would arise to test the efficacy of the new strategy. Then, in 1903, Mgr Denis Mary Bradley, Bishop of Manchester, died. Shortly before his death, he had refused to grant the Franco-Americans of Franklin Falls a separate parish, even though they numbered 1,500 out of a Catholic population of 1900. The people of Franklin Falls were soon persuaded that a Franco-American bishop would not hesitate to erect the coveted parish. Having first stressed the fact that the Franco-Americans were a majority in the diocese, L'Avenir national suggested addressing a petition to Rome.57 In 1903, a widespread rumor inferred that a new diocese would be created from segments of the archdioceses of Boston and Providence, with an Episcopal See at Fall River. In such event, it was suggested that the time had come to appoint a Franco-American bishop since, as many claimed, the majority of Catholics in the new diocese were of French-Canadian origin.58 The citizens of Fall River favored the 56. APFR, NS, 125 (1901), rubrica 153: fo 351 and following. 57. "Les catholiques du New Hampshire et la vacance du siege episcopal de Manchester" (The Catholics of New Hampshire and the vacancy at the Episcopal See of Manchester), L'Avenir national, December 19,1903,2. See also: Citizens of Manchester to Merry del Val, Secretary of State for the Vatican, November 11, 1902, APFR, NS, 264 (1903), rubrica 153: fo 292 and following. 58. Extract from "L'Independant of Fall River, quoted in "Mgr Guillaume Stang," L'Avenir national, March 14, 1904, 2.

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appointment of Mgr Joseph-Alfred Provost, pastor of Notre-Dame-deLourdes, and addressed the appropriate petitions to the apostolic delegate at Washington. The news from Rome disappointed many: Mgr Bertrand Delaney, of Irish origin, was appointed to serve Manchester, and Mgr Guillaume Stang, born in Germany, became the first Bishop of Fall River. What had happened? The Standing Commission, in whose members all had put faith, had done nothing;59 and, most leaders hesitated to rally round the new strategy. The main stumbling block was that, on the whole, relations with the Episcopate had reached a stalemate. Hardly a month went by without the Franco-American press announcing the creation of new national parishes throughout New England.60 However, the situation changed radically, after 1904, and an outpouring of grievances and acrimonious contentions that returned the hard-liners of survivance to center stage. In the diocese of Manchester, the parish of Franklin Falls remained mixed and the pastor, Irish. The diocese of Portland saw Mgr O'Connell divide the Waterville parish, whose pastor was Narcisse Charland, to create a territorial parish comprising 1,150 Franco-American and only 250 Irish parishioners. Some people spoke of revenge. The Franco-Americans of Maine attributed to Mgr O'Connell the willful intention to suppress the use of French in all diocesan churches. The Bishop denied the charge, but the rumor proved to be persistent. At Fall River, Father James E. Cassidy, chancellor of the diocese, declared in Summer 1905: "The future of the Catholic Church hangs on the assimilation of mores, languages and customs."61 But, it was in the diocese of Hartford that Franco-Americans had the lion's share of reasons to complain. At Meriden and at Willimantic, both essentially Franco-American parishes, Belgian priests were pastors; the situation at Putnam was similar where three-quarters of the parishioners were Franco-Americans; French priests administered the parish of Danielson, which counted two-thirds of Franco-Americans; Irish priests headed the parishes of Jewett City, Baltic, Occum, Moosup, Taftville and 59. The Franco-Americans had donated $400 to the endeavor since 1901. Three years later, ironized Charles-J. Leclaire, we still have about $400 in the bank. "Le comite" permanent" (The standing committee), L'Avenir national, January 8, 1904, 1. 60. In fact, 17 national parishes sprang up between 1901 and 1904. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 190-191, 198. 61. Encore la question des langues" (Again the language issue), L'Avenir national, October 2, 1905, 2.

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Grosvernordale, where French Canadians enjoyed a strong majority.62 Commenting on the politics of the bishops of Portland and Hartford, L'Avenir national wrote: "Fierce persecution has rekindled the dampened energies that smolder in the depths of Franco-American hearts [...]. When peace reigns, we so willingly succumb to the sweetness of a welcome, perhaps too welcome, respite, yet at the first sound of battle [...], the old warrior, goaded by atavism, takes up arms again."63 Simply enumerating such instances may well provide a clearer understanding of the conclusions drawn by the Franco-American elite; but, it cannot be forgotten that those who were involved in each case had endured a painful past, sometimes over long years, with their seemingly endless odyssey continuing to stoke the wrath of the elite, exacerbating their militancy. A more detailed account of the events that marked the parishes of Notre Dame of Newton and Sainte-Anne of Bristol, two such cases, will give credence to their narrative. Notre Dame of Newton In date of April 15,1902, a "committee of French Canadians and Acadians" of the town of Newton (Massachusetts), once again implored the Archbishop of Boston, Mgr John J. Williams, for the umpteenth time, to please release the 200 French-speaking families from the parish Notre Dame of Newton—a mixed parish—and allow them "to found a Canadian parish with a priest who shares their language."64 In that their petition remained unanswered, along with the insult of their having been dismissed offhandedly from the Episcopal palace, in May 1903, the committee members then addressed the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, Mgr Diomede Falconio: "Over the past eight years," they wrote to him, "we have gone to see Archbishop Williams, on several occasions [...]. We have sent him petition upon petition; all have remained unanswered. We have 62. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 199. 63. "Esperons" (Let us take heart), L'Avenir national, November 4, 1905, 2. "There is nothing so potent as persecution to develop strengths, to render poltroons courageous; idlers, energetic; apathetic and indecisive creatures, quick-witted and cunning men." "Les ecoles libres" (Independent schools), [extract from La Tribune], L'Avenir national, January 3, 1014, 5. 64. Joseph Desautels to Mgr John J. Williams, April 15, 1902, ASV, DAUS IX, Boston 21. French Canadians of Newton (1903-1904/1907-1908): fos 25-27. These parishioners have been trying to rally the Archbishop for the past eight years. Joseph Desautels to Mgr John J. Williams, June 20, 1903, earlier note 64, fo 31.

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been asked to be patient; we have persevered and we continue to persevere." Again, the Archbishop never gave them the reason for his refusal, but "we know quite well that it is Father Michael Dolan who is the cause of our problems; he has said, privately and publicly, that for as long as he has breath in his body, the Canadians of Newton will have neither a parish, nor a priest of their race, to serve them." Theirs was a call for justice.65 The Delegate requested and obtained clarifications as to the conduct of Pastor Dolan. In a long letter, the latter individual repeated the words of Mgr Francesco Satolli66 and went on to explain that it was neither necessary nor advisable to satisfy the demands of the Franco-Americans of Newton. Unnecessary, since they enjoyed the services of a curate, Father Kelly, who understood and spoke French; unadvisable, because the Notre Dame parish had need of the financial contribution of all its faithful —including the Franco-American families—to support the schools and maintain the church.67 Approximately one year later, the Delegate replied to the Committee that he was unable to understand why they were complaining; they had a beautiful church, an excellent school and a curate who spoke their language. "More than this you cannot expect."68 Nonetheless, the parishioners of Newton refused to give up the battle. In November 1905, they informed the Delegate that a part of the reality had been kept from him. "If [their priests] have an adequate command of French, they never use it in the pulpit and, in the confessional, we are given penance only, never guidance. That is the sum and substance of the French we have at church; as for the school, our language is simply not taught." And yet, fully half of our citizens "do not speak a word of English."69 In still 65. Clement Frechette and Joseph De"sautels to Mgr Diomede Falconio, September 7, 1903, quoted earlier, note 64: fos 3-6. 66. See supra. 67. Michael Dolan to Mgr John J. Williams, October 14, 1903, Id.: fos 11-12. "If they open a church anywhere in the parish," he wrote, "the people in the vicinity will not pass it to come to our church; our seat money will fall away, and the supports of the school in the same proportion." 68. Mgr Diomede Falconio to Clement Frechette, October 22, 1904, Id.: fo 44. 69. Joseph De"sautels, Simon-A. Leblanc and Honore Desrosier to Mgr Diomede Falconio, November 1905, Id.: fos 40—41. In the interim, no doubt at the request of the latter persons, Archbishops Be"gin, Bruchesi and Duhamel of Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa, respectively, pleaded the cause of the Franco-Americans in general, addressing an emphatic missive to Mgr Falconio to explain why and how it was that the French Canadians of the United States "found in their language one of the most effective safeguards for their faith." Letter from Cardinals Begin, Bruche"si and Duhamel to Mgr Diomede Falconio, September

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another letter, dated February 3, 1906, they asked how it could be explained that "in a parish adjacent to Cochituate, the Canadian pastor had received an order from Mgr Williams to preach every Sunday in English for only 35 Anglophone families, while here we number 200 Francophone families and never is a single word of French spoken to us at church—this amounts to a flagrant injustice in the eyes of the Canadians."70 In May 1908, as they had yet to receive a reply, the Committee members returned to the attack, writing to Mgr Falconio. The latter prelate, who was nearing the end of his patience, asked Mgr O'Connell, successor to Mgr Williams, to examine the petition, then settle the issue once and for all; this he did, first having consulted Father Dolan. The pastor of Notre Dame of Newton recognized that his priests did not preach in French since "the rank and file of the people can follow an English instruction." However, he denied that French was ignored in the schools, "it is taught in our high school [...]. The French children of today, in this parish, know English, and I may say English only, when they come to us. The children do not seem to want to speak French, either at home or at school. This is not our fault." Finally, the pastor contested the statistics produced by the Committee members. "They are arrant hypocrites."71 Mgr O'Connell minced no words in answering the Apostolic Delegate: "It is clear to me that the time has not yet come for a change in the conditions at Newton." He further added that Pastor Dolan was a model priest who enjoyed his full confidence, whereas the Committee members were nothing but troublemakers.72 Sainte-Anne of Bristol In 1901, 1902, 1904 and 1905, various committees, mandated by the French Canadians of Saint Joseph of Bristol—approximately 200 families—approached the Bishop of Hartford, Mgr Michael Tierney, on a number of occasions, asking him to create a national parish and appoint a

23, 1905, Id.: fos 7-9. The Delegate replied to them, stating his belief "that many of these issues are grossly exaggerated, being, for the most part, the work of journalists." Mgr Diomede Falconio to Mgr Thomas Duhamel, September 28, 1905, Id.: fo 10. 70. Id.: fo 43. 71. Michael Dolan to Mgr William H. O'Connell, June 8, 1908, Id.: fos 69-81. 72. Mgr William H. O'Connell to Mgr Diomede Falconio, June 19, 1908, Id.: fo 61.

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priest of their own nationality.73 Their many petitions met with the strenuous opposition of the pastor of Saint Joseph, Abbe T. J. Keena, who pointed out that the creation of a new parish was inadvisable, and indeed, useless. He further maintained that out of 750 parishioners of French-Canadian origin, barely 30 had less than a perfect command of English and that, in any case, "we provided the announcements for them in the French language at all our masses, gave them sermons in French, taught their children that language and looked after their every spiritual need, all with utmost devotion." He added as well that the loss of those parishioners would be very prejudicial to the finances of a parish that had just completed the construction of a school, a convent and a new rectory, hence, one deeply in debt.74 Still and all, after years of hesitation, Mgr Tierney finally agreed to grant the wish of his French-Canadian flock; and so, he authorized the creation of the Sainte-Anne of Bristol parish, but to placate pastor Keena, he authorized him to decide as to the location of the new church.75 Upon learning that Keena had recommended the acquisition of a site in the immediate vicinity of Saint-Joseph's church, hence at a healthy distance from the area where the majority of French Canadians were located, the committee members decided to purchase a better situated piece of land,76 at the same time, informing the Bishop that they wanted nothing to do with the site chosen by their former pastor. In answer, Mgr Tierney advised them that "since they had decided to do exactly as they pleased and buy a piece of land without authorization—[in defiance of canon law]—any possibility of having a new parish and a new pastor was now out of the question."77 Convinced of Pastor Keena's bad faith, the

73. J.-B. Landry, Pierre Allaire and A. Beaudoin to Mgr Michael Tierney, June 2,1905, ASV, DAUS IX, Hartford 54/1. French Canadians of Bristol, Conn. (1906-1907). 74. T.J. Keena to Mgr Michael Tierney, letters dated April 2 and October 16, 1906, ibid. 75. He would appoint Joseph-Philippe Perreault, as pastor of the new parish, on November 13, 1907. 76. Pastor Keena wagered that a certain number of French Canadians, able to speak English, and who were situated halfway between the two churches, would elect to remain at Saint-Joseph's, something they would not do were the new church to be built in their own neighborhood. 77. J.-B. Landry, Pierre Allaire and A. Beaudoin to Mgr Michael Tierney, September 6, 1906, quoted earlier, note 73. The Bishop advised them that they would have their pastor only when they agreed to build the church on the land he had purchased for them on the hill near Saint Joseph's Church.

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parishioners of Sainte-Anne's decided to petition the intervention of the Apostolic Delegate, Mgr Diomede Falconio. The latter prelate took many months to become familiar with every aspect of the issue. And, after much shilly-shally, Mgr Tierney gave him a graphic account of the problem. "There is no immediate danger to souls on account of the absence of a French-Canadian parish and on the other hand there is danger to the prosperity of a long-established parish."78 He reproached the French Canadians for having elected "to locate their church in such a place as to obtain revenue that is justly due and essentially necessary to the support of other parishes."79 On March 1, 1907, Mgr Falconio settled the matter. To begin with, he reminded the Bishop of Hartford that he had formally promised their own parish to the French Canadians of Bristol; then, he pointed out that the piece of land chosen by Father Keena did not meet the needs of the faithful of Sainte-Anne's. Recognizing as well that in purchasing land without the assent of the Bishop, the French Canadians had exceeded their rights—a situation he could not condone—the Apostolic Delegate suggested to Mgr Tierney that he purchase a new and better situated piece of land, having first reached an agreement with the Committee.80 For over a year, the Bishop of Hartford continued to equivocate. He proposed to the Sainte-Anne parishioners various lots located in quite inappropriate places: one of these, situated right beside three railway tracks, was dangerous, noisy and foul-smelling; another opened onto a factory yard; yet another was situated in close proximity to taverns. This turn of events greatly annoyed the Apostolic Delegate who soon began to raise his voice. He informed the Bishop that the Sainte-Anne people were speaking of appealing to Rome, further warning him that it was hardly to his advantage "that a question which depends on your good will for reaching its peaceful settlement should be carried to Rome."81 Tired of resisting, Mgr Tierney asked Mgr Falconio to settle the issue himself; this he did in a few short days, to the immense satisfaction of the French Canadians of Bristol.82 78. Mgr Michael Tierney to Mgr Diomede Falconio, November 12, 1906, ibid. 79. Mgr Michael Tierney to Mgr Diomede Falconio, January 21,1907, ASV, DAUSIX, Hartford, 54/2, Segue (1907-1908). 80. Mgr Diomede Falconio to Mgr Michael Tierney, March 1, 1907, ibid. 81. Mgr Diomede Falconio to Mgr Michael Tierney, letters of May 20 and 27, 1908, ibid. 82. Joseph-Philippe Perreault to Mgr Diomede Falconio, June 13,1908, ibid. The land in question was situated very near the lot they had purchased in 1906.

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For the Franco-American elite, the main purpose of the bishops was clear enough: in a word, assimilation. Because of the influx of FrenchCanadian immigrants in the nineteenth century, the Episcopate had been obliged to bow to circumstances and provide for the needs of their flock by creating national parishes directed by French-Canadian priests. However, many soon realized that that situation hindered the Episcopate, whose members were particularly anxious to construct a strong and integrated Church in the United States. And so, when the bishops gave in to popular demand, they did so reluctantly, as evinced by the incidents involving Notre Dame of Newton and Sainte-Anne of Bristol. They were much more in favor of congregating in the same churches the Catholics who spoke no English and the Anglophones, in order to hasten the assimilation of the French-speaking collectivity. It was hardly surprising therefore that in the mixed and, for the most part, territorial parishes, there was a rapid and inexorable decline in the lifeblood of the Franco-American community. In fact, the elite soon came to fear that the Episcopate of New England was actively seeking to capitalize on the appreciable drop in French-Canadian immigration to accelerate the process of assimilation. Indeed, did this not exactly describe the prevailing situation? In consequence, the elite viewed more and more the appointment of Franco-American bishops as their main bulwark against the peril of assimilation. And, from 1906 to 1909, the Franco-Americans would wage fierce battles to attain that very goal. In January 1906, Mgr O'Connell was promoted coadjutor to the Archbishop of Boston. This news awoke the greatest hopes in the heart of the French Canadians of Maine. "Let the Church give a French-speaking bishop to the French Canadians of Maine," wrote Le Messager of Lewiston, "and, in less than 20 years, we will see in the diocese 50 parishes, with as many churches; we will also see a seminary teeming with great numbers of our own people."83 Almost at once, Le Messager launched a vast publicity campaign emphasizing that the Franco-American Catholics, who represented a majority in the diocese, were entitled to a bishop of their own nationality. Then, on March 13, 1906, the Franco-Americans held a convention at Lewiston where enthusiasm reigned unchecked. All the FrancoAmerican newspapers had reporters in attendance. The participants at that conference seized the opportunity to create a Standing Committee on the national cause, requesting that "if possible" a Franco-American bishop be 83. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 205-206.

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appointed to Portland.84 The Committee begged Mgr Falconio to exercise his prerogatives "to place at the head of the Episcopal See of Portland a man truly of God, not a self-serving person or an intrigant"-, they suggested Abbe Narcisse Charland. "We are aware that many ambitious, wordly, drunken and disreputable priests, as well as those given to gambling, want no part of him; moreover, they will do everything in their power to exclude him from this See."85 Certain leading "patriots," those who were convinced that the Diocesan Council charged with presenting three candidates to the Episcopate were intending to suggest only the names of Irish priests, allowed uncontrolled ire to cloud their interventions. The more moderate militants advocated prudence so as to avoid compromising the main objective. "To struggle has not the same meaning as to revile," one of them contended. "Is it probable, even possible, that the Pope will give credence to complaints that sound like insults"?86 It was in order to avoid the situation getting beyond their control that the Standing Committee secretly dispatched Dr. Jean-Louis Fortier to Rome. The latter individual, who was guided in his efforts by the canonist, Jean-Baptiste Geniesse, was very active in carrying out his mission. During the 54 days he spent in the Eternal City, he met with most of the cardinals; and, on June 16, he was received in private audience by Pius X to whom he submitted a petition exposing the situation his compatriots faced and begging him to grant them a bishop of their own nationality. On March 13, before leaving Rome, he presented to the Holy Father and to the Cardinals of Propaganda a lengthy memoir that examined in greater detail the demands of the Francophone Catholics. In the words of their memoir, the petitioners stressed the "need for a French-Canadian bishop at Portland or an exceptional Irishman, and one so acknowledged, by virtue of his familiarity with the two languages, his missionary spirit and his compas84. It was Father Louis-Alexandre Mothon who, preaching moderation, had the words "if possible" added to the request. Moreover, the Dominicans were accused of opposing, as far as the very portals of Rome, the appointment of a Franco-American bishop, A.-E.-R., "Que faut-il croire?" (What should we believe?), L'Avenir national, July 6,1906,2. 85. "A son Excellence Monseigneur Falconio, delegue apostolique aux Etats-Unis. Petition du Comite permanent" (To his Grace, Monsignor Falconio, Apostolic Delegate to the United States. Petition of the Standing Committee), ASV, DAUS IV, 78/1, Portland, Louis S. Walsh, 1906: fos 65-69. 86. A.-E.-R., "Soyons calmes" (We must remain calm), L'Avenir national, March 6, 1902, 2.

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sion for French Canadians, among other attributes." In such fashion could be repaired the injustice inflicted on the diocese by Mgr O'Connell who was seeking to Americanize his flock "too hastily and without exception." He was reproached for having declared "that the mixed parishes would never have French-Canadian pastors"; for having kept Irish priests in active service in seven French-Canadian parishes, for having declared that the French language was destined to disappear in the United States, and for many other indiscretions. Were his successor to be an Irishman, the Franco-Americans would view that person as the continuator of the O'Connell regime, hence persona non grata. It was widely believed that Charland would prove to be "just the man to regenerate the diocese of Portland." It might be said that some found him too ambitious; but this was an erroneous assertion. However, "if he is deemed to be unacceptable, then, let us have some other French Canadian." The memoir concluded by proposing that if Rome "hesitates to appoint a Canadian," then the Vatican should designate an honorable, nonpartisan delegate to inquire into the situation. "We do not fear any such inquiry, we welcome it; then all will see that we are neither rebels, nor insubordinates, as so many have sought to portray us; all will see as well that the principle which most compels us to act—be we priests or simply righteous folk—is the spiritual welfare of our compatriots and our descendants, alike.87 There were grounds for objection, as Father Geniesse remarked, in that no French Canadian appeared on the terna of the bishops. How could it be otherwise? queried the canonist, who then made the following proposal: "I appreciate that it would be better if the bishops were to choose their own candidate; but there is another alternative: that the Holy See ask those bishops to submit the names of three French Canadians; in this way, all differences will be reconciled."88 Those many endeavors came to naught. In August 1906, Abbe Louis S. Walsh was appointed Bishop of Portland. As a last resort, Jean-Louis Fortier again communicated with Mgr Falconio. He wrote to him stating bluntly that Father Walsh was not that exceptional Irishman whom he had 87. Jean-Louis Fortier, "M£moire adresse au S. Pere et aux Eminentissimes les Cardinaux de la Propagande" (Memoir submitted to the Holy Father and to their Eminences, the Cardinals of Propaganda), July 13, 1906, ASV, DAUS IV, 78/2, Segue il 787 1 (1906-1907): fos 145-155. 88. Letter of J.-B. Geniesse to the Holy Father and to the Cardinals of Propaganda, July 12, 1906, ibid.: fo 143.

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described in his memoir to the Pope, "nor does he correspond to the ideal of the irreproachable priest who will be able to restore peace by ridding our holy religion and our unfortunate parish of the chaos wrought by Mgr O'Connell." After having asked the Delegate to convince the Holy Father not to ratify the appointment of Father Walsh, he concluded by expressing certain premonitions: "If we are forced to accept Father Walsh as our first pastor, we shall respect the bishop's choice, but we shall also continue, with all our might, to combat the assimilator."89 It seems that Fortier's request, which arrived too late, was consigned to oblivion. The Franco-American leaders, who were optimistic as to their chances of obtaining a bishop of their own nationality, failed to see the writing on the wall. More than ever were they convinced that Rome had been deceived by a clever rigging of statistics. In this, they were probably right, since in a letter to Cardinal Gotti, Prefect of Propaganda, in July 1906, Fathers Edward Hurley, Thomas Wallace and M.C. McDonough, diocesan councilors, all, wrote that the Franco-Americans were wrong to maintain that their number exceeded 85,000 compared with 35,000 Irish Americans. "The Francophone population in the diocese could be said to number seventy thousand, but that population, at the very least, is one-third Acadian [...]. The Canadians situate the Anglophone population at thirtyfive thousand, whereas ours is a population of fifty thousand, hence stronger in number than theirs."90 Uneasy, the Roman authorities asked the Apostolic Delegate to clarify the issue. On the basis of the census counts, which considered as American all those who were born in the United States, that prelate replied that the figures advanced by the FrancoAmericans were far too high.91 The leaders were furious. Le Messager, while recommending submission, refused to view the appointment of Mgr Walsh as an unmitigated defeat for the Franco-Americans, seeing it more as a temporary retreat. "The fight continues."92 Indeed, the widespread unrest was as strong as ever. Dr. Fortier wrote to the Saint John the Baptist Union of America: "We 89. Jean-Louis Fortier to Mgr Falconio, September 9, 1906, Id.: fo 132. 90. Letter of Edward Hurley, Thomas Wallace and M.C. McDonough to Cardinal Gotti, July 9, 1906, APFR, NS, 403 (1907), rubrica 153: fo 498. The author's italics. 91 Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "A Passaut des institutions canadiennes-francaises, IV" (Attacking the French-Canadian institutions, IV), La Revue Franco-americaine, 3, 6, October 1909, 400. Laflamme claimed to have obtained this information from absolutely reliable sources.

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must adopt a respectful, but unflinching, attitude towards any man at all whom we know to be an Anglicizes No more retreats. The fierce and dreadful battle has begun; the hour of reckoning is upon us—we must vanquish or perish."93 The journalists, in particular, occupied the vanguard. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, with La Tribune, a Woonsocket daily, convened a congress of newspaper owners at Woonsocket on September 24 and 25, 1906. After a succession of impassioned debates, the participants adopted, in particular, a resolution calling for "bishops of French-Canadian or Franco-American origin in every diocese where the Franco-Americans represent the majority of the Catholic population." And returning to an earlier idea of Dr. Jean-Louis Fortier, they implored the Pope to launch without delay an inquiry "into the unjust situation visited upon FrancoAmerican Catholics in the dioceses of New England."94 The charges of the journalists against the policy on assimilation as adopted by the Episcopate, the petition for an inquiry addressed directly to the Pope, along with its fundamental argument, greatly angered the bishops and alarmed the more moderate Franco-American militants. L'Avenir national attributed the defeat in Maine to the violent press campaign against Mgr O'Connell. "This, we hope, will be a good indication to certain newspaper writers that silence is golden when moderation is sorely lacking in those who would treat religious issues with moderation, civility and fairness."95 The "patriot" leaders were urged to remember that the adversaries were bishops and as such where entitled to every respect and to filial obedience.96 "We will not confuse the obedience we owe to the Bishop with the weakness that makes us kowtow to the assimilator [...]," wrote Laflamme shortly after in La Tribune. "Until we have been rendered justice, we shall remain implacable."97 All this brouhaha produced some measure of success. In Summer 1906, Mgr Bernard Delaney, Bishop of Manchester, died suddenly. Franco92. Kenneth B. Woodbury Jr., "An Incident between the French Canadians and the Irish in the Diocese of Maine in 1906," The New England Quarterly, LX, June 1967, 268. 93. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 5, 210. 94. "Le congres des journalistes" (The Congress of Journalists), L'Avenir national, September 27, 1906, 2. 95. "L'eveque de Portland est nomme" (The Bishop of Portland is appointed), L'Avenir national, August 14, 1906, 1. 96. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, "Dans le monde catholique" (In the Catholic world), L'Avenir national, August 24, 1906, 2. 97. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 213.

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American priests and laymen, alike, earnestly believed that one of their race could well succeed the Bishop, in that the Franco-American Catholics clearly represented the majority in the diocese. However, they adopted a quite different approach than that of their Maine compatriots, an approach that pleased the Apostolic Delegate. With all discretion, three priests—the pastors Isidore-H.-Cyrille Davignon, J.-A. Doucet and Julien Richard—toured the parishes to enumerate the Catholics of the diocese and identify the Francophone majority. Girded by those data which had been "notarized" by J.-A. Boivin, an attorney-at-law, Fathers Davignon and Richard traveled to Washington where they presented a petition to Mgr Falconio, recommending the appointment of Abbe Georges-Albert Guertin, pastor of Sant-Antoine-de-Padoue. The Delegate was indeed pleased with the discrete nature of their mission. After he had reminded them that "Rome was not in the habit of appointing bishops under pressure brought to bear on her by press campaigns," he agreed to submit their petition to the Prefect of Propaganda.98 He appended his own letter whereby he noted: "All things considered, the Reverend Feehan would seem to be the better candidate, unless, in an effort to end the agitation of the French Canadians, you were to decide to assess the Reverend Guertin as a possible candidate; the latter individual, while he does not have the merits of Feehan, seems to me to have done nothing blameworthy."99 In order to appreciate the actual significance of Mgr Falconio's intervention, it is well to remember that although Father Guertin's name figured on an initial list of candidates, the bishops of the Ecclesiastic Province of Boston had ruled out his candidacy, on the grounds that he was unfit to manage a diocese and too involved in the milieu.100 In January 1907, the great news broke: the Reverend Abbe Georges-Albert Guertin had been appointed Bishop of Manchester, on November 18, 1906. All the Franco-Americans went wild with joy. The hard-liners of survivance viewed the appointment of Mgr Guertin as a direct consequence of their battles, hence an encouragement to stick to 98. Adolphe Robert, Memorial des Actes de VAssociation canado-americaine, 18961946 (Chronicles of the Acts of the Canada-American Association, 1896-1946), Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1946, 80. 99. Mgr Falconio to Cardinal Gotti, Prefect of Propaganda, October 27, 1906, ASV, DAUS IV, fascicule 79 (Manchester). 100. His Eminence Cardinal Francesco Satolli. "Relazione con sommario. Sullo nomina del nuevo Vescovo di Manchester" (Summary report. Final appointment of the new Bishop of Manchester), December 1906, APFR, NS, 362 (1906), rubrica 153: fos 613 ro 627 ro.

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their guns. "The popular feeling among Franco-Americans holds that the time has come for them to have their own representatives in the Episcopate, particularly in places where their number constitutes the majority."101 The entire issue remained squarely in the vanguard: Mgr Stang, Bishop of Fall River, Mgr Tierney, Bishop of Hartford and Mgr Michaud, Bishop of Burlington, deceased, respectively, in February 1907, then, in November and December 1908. The Franco-Americans held little hope for the bishoprics of Fall River and Hartford, but they were unable to imagine how they could fail to gain the diocese of Burlington, which numbered at least 50,000 Franco-American Catholics out of 75,000 Catholics of other nationalities.102 "In New England, the Franco-Americans have an indisputable right to three dioceses out of seven—Burlington, Manchester and Portland."103 The Franco-Americans of Vermont favored the appointment of Abbe William-A. Plamondon, pastor of Saint-Antoine of Burlington. In vain, since at the close of 1909, they learned that Abbe Joseph R. Rice, pastor of Northbridge (Massachusetts), had succeeded Mgr Michaud. "From the nationalist standpoint, this was a major setback."104 Faced with their inability to obtain a fair share of the power, a few of their number—Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, in particular,—started to believe in the existence of a plot, "of a well-defined strategy for limiting the French-Canadian influence to the Province of Quebec."105 Could not such 101. "Raisons qui militent en faveur du choix d'un eveque franco-ameiicain a Fall River" (Reasons that strongly promote the appointment of a Franco-American bishop to Fall River). Petition addressed to Rome (in 1907) by the Franco-American Catholics of the Fall-River diocese when it came time to choose the successor of the late Mgr Stang. Text reprinted in La Revue franco-americaine, 2, 1, November 1908, 53. 102. "Le diocese de Burlington" (The diocese of Burlington), L'Avenir national, January 23, 1909, 5. 103. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "Entre parentheses. Une lettre ouverte a M. le chanoine Le Pailleur" (Between brackets. An open letter to Canon Le Pailleur), La Revue franco-americaine, December 2 and 4, 1909, 115. In another article, Laflamme speaks of four out of seven, without specifically naming them. "La question des langues et Tepiscopat dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (The question of languages and the Episcopate in New England," La Revue franco-americaine, 2, 5, March 1909, 333. 104. Jean-L6on Kemmer-Laflamme, "L'eveque de Burlington" (The Bishop of Burlington), La Revue franco-americaine, 4, 4 February 1910, 285. The leaders of the 1'USJBA, who were active in the fight, were incensed on learning that a few Franco-American priests, "turncoats" and "opportunists," were supporting the candidacy of Irish priests. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 5, 234, 240. 105. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "A 1'assaut des institutions canadiennesfrancaises I" (Attacking the French-Canadian institutions I), La Revue franco-americaine, 3,3, July 1909, 170.

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a strategy have been at the root of the absence of Acadian bishops in the dioceses of Saint-Jean and Chatham,106 or of the "Irish" victories at SaultSainte-Marie and London (Ontario), or even behind the loss of Burlington in New England?107 Plot or no plot, there was no mistaking that he appointment of Mgr Rice was a further victory for the "Irish" Episcopate, whose members favored a strong and united Church, one entirely free of nationalist idiosyncrasies. "Here is fresh proof of a growing tendency on the part of the Roman authorities, who attribute any progress in the American church to the dominant influence of the English language"108 For the FrancoAmericans, this was a cruel defeat; here was proof, exception made for the Manchester Affair, that it was delusory to believe that the integrity of the institutional network and, in consequence, the survival of the French fact on American soil, could be assured by the presence of Franco-American bishops. Under those very circumstances, a new strategy had to be contrived, all the more so since—for some considerable time—the bishops, particularly Mgr Walsh of Portland, had been showing every intention of reinforcing their authority over the national parishes and their institutions. The Sole Corporation controversy Shortly after his consecration as bishop, Mgr Walsh appointed an Irish vicar-general, a majority-Irish diocesan council and six irremovable pastors, five of whom were Irish,109 thereby indicating not just a serious lack of diplomacy, but also arrogance and even a will to incite hostility. Some time beforehand, Mgr Falconio, alarmed by the explosive nature of the situation in the Portland diocese, had indeed suggested to Walsh that he appoint a Franco-American vicar-general, while indicating that such was the will of the Congregation of Propaganda.110 The eventual decision to 106. Martin S. Spigelman, "Race et religion — Les Acadiens et la hierarchic catholique irlandaise du Nouveau-Brunswick" (Race and religion — the Acadians and the Irish Catholic hierarchy of New Brunswick), Revue d'histoires de I'Amerique fran$aise, 29,1, 1975, 71-84. 107. Jean-Le"on Kemmer-Laflamme, "A 1'assaut des institutions canadiennesfran9aises" (Attacking the French-Canadian institutions), La Revue franco-americaine, 4, 4, February 1910, 262. 108. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, loc. cit, note 104, 286. 109. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 215. 110. Mgr Diomede Falconio to Mgr Louis S. Walsh, January 9, 1907, ASV, DAUS IV, 78/2. Segue il 78/1 (1906-1907): fo 176.

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again divide the Saint-Fran9ois-de-Sales parish into a tiny Franco-American parish and a large territorial parish, called Sacred Heart, angered even further the Franco-Americans, since it forced hundreds of them to become members of a parish where English predominated. "This was the beginning of a reign of terror and despoliation," wrote Jean-Leon KemmerLaflamme.111 In the Franco-American parishes of Dexter, Caribou, Farmington, South Brewer, Orono, South Berwick and Sanford, Mgr Walsh imposed or maintained "Irish pastors"112. Adding insult to injury, the Bishop next undertook to establish stricter diocesan control over parochial institutions and finances. And so, at his order, the Franco-American pastors of the diocese were forbidden to attend the examinations of their pupils. The "Irish" inspectors thus visited the parochial schools without the pastors, according little importance to the French disciplines, all the while imposing an ever greater proportion of English-language books.113 "Compatriots," wrote Le Messager in January 1907, "we must be vigilant. The enemy is in our schools, ready to take away our language and to Saxonize us."114 Laflamme even called the "mitred assimilators" bad Catholics.115 On June 24, the Waterville Congress condemned "the absolutism wrought upon our parochial primary schools by the diocesan authorities," calling for lay participation in the administration of parochial property so as to check the Bishop's centralizing appetites.116 Acting as though he agreed with their interpretation of reality, in 1909 Mgr Walsh asked the parishioners of Saint-Joseph of Biddeford to allow the diocese to purchase the convent which belonged to the Sisters of Charity. The parishioners saw this as a ruse devised by the Bishop to legally acquire the building so as to evict the French-Canadian nuns, replacing them by Irish nuns: they refused. Some time later, Mgr Walsh ordered the pastor to dip into the parish funds to pay his share of the diocesan collection, putting pressure on him to expedite the parish debt. Finally, the 111. Jean-Le"on Kemmer-Laflamme, "Assimilation et religion dans 1'fitat du Maine" (Assimilation and religion in the State of Maine), La Revue franco-americaine, 7, 3, July 1911, 193. 112. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "Assimilation et religion dans 1'fitat du Maine II" (Assimilation and religion in the State of Maine II), La Revue franco-americaine, 7, 4, August 1911,295-297. 113. Alexandre Goulet, Une Nouvelle-France en Nouvelle-Angleterre (A New France in New England), Paris, Librairie de jurisprudence ancienne et moderne, 1934, 131. 114. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 5, 218. 115. Id., 220.

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Bishop also ordered a pan-diocesan collection "for the orphans of the diocese" fixing the amount each parish was expected to donate. The Franco-American leaders of Maine realized with much apprehension that in virtue of the Sole Corporation system in force in the state, not only did the Bishop hold in trust all the assets of the diocese, he could also dispose of them as he saw fit. Worse still, he had no obligation to solicit the consent of the parties concerned, and could even use monies collected for a Franco-American parish to improve the lot of an Irish parish. "They made the dreadful discovery that after forty years captive to all manner of sacrifices, after having built three-quarters of the institutions in their diocese, they possessed therein neither an iota of land, nor in their churches, a single nail; and, of the thousands of dollars they contributed each year, they were given no accounting. Then too, if they refused to give to a specific charity (diocesan) [...], the Bishop would take the money mandatorily from the parish fund."117 They further discovered that even in the national parishes, considered to be strongholds, real power eluded them. At that point, the militants decided to seize the power which they held to be theirs. Since they realized that the bishops would not give in to their demands without a fight, an audacious act was seen to be imperative. Ought they apply to Rome? No, said the most radical of their number. "The Franco-Americans of Maine have already journeyed to Rome, from whence they returned with even heavier hearts and several thousand dollars lighter."118 Be that as it may, in due course, the leaders of the movement came to believe that they had found a loophole. Reunited in congress, at Brunswick, October 4 and 5, 1909, they instructed the Standing Committee for survivance, which had been resurrected at the time of the Waterville Congress, to apply to the legislature of the State of Maine to have the law repealed. They wanted to replace the Sole Corporation by parish corporations, as these existed in the Province of Quebec and in certain American dioceses. Under this system, parishioners, in conjunction with their pastor, elected three receivers to administer parochial assets. In the wake of that resolution, many Franco-Americans sensed that the 116. Id., 221. The Congress even went so far as to demand the division of the diocese of Portland "with a Franco-American bishop for the Franco-Americans." 117. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, loc. cit., note 110, 193. 118. Jean-L6on Kemmer-Laflamme, "Nos compatriotes du Maine" (Our compatriots of Maine), La Revue franco-atnercaine, 6, 4, February 1911, 300.

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Brunswick Congress had at last found an effective way to resist the bishops intent upon assimilation.119 In the ensuing euphoria, many came to believe that the reform could go even further, particularly in regard to the parochial schools, where parents had virtually no role to play in hiring teachers or in supervision and management. In reality, since schools existed for different reasons than did churches, sacristies, rectories or cemeteries, the parental right to participate in matters pertaining to the school could well be greater than that of parishioners over parochial assets. The solution suggested was that a school board would be elected to assist the pastor and to handle all school matters, except for religion. "In this way, we shall see disappear certain blatant abuses that spring up everywhere in the dioceses shackled by the rule of assimilation, where pastors, more American than priest, have presumed to banish from the schools the language of the very people who having first erected those institutions, now maintain them out of their own pocket."120 On March 7, 1911, Godfrey Dupre, a Biddeford attorney-at-law, presented a bill to the Legal Affairs Committee of the legislature. When he submitted the petitions of 750 signatories, gathered by Le Messager and La Tribune of Biddeford, he took care to affirm that he was in no way attacking the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop. "I criticize only the administration of church officials on the vital issue of property rights."121 Dupre was invoking the principle "No taxation without representation." The Bishop himself testified before the Committee. And, since he was able to bring before it a number of bankers who maintained that the parish corporations, taken separately, would be much less solvent than the Sole Corporation, he easily won the day. The Committee retaliated with a hostile report; however, the law was not repealed. A widespread uproar followed almost immediately. "We must cut them off; refuse to give them so much as a red cent," retorted Alfred Bonneau in La Justice,122 who also qualified Mgr Walsh as a "tyrant," a "barbarous assimilator" and a "Francophobe."123 Not one penny more 119. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 5, 239. 120. D.-M.-Aristide Magnan, op. cit., note 7, 337-338. 121. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 259. His defense is reproduced in installments, as of September 1911, in La Revue franco-americaine. 122. Ibid. 123. Michael Guignard, La foi — la langue — la culture (Faith — language — culture). The Franco-Americans of Biddeford, Maine, s. 1., s. ed., 1982, 105.

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for building projects or for the Bishop's good works. In May 1911, Mgr Walsh also retaliated by laying under an interdict the six members of the Standing Committee for the nationalist cause, "on account of the ignominious scandal imputable to their many words and deeds in recent attacks against all of the authority, the property and the law of the Church in the diocese of Portland."124 He even refused to allow Catholic funeral rites for Dr. Jean-Louis Fortier who died shortly thereafter. That decision aroused very strong feelings, making headlines in all the Francophone newspapers of New England and Quebec, since Dr. Fortier, who had always been in the vanguard of every battle, was beloved by all. At that point, calls for moderation and submission alternated with calls to battle. A congress was convened for June 7 at Biddeford, at which 368 delegates, representing every corner of Maine, participated. The debates were stormy. Unanimously, the delegates voted for "a fresh appeal to the Legislature, to the Civil Courts and to the Papal authorities, as circumstances may well require."125 On August 10, Rome, whose respondents had consulted with the American bishops, settled the question. The Sacred College of the Council indicated, by decree, their preference for the system of parish corporations rather than the Sole Corporation. The word "Victory" became the rallying cry throughout Quebec and New England. "Mgr Walsh has sown the wind," wrote L'Opinion publique of Worcester, "now he shall reap the cyclone and that is just what he deserves."126 However, the victory cry came too early. Soon enough it became clear that Rome was recommending the system in force in the State of New York, one that left the management of religious funds to parish corporations composed of the bishop, his vicar general, the pastor and two parishioners appointed by the first three. This system was obviously far removed from its Canadian counterpart and the bishop's control remained absolute, appearances to the contrary. The news had a cold-shower effect on Franco-American circles; especially since it almost coincided with the appointment to the cardinalate of Mgr O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston, with whom the Franco-Americans of Maine had already had more than one run-in. "Will the Sovereign Pontiff ever hear our cries of distress and our supplications."127 The people of 124. 125. 126. 127.

Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 256-257. Id., 262. Id., 269. Id., 270.

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Maine were disappointed, discouraged and weary of fighting. Nonetheless, Kemmer-Laflamme attempted to see something positive in the Vatican's decision, which brought, he alleged, "not a definitive solution, but progress in drafting a law that will render full and entire justice."128 In February 1913, the more militant among them decided to return before the legislature to call again for the abolition of the Sole Corporation. Because they had been compromised, the legislators voted a project similar to the system then in force in the State of New York and also approved by Rome. The Franco-Americans of Maine had lost the battle. Discourse on change The die-hard militants of survivance firmly believed that the bishops were in large part responsible for actively assimilating tens of thousands of their compatriots. Nonetheless, even if all the battles so ardently waged to counter their assimilating purposes had ended in victory rather than defeat, would assimilation have been checked? Indeed, the radicals themselves began to entertain serious doubts as to the possibility of that outcome. In fact, the national parishes that were directed by patriot priests were moving away from the original model: gradually, young people were becoming increasingly Anglicized, hence, Americanized, and the number of people deserting the Franco-American institutions continued to grow. The debates in which the elite were engaged during the last years of the nineteenth century intensified as attitudes became increasingly entrenched. The halt in immigration, along with the socioeconomic transformations in New England, influenced opinion about change. The radicals, viewing Anglicization and Americanization as a mortal threat to the realization of their dreams, dearly wanted to check that tendency; the moderates, for their part, saw that adapting the national parish and its institutions to the new reality was a better way to achieve nationalist objectives. Still others, recognizing the will of their compatriots to become Americans above all else, began to speak of more radical changes. Here, it will be useful to contemplate the transformations under way in the Little Canadas to better understand the positions adopted by the elite.

128. Id., 269.

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Anglicization All observers were aware of the fact that use of the French language was declining appreciably among the Franco-Americans born in the United States or, for that matter, in those who had arrived in New England at an early age—a reality that was hardly surprising. For young people, French was first and foremost a means of communication with their elders and with newcomers from Quebec. However, with the virtual halt of immigration and the passage of time, the need to use the mother tongue had gradually fallen into decline. For obvious reasons, this decline was most notable in the mixed parishes. The phenomenon was equally apparent in states that had been deprived for some time of new recruits, such as Vermont, or in states whose population included scant numbers of Franco-Americans, like Connecticut. One observer from Meriden, Connecticut, wrote in La Justice of Biddeford that a considerable number of young people were loath to speak French,129 even at home; this last reality was confirmed by a collaborator with L'Union, who wrote, "So many families have I visited where the children speak nothing but English, even within the four walls of their own home."130 The parents answered them in French, which made Dr. Bedard remark: "The use of the two languages spoken alternatively by the parents and the children is so frequent that this is no longer an anomaly."131 Reference to the typology of Calvin J. Veltman reveals that the youth in those regions had reached a stage of "English bilingualism": they had made English their regular language, relegating French to the status of second language. Many of them even believed that abandoning the French language was the only recourse for those who had elected to become Americans hoping to profit to the fullest extent from the advantages offered by the American way of life. In consequence, those young people were easy prey to assimilation and to "international wedlock"132 The situation was obviously less critical in the national parishes of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where French 129. "Saint-Laurent de Meriden, Conn. Une vieille paroisse fran^aise menacee d'assimilation" (Saint-Laurent of Meriden, Conn. An old French parish threatened by assimilation), quoted in L'Avenir national, April 15, 1912, 4. 130. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 5, 217. 131. Armand Be"dard, "La langue francaise dans la famille et dans les relations sociales aux fitats-Unis" (The French language in the family setting and in social relations in the United States), L'Avenir national, July 6, 1912, 4. 132. "Saint-Laurent de Meriden..." (Saint-Laurent of Meriden...), loc. cit., note 129,4.

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was the usual, the single or the predominant tongue. Many Franco-Americans, particularly, homemakers, remained unilingual Francophones. But there was no room for illusions, since no one, especially among the youngest members of the population, was safe from the many pressures exerted by the milieu. Indeed, according to the best informed observers, the number of those who expressed themselves correctly in both languages was growing with the passage of time, and a substantial minority of them were tending to leave the parochial institutions. For them, English was gradually supplanting French as the language normally used outside the home and the church. The indifference of young people to the French language distressed the elite. Their initial reaction was anger at those who refused to speak French, even among Franco-Americans, and who took great pride in their use of English, even believing that it made them superior to their compatriots.133 They also ridiculed the mania of more and more young people for peppering their sentences with English words. And, as Father Leon Lamothe, o.m.i., wrote, "I would rather hear a compatriot use poorly articulated French than any French that is no more than a hideous hodgepodge of Yankee rubbish [...]. Better we dress in our own rags than steal those that belong to another."134 Tensions rose among the elite over the best attitude to adopt. "This French language, we must preserve it at whatever cost [...]. And even though that loyalty to our language exposes us to relative poverty, even though it hinders us in our dangerous, albeit desired quest for material progress, we must not hesitate one instant to fulfil our duty."135 Those who wanted no part in alienating the young, thus wished to be more placatory, or who even suggested introducing more English into the parish fabric, were constantly reminded that every day brought the same youngsters "a thousand and one opportunities to learn English and an equal number of occasions to forget French."136 Those, like Abb£ Hormidas Hamelin—still 133. "La question scolaire" (The school issue), L'Avenir national, September 2, 1909, 4; A.-E.-R., "Les assimilateurs" (The assimilators), L'Avenir national, May 12, 1906, 2. 134. Leon Lamothe, "Petite chronique" (For the record), Bulletin paroissial francoamericain de Lowell, July 1910, 41. 135. Napoleon Gilbert, "La langue fran9aise aux fitats-Unis" (The French language in the United States), L'Avenir national, May 10, 1913, 4. 136. Joseph Monette, "L'education par les cercles litte'raires" (The literary circles as purveyors of education), [speech given at the Springfield Convention in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (dir.), Historique des conventions generales des Canadiens-Franfais aux £tats-Unis,

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exceptions—who dared affirm that the doctrine "he who loses his language, loses his faith" was anachronic and that it was quite possible to be "as much an American Catholic as a Canadian Catholic,"137 were enjoined to examine the lessons of history. "If that theory strikes you as a tad dangerous, just open your modern history of the United States! Take a look at the facts, the statistics. What do you see?" Millions of immigrants, fervent Catholics, who arrived in the United States, who learned English and then mixed with American Protestants or atheists, and soon became themselves Protestants or atheists.138 Some observers felt that the Franco-Americans had reached a turning point in their history. Was it possible to halt the Anglicization process? The elite held that for the mixed parishes there was but one solution—to transform them into national parishes. But the French characteristics of the latter could be assured only by preserving the integrity of their institutions and by inculcating in the young strong feelings of pride in their origins. "Only a sure knowledge of history can save our race, our language and our faith. Our parochial school should be teaching our history; and every Franco-American family should be reading and rereading that history without cease."139 The young Franco-American was expected to know all the "marvelous and heroic events which had coincided to forge the French-Canadian race;"140 he had to be aware that it was his ancestors who were the first to tread upon the soil that he now inhabited; that tens of thousands of them had shed their blood for the greater glory of the American flag; indeed, he was expected to forget nothing of the Franco1865-1901 (History of the General Conventions of French Canadians in the United States, 1865-1901), Woonsocket, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America, 1927, 442. 137. Hormidas Hamelin, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs on une paroisse francoamericaine (or a Franco-American parish), s.l., s. ed., 1916, 88. 138. A.-E.-R., "La langue et la religion" (Language and religion), L'Avenir national, October 21, 1905, 2. 139. "Etudions notre langue" (We must study our language), Le Canado-Americain, December 30, 1903, 5. 140. "L'histoire du Canada dans nos ecoles" (The history of Canada in our schools), L'Avenir national, August 29,1902,2. The teaching of Canadian history was often problematic for children. Elmire Boucher underscored that fact: "It was confusing! When American wars were mentioned, such and such a general would have won a war. Later on, in Canadian history, we learned that he had lost that same war. He won in one place, then lost in the other. We were also confused about dates." Quoted in Jacques Rouillard, Ah les £tats! Les travailleurs canadiens-franc,ais dans I'industrie textile de la Nouvelle-Angleterre d'apres le temoignage des derniers migrants (Ah the States! French Canadian workers in the textile industry of New England, as witnessed by the last migrants), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1985, 95.

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American past. He would also learn that only 40 years earlier "every man, woman and child knew no other path than the one that led to the factory" and that since that time, in spite of every possible obstacle, his elders had advanced in extraordinary fashion.141 What finer way to stimulate pride in one's origins than to celebrate with dignity the feast of Saint John the Baptist, the one great day when, each year, "the entire nation rises up in a body to affirm a shared faith in our very existence."142 Forsaking the Franco-American institutions The parochial school The majority of Franco-Americans were proud of the parochial schools and had no difficulty adapting to their role as an integral component of parish life. In the last years of the nineteenth century, many parents had enjoined the schools to place greater emphasis on teaching English; to their immense satisfaction, this was in fact, accomplished. For the most part, the parochial schools had become bilingual with classes given in French, every morning, and in English, every afternoon.143 Still and all, a minority of parents, and their number continued to grow, persisted in sending their children to the public school. As an example of that phenomenon, in the Saint-Joseph of Lowell parish, 368 children were enrolled in the public school, in 1911, compared to 1,960 in the parochial school, representing 15.8%.144 A great many parents were deciding in favor of public schools for their children simply because they were convinced that this was how best to prepare them for life in the United States; and of equal or perhaps greater import, tuition fees were nonexistent in the public system. The children for their part, were happy to spend one hour less each day in the classroom.145 141. Fran9ois-Xavier Belleau, "Notre situation religieuse; ce qu'elle est; ce qu'elle devrait etre; mesures a prendre pour I'ameliorer" (Our religious situation, what it is; what it should be; measures to be taken to improve it), [speech given at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. tit., note 136, 479. 142. A.-E.-R., "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste" (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day), L'Avenir national, June 22, 1901, 2. 143. See J.-A. D'Amours, Saint-Mathieu de Central Falls (Saint-Mathieu of Central Falls), Quebec, Imprimerie de L'Action Sociale Ltee, 1917, 115-120. The author provides therein the detailed program dispensed by Saint-Mathieu School. 144. Rapport paroissial pour 1'annee 1911" (Parish report for the year 1911), Bulletin paroissial franco-americain de Lowell, February 1912, 459. 145. The parochial-school pupils were obliged to follow the same public-school program along with French classes.

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Of course, the elite were distressed to see the parochial schools deserted. Pointing out that better than a third of Franco-American children were attending non-confessional schools, a journalist with L'Avenir national wrote: "What is the use in boasting of having schools in almost all our Franco-American parishes? Before the end of the next quarter century, we shall have the painful obligation of counting the defections by hundreds of thousands."146 How to stanch that which some, in the absence of immigration, considered not unlike a hemorrhage? The strategy implemented by the hard-liners of survivance was simple enough. The main idea was to vilify the partisans of public schools, to attribute to that institution all the evils of society and to vaunt the superiority of the parochial schools. And this they did, from the remove of the pulpit, in the press and from every tribune available to their purpose. Most pastors reminded parents tirelessly that they were not free to send their children indiscriminately to the Catholic or the public school, whichever, and "to make them indifferent to religion or even irreverent."147 Failing a dispensation from the Bishop, they had the moral obligation to send them to the parochial schools. Pastor Hormidas Deslauriers, of the SaintAntoine parish of New Bedford, affirmed that "in certain dioceses, confessors were even ordered to refuse absolution to those parents who were guilty of sending their children to the public institutions."148 Parents of that stripe, retorted Father Henri C. Watelle, o.m.i., "destroy religion and almighty God in the soul of their children [...]. In truth, they are committing apostasy. And God knows that I do not exaggerate [...]. Of the one thousand of our children attending public schools, not even fifty go to confession as little as four times a year"149 Such children are the product of schools "where the name of Christ is banished and where religious 146. A Canado-American, "La questions scolaire" (The school issue), L'Avenir national, January 24, 1914, 4. 147. Hormidas Hamelin, op. cit, note 137, 243. 148. "Nouvelles des centres — New Bedford, Mass." (News from the region — New Bedford, Mass.), [extract of a sermon pronounced August 27, 1911], L'Avenir national, August 30, 1911, 3. 149. Henri C. Watelle, "Quelques lignes dont chaque mot doit etre lu, relu, medite, pese, mis en pratique" (Of these few lines, each word must be read, reread, meditated upon, weighed and put into practice), Bulletin paroissial Franco-Americain, September 1910, 1. "Does this single fact not suffice," added Father Pierre Brulard, o.m.i., "to pronounce in terms stronger than in any speech of the vital need to preserve the Catholic school." Pierre Brulard, "Chronique paroissiale, September 15 to October 15: children and confession," ibid.

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indifference and materialism reign supreme."150 "Is it any surprise that in the United States such phenomena as divorce, strikes, suicide and the exploitation of the poor by the rich have become commonplace?" "Those many tribulations are engendered by the non-confessional school."151 Sending one's children to the public school was viewed as tantamount to becoming an assimilator. For, "what will become of the French language at the public school, an institution where French is not simply ignored, worse, it is opposed, more or less surreptitiously?" Speaking nothing but English would spell the loss of all desire to speak French.152 To justify their decision, some parents invoked the superior education dispensed by the public schools. An error, retorted many, including a number of influential politicians. In fact, a representative of the NewHampshire State Legislature, a certain M. Buffum, recognized that pupils, graduates of public schools, were usually ignorant, weak in mathematics and dunces in American history and that, rather than hiring them, employers turned more readily to their parochial-school counterparts.153 Moreover, as Pierre L'Heureux noted aptly in his excellent Master's dissertation on the subject: "That individual's criticism of the public school represents, oddly enough, a specific way of defining the parochial school. It is easy to understand that by depicting the public school in all its worst aspects, either real or imagined, and then by resorting to a shrewd comparison, interested parties were better able to highlight the finer qualities of a religious and ethnic instruction."154 Emphasizing the pressing need for parochial schools, while praising their superiority, represented the second tier of the radicals' strategy. Relentlessly, they hammered away on exactly what constituted the FrancoAmerican school and its role. For most people, that institution was the soul of parish life. In the shadow of the church steeple, Franco-American 150. "Les subventions aux ecoles" (School subsidies), L'Avenir national, April 16, 1902, 2. 151. "Le socialisme & 1'ecole " (Socialism in the schools), L'Avenir national, December 26, 1913, 4. 152. "L'e"cole sans Dieu" (School without God), Le Canado-Americain, June 3,1903,2. 153. "Les e"coles publiques" (Public schools), L'Avenir national, April 2, 1909, 2. 154. Pierre L'Heureux, Etudes des fonctions de survivance ethno-religieuse et d'integration sorio-culturelle d'une institution ethnique aux £tats-Unis. Le cas des ecoles paroissiales catholiques franco-amtricaines de Manchester, N.H., 1900-1940 (A Study of the functions of ethno-religious survivance and socio-cultural integration as these affected an ethnic institution in the United States. The case of the Franco-American Catholic parochial schools of Manchester, N.H., 1900-1940), M.A. dissertation, UQAM, 1994, 82.

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youngsters were attending the parochial school to learn how to pray, think and live as Christians, as well as to love and perpetuate the language and traditions of their elders. The school was the one environment where religion was all-pervading and where French took the lead. And, as a journalist with L'Avenir national concluded, rather awkwardly, "the more children we have attending the Franco-American parochial schools, the more often those same children will be saved eternally and nationally."155 The moderate militants did not believe that so many fine words were enough to stop the abandonment of the parochial schools. To win over parents, those schools had no choice but to become more competitive, more fit to assure that children would not be penalized upon their admission to public high schools. This feat could be accomplished, certain parties declared, only if we take inspiration from the very excellent publicschool system.156 Of course, this meant improving English courses and adapting programs to the American fact. "Second to religious instruction, the most important mission now incumbent on our schools is to give children an education that will allow them to earn an honorable living,"157 thereby enabling them to become good American citizens. Imitating the public school meant above all rendering the parochial school cost free, in other words, abolishing the monthly stipend required for each child. For, as La Tribune of Woonsocket wrote, "Many hundreds of our youngsters are attending public schools because their parents were tempted by the cost-free education offered to them." And L'Independant of Fall River further added, "La Tribune is right, a thousand times right. Large numbers of our children are attending public schools because those schools cost indigent parents nothing."158 To establish a cost-free system, it was proposed that the parish take over the expenditures of the parochial school and that all adult parishioners, with or without school-age children, 155. Jean Le Canadien, "Y a-t-il conspiration contre les enfants franco-americains?" (Is there a conspiracy against Franco-American children?), L'Avenir national, October 7, 1913, 4. 156. "L'education" (Education), [speech pronounced by Gedeon Archambault at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau, op. cit, note 136, 431. 157. Louis-E. Cadieux, "L'enseignement du francais dans les centres canadiensfran9ais de la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (French instruction in the French-Canadian centers of New England), First Congress on the French language in Canada, Quebec 1912, Memoirs, Quebec, Imprimerie L'Action sociale Ltee, 1914, 256. 158. Quoted in "La gratuite scolaire" (Tuition-free schools), L'Avenir national, October 2, 1913, 4.

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contribute to its maintenance. There was but one documented instance where words did give way to actions, namely in the Lynn Massachusetts parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where the pastor, Jean-Baptiste Parent, actually enjoined certain more zealous female members of his parish to take up a door-to-door collection of voluntary contributions for that purpose.159 At the time, many others spoke of acting in like fashion. Pastor Davignon, of Sainte-Marie of Manchester, considered asking all those who were obliged to work on statutory holidays to give him half of the money they earned on those days. He believed that this was how he could raise the $10,000 he needed.160 Elsewhere, pastors were advised that it would be far better to have cost-free schools "than sumptuous altars within gilded churches."161 Some spoke of petitioning the state. "Why are we forced to maintain, at our expense, separate schools when, as American citizens, we are already supporting the public schools? Is this not a flagrant injustice?"162 The opposition of the pastors put an end to all those endeavors. The opponents invoked the overriding principle of parental responsibility. "If parents are truly incapable of fulfilling this duty, private or public charity must see to it." There was no question of soliciting state assistance or of having all the parents in the parish share the financial burden.163 For as one of them pointed out: "As most of our parishes have barely left the cradle, every opportunity, such as social gatherings, bazaars and collections, are being utilized to cover all administrative costs and to pay contracted debts or, at the very least, the interest on those."164 That same individual also made it clear that there was little possibility of scaring up more money from parishioner pocketbooks without prejudicing the greater interests of the parishes. Since the clergy did not believe in the possibility of establishing cost-free schools, nor that such a system could 159. "Honneur au merite" (Honour by merit), L'Avenir national, March 4, 1907, 2. 160. "M. le cur6 Davignon va e"tablir la gratuite scolaire a S. Marie" (The Reverend Pastor Davignon is going to establish tuition-free schools at Sainte-Marie), L'Avenir national, January 26, 1914, 6. 161. "La question n'est pas enterreV' (The question is still alive), L'Avenir national, December 20, 1913, 4. 162. A.-E.-R., "Nos ecoles publiques" (Our public schools), L'Avenir national, July 13, 1906, 2. 163. "Lettre de M. Y... ptre" (Letter of M. Y.... parish priest) [October 22,1913], in "Les e"coles franco-ame"ricaines" (The Franco-American schools), L'Avenir national, January 24, 1914, 4. 164. "Lettre de M. X... ptre" (Letter of M.X.... parish priest) [October 20, 1913] in ibid.

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effectively stanch the exodus of Franco-Americans towards public schools, "why bother discussing the issue," concluded wearily La Tribune of Woonsocket.165 A more audacious initiative on the part of some Franco-American leaders also provoked sharp tensions between the radicals and the moderates. In August 1913, Hector Belisle was appointed superintendent of the public schools of Fall River, to the immense satisfaction of La Gazette of that same city. The newspaper also noted that despite all the efforts thus far expended, masses of children continued to attend the public schools ; hence, they opined, would it not be incumbent on the pastors to supervise those institutions and to take an active part in choosing teachers, as well as in selecting teaching methods and manuals? In order for them to have a say in the matter, might it not be advisable that they be represented on all school boards by high-principled, loyal Catholics?166 Such precedent is reprehensible and dangerous, retorted L'Avenir national and La Tribune. "If the Church condemns non-confessional schools [...], ordinary common sense and rudimentary logic preclude Catholics assuming their direction."167 "Should Franco-Americans assume the direction of schools, could this not reassure even the most ardent patriots? Or worse yet, would we not see, subsequent to those successes, the parochial schools deserted en masse for the public schools?"168 Secondary schools and colleges Very few young Franco-Americans attended school beyond the primary level. At Manchester, where they represented 40% of the population, barely 1% of them were attending high school in 1908.169 At Holyoke, in 1909, only four high school graduates out of 105 were Franco-Americans.170 Obviously, these figures do not depict the entire reality since, each year, 165. "Nouvelle explication" (A fresh explanation), [extract of La Tribune], in L'Avenir national, October 27, 1913, 4. 166. "A propos d'une election" (About an election), [extract of La Gazette of Fall River], in L'Avenir national, August 14, 1913, 4. 167. "La commission scolaire de Manchester" (The Manchester School Commission), L'Avenir national, December 5, 1914, 6. 168. "Les notres et l'e"cole publique" (Our people and the public school), [extract of La Tribune], in L'Avenir national, August 12, 1913, 4. 169. Eileen McAuliffe Kanzler, Processes of Immigration: the Franco-Americans of Manchester, New Hampshire, 1875-1925, Ph.D. thesis, Illinois State University, 1982, 157. 170. Peter Haebler, op. cit, note 46, 230.

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hundreds of young people enrolled in the colleges and convents of Quebec and Acadia to pursue graduate studies;171 moreover, hundreds of others were enrolled in the academies, the commercial colleges and the FrancoAmerican boarding schools of New England. This situation worried many and provoked fierce debates. A question of paramount importance, one that had been widely debated over the nineteenth century, divided the elite: who would take over from the combatants for survivance? To assure the continuance, would they have to rely entirely on Quebec and Acadia or had they reached the stage where it was imperative to endow New England with a classical college? In 1901, at the Springfield Convention, many prominent persons had advocated the latter option.172 Their project garnered numerous supporters, but it also encountered resolute adversaries. In the Province of Quebec, it was feared that the home colleges and convents would be deprived of a most useful clientele. In New England, the pastors originating from Quebec dreaded that such a trend might make it more difficult for them to recruit gifted young Franco-Americans for their alma mater. Abbe £lie-J. Auclair, Professor of Literature at the College of Sherbrooke, led the fight. In an article that had appeared in 1903 in La Revue canadienne, he collected the arguments of the French Canadians and the Franco-Americans who opposed the project. You must turn towards Quebec, he wrote, to nurture "your thinkers, your leaders of men and your priests," for there "flows the sap of a truly Canadian life that nourishes French and Catholic values in America."173 Since building the college would cost at least $100,000, without counting operating costs,174 was it not more reasonable to believe, as did both Pastor Joseph-Alfred Prevost, of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes of Fall River, and Pastor Joseph Brouillette, of Worcester, that the project was premature and virtually impracticable?175 Would it not be advisable to first complete the parochial171. More precisely 1,609, from 1900 to 1904 and 2,398, from 1910 to 1914. Robert G. Leblanc, "A French-Canadian Education and the Persistence of La Franco-Americanie," Journal of Cultural Geography, 8, 2, spring/summer 1988, 59. 172. See chapter 3. 173. Elie-J. Auclair, "Un college classique dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (A classical college in New England), Revue canadienne, 1903, XLV, 386. 174. This is the opinion offered by Mgr Joseph-Alfred PreVost in a letter to JeanGeorges LeBoutillier, Editor ofL'Avenir national. "Un college classique" (A classical college), L'Avenir national, September 29, 1903, 2. 175. Elie-J. Auclair, loc tit. note 173, 381.

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school network? Then too, how would the diocesan authorities of New England react to such a project? Would it not be wiser to wait until the Holy See appointed a Franco-American bishop who would be able to direct and, if necessary, protect such an institution?176 For these many reasons, concluded Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, in La Tribune of Woonsocket, on September 18, 1903, this project is nothing more "than a pipe dream." Nonetheless, the "pipe dream" became a reality in 1904, when the College de L'Assomption, directed by the Assumptionist Fathers who had come over from France in 1903, opened its doors to the Franco-American students of Worcester. That initiative alarmed the more radical members of the elite. They knew nothing of the Assumptionists and, in any case, were leery of priests coming from France or Belgium, persons they suspected of striving to assimilate the Franco-Americans. Father Emmanuel Bailly, superior of the community, made every attempt to reassure them by stating that the college would be a truly Franco-American venture; "the day the college ceases to be French, it will also cease to exist for it will have lost its raison d'etre"177 Despite this assurance, some wondered if it was prudent to entrust to strangers the training of the Franco-American vanguard. However, once it became evident that "the college was not involved in any concerted attempt to denaturalize students,"178 it was able to count on the support of the elite, indeed, their enthusiastic support in the case of the more moderate militants. The latter group were convinced that the principal merit of the College de L'Assomption would be to promote the development of religious vocations. "Fifteen years from now, perhaps earlier, we shall see leaving the Greendale Seminary a veritable host of young apostles who will prove to be the best qualified in every way to direct our Franco-American parishes."179 At that point, the bishops would no longer be able to invoke the impossibility of recruiting sufficient numbers of priests from Quebec, nor deplore the paucity of vocations in the Franco-American parishes to explain why they tended to entrust the mixed and, at times, even the 176. This was the idea defended by Jean-Le"on Kemmer-Laflamme in La Tribune. See £lie-J. Auclair, loc. cit., 382. 177. Quoted in Adolphe Robert, "Devolution franco-americaine" (The FrancoAmerican evolution), L'Action nationale, XXV, June 1945, 434. 178. Ibid. 179. "Le seminaire des assomptionnistes" (The seminary of the Assumptionists), L'Avenir national, February 6, 1907, 2.

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national parishes to foreign religious orders or to Irish priests. "When the dioceses of New England are able to provide for the priesthood sufficient numbers of individuals to serve our French parishes, the bishops will have no choice but to accept them."180 "We must create a Franco-American clergy [...]. This is one of the basic tenets for the survivance of our race in this country."181 The fact that immigration towards the United States had come to a virtual halt was perceived as an immediate danger by many, even though for the most part, they made only discrete allusions to that reality. Hence, the radical militants, moved by the prevailing pro-French arguments, continued to promote young students being dispatched to the colleges and convents of Quebec and, quite often, censured those who opposed their intent. In order to compensate for the immigration of their compatriots, La Tribune of Woonsocket wrote in 1911 "now is the time for us to create a moral and an intellectual immigration, an immigration of ideas and opinions [...]. We have already launched a moral immigration [...] by sending our children to those admirable institutions of education to be found in the Catholic Province of Quebec, wherein they can acquire such instruction as will make of them serious men inspired by a love of the French language and a veneration for our national history."182 Some opponents to the idea were touted as being assimilators.183 Such was the case of Urbain Ledoux, a former consul of the United States to Prague and to Trois-Rivieres, who suggested that students ought to enrol in American colleges and academies where they could learn "90 percent English and 10 percent French; 90 percent American history and 10 percent Canadian history, [etc.]."184 The classical education issue was a major concern for the elite, a quite understandable reaction since it involved their children. Still, was this really a priority for most Franco-Americans? Many thought not. "Ours is 180. "L'ceuvre de l'£ducation" (The work of education), L'Avenir national, September 6, 1913, 4. 181. "L'ceuvre des vocations" (The work of vocations), L'Avenir national, March 28, 1914, 4. 182. Extract from La Tribune published in "Les Forestiers F.-A. La haute cour de 1'ordre a decide de fonder des cours au Canada" (The high court of the Order has decided to set up courses in Canada), L'Avenir national, July 24, 1911, 4. 183. "Gardens notre mentalit£" (We must preserve our own ways of thinking), L'Avenir national, September 6, 1913. 184. "M. Urbain-J. Ledoux et 1'instruction" (Mr. Urbain-J. Ledoux and the education issue), [extract of a conference given at Lewiston], L'Avenir national, November 1,1913,4.

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a proletarian people," declared the mutualist, Adolphe Robert, "it is therefore utopism to believe that all our sons are meant to be lawyers, doctors, pastors or bank tellers." Since the vast majority of Franco-Americans were obliged to work in factories, was it not preferable to prepare them for the trade they were most likely to exercise?185 "Take over industry by training skilled workers," Kemmer-Laflamme further advised.186 "If we had to choose an institution devoted to higher education, first off, we would seek, with all our might, to establish an institution for industrial art and design, wherein our compatriots could acquire the mechanical expertise needed to place them in the forefront of manual laborers [...]. This is the one field where our advantage is to get in at the same time as all the others. We must never allow anyone to best us."187 "We must also seize hold of commerce," added Gederon Archambault. "Many Franco-Americans," he further declared, "have acquired certain business skills, but they have progressed no further than the small enterprise. They lack the necessary training. If we want our youth to get ahead, we must direct them towards American high schools. These are not 'Godless schools', as too many people believe;188 and we should not be so candidly ignorant of those institutions when the Americans who now have the upper hand are quite satisfied with them. What is good for an American when it comes to higher education should also be good for us."189 Abbe Aime Boire, of Franklin, New Hampshire, in an effort to reassure parents who feared for the language, but more importantly for the faith of their children, told them: "God shall safeguard them from evil." Moreover, he added, "it is within the family circle and not at school that we learn to love our language and our faith."190 185. Adolphe Robert, "Les debuts de la race fran^aise en Amerique" (The beginnings of the French race in America), [conference given to the cercle Lacordaire of SaintAntoine]. L'Avenir national, March 7, 1917, 3. 186. "Emparons-nous de Pindustrie" (We must take over industry), [extract from La Tribune], in L'Avenir national, January 4, 1911, 4. 187. "L'enseignement technique" (Technical training), [speech of Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, Editor in Chief of La Tribune of Woonsocket, given at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 136, 438—439. 188. Gedeon Archambault, loc. cit., note 56, 432. 189. Ibid. 190. "M. 1'abbe Boire, de Franklin, dit que nos societes nationales devraient etre laisse"es de cote*" (Father Boire, of Franklin, says that our national societies should be jettisoned), L'Avenir national, January 31, 1917, 8. Archambault went further: "A young Canadian who has completed a full course of studies in a good parochial school and who

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The national associations Franco-Americans were beginning to desert the national associations in proportionately greater numbers than the schools. In 1908, KemmerLaflamme estimated at some 60,000 the number of his compatriots who were members of such Anglophone associations as the Independent Foresters, the Woodmen of the World, the Eagles, the Union Fraternal League, the Canadian Foresters, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus.191 In the opinion of some observers, these associations had more French members than their Franco-American counterparts.192 "This has become an affliction of epidemic proportion among our young people who are now ashamed to call themselves members of a Canadian association."193 However, the problem was obviously more complex. There were far too many FrancoAmerican associations; they had multiplied chaotically and remainded somewhat fragile. A great many Franco-Americans refused to join them "because they have no confidence in them, financially speaking."194 And yet, this had not always been the case. In the early years of their existence, the Franco-American associations operated, for the most part, in the same way, offering their members undeniable advantages: the monthly subscription was small and the sick benefits provided relatively generous; moreover, when a member died, the family received as many dollars as there were members of the particular association. At first, costs were low, since the members were young and healthy, with deaths few in number. Fifteen to 20 years after an association was founded, it was not unusual for a family to receive several hundred dollars upon the death of a given member, who had contributed during his graduates at age 14 or 15, should know his French well enough to speak and write it adequately in every life circumstance he may encounter; moreover, he should have received all the religious instruction he needs to be a good Catholic." G6d£on Archambault, loc. cit., note 56, 432. 191. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "La soci&e neutre au double point de vue national et religieux" (An uncommitted society from the dual national and religious standpoints), La Revue franco-americaine, July 1, 4, 1908, 244-245. 192. Charles-fidouard Boivin, "Nos societ£s de bienfaisance" (Our charitable organizations), [speech given at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit., note 136, 390. 193. fidouard Cadieux, "Nos societe"s de bienfaisance" (Our charitable organizations), [speech given at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in id., 397. 194. "Nos societes franco -am £ricaines" (Our Franco-American associations), L'Avenir national, January 16, 1903, 2.

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lifetime no more than the paltry sum of $20 to $25 in special dues. However, after 30 or 40 years, the situation was no longer the same. As their members aged, the associations reached the point where they were paying out more in sick benefits than they were taking in. Hence, increasing contributions had to be envisaged. In addition, a goodly number of members had reached age 60 or over and death was rampant; this, in turn, meant that the special contribution of one dollar payable upon the death of each member began to take its toll from those who remained, thereby discouraging the adhesion of new members.195 Isolated and rooted in a system that exacted greater sacrifices than it provided resources, the FrancoAmerican associations proved incapable of competing with their more dynamic and more powerful Anglophone counterparts, which had little difficulty in winning over their younger members. As has been seen regarding the language and the school issues, the discourse of the radicals and that of the moderates grew further and further apart and even came to oppose one another. The radicals condemned outright the lack of pride that enabled their compatriots, especially the young contingent to enrol under the banner of "foreign" associations which they qualified as mixed. It was "useless to make sacrifices to build churches and erect schools, if we are constrained to swell the ranks of associations which seek to have us slowly lose our distinctive traits by prohibiting our language."196 In the words of Charles-Edouard Boivin, the Franco-Americans had little confidence in themselves; as well, their tastes leant too readily towards all that was foreign—almost a national failing. "I know many a good Canadian who is overcome with joy and who feels he has grown a full six inches—English measurement—each time any of his colleagues from one pan-Saxon society or another calls him brother."197 According to those militants, there were two types of foreign society in existence: the non-confessional and the Catholic. The first of these was the most reprehensible. "[They] lead the way to Masonry [...]. Those 195. For details about the preceding analysis, see Felix Gatineau, Histoire des francoamericains de Southbridge, Massachusetts (History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts), Framingham (Mass.), Lakeview Press, 1919,154-156; fiphrem Barthelemy, "La mutualite et les vieilles societes St-Jean-Baptiste" (Mutual insurance associations and the old Saint-Jean-Baptiste societies), L'Union, November 1919, reprinted in Marie-Louise Bonier, op. cit, note 35, 330-331. 196. "Le mouvement reprend" (The movement makes a fresh start), L'Avenir national, June 29, 1906, 2. 197. Charles-fidouard Boivin, loc. cit., note 192, 330-331.

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who abandon our national associations to follow that path are traitors like Judas [...], people who exchange the Catholic creed for Masonic blasphemies, but, they are also the Vergor who betray the national cause."198 From the nationalist standpoint, the second lot were just as dangerous and some were even suspected of laxity on the religious front. In fact, certain people insinuated that the Knights of Columbus, a society whose members included bishops and more than a few priests "have apparently not always followed the directives of the Church and have even committed serious breaches of Church law."199 The moderate militants were not as doctrinary. They demanded the right, for those who had the means, to belong to both the mixed associations and the national associations. "As a Knight of Columbus," insisted John F. Gendron, a Worcester lawyer, "I claim to be as good a French Canadian as any other man."200 However, they did advise the FrancoAmericans who were unable to belong to more than one association to opt for a Canadian association.201 For even if they did not believe that the mixed associations existed solely to denationalize their members, "these same comprise an element of risk to our language and our race," as attested by the incident of the Order of the Foresters of America. On May 15,1905, the Grand Chief of the Order advocated the prohibition of foreign languages in the courts. The Franco-American courts, which numbered some 12,000 members, protested vehemently and convoked a meeting at Springfield for July 23. Thirteen of those courts then called upon the Supreme Court of the Order to authorize the creation, under its jurisdiction, of a Franco-American High Court. The reply arrived, dismissive. On August 25, the convention of the Order, held at Buffalo, discarded the petition, adopting a resolution to require the exclusive use of the English language in the ceremonials of the new courts. Furious, the Lafontaine and Iberville Courts of Woonsocket and Springfield, respectively, proclaimed their independence. In October 1905, the dissident courts again met and decided on the founding of the Order of the FrancoAmerican Foresters—an event that occurred in March 1906.202 198. "Les societes neutres" (The non-confessional associations), L'Avenir national, February 16, 1911, 4. 199. "Le Columbus Day" (Columbus Day), L'Avenir national, October 12, 1914, 4. 200. Speech of John E Gendron given at the Springfield Convention, in 1901, in Felix Gatineau (ed.), op. cit, note 136, 400. 201. Speech of Armand Bedard, of Lynn, id., 423. 202. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 5, 201-203; Marie-Louise Bonier, op. cit., note 35, 336-337. Six years later, the Order already numbered 10,000 members, active in 63 courts.

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Unlike the radicals, the moderates did not condemn their compatriots who adhered to the mixed associations. "They left us because we were unable to stay their departure"; clearly, the time had come to radically reform the Franco-American associations, instead, they were merely being patched together. "It is pointless for us to cry over the exodus of our people towards the English-speaking associations, if we fail to check this newfangled emigration which is actively sapping our very lifeblood."203 This could be accomplished only by imitating, then surpassing, the mixed associations. "Federations solidly and equitably entrenched offer the best remedy to the situation. Uniting the associations under a single banner will develop their force, widen their horizons and allow them to radiate their influence over a multitude of centers where they are as yet unknown."204 The idea was not new. In 1896, it had given birth to the Association canado-americaine, in 1899, to the Chevaliers de JacquesCartier, in 1900, to the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, with the Societe de 1'Assomption following in 1903. And yet, at the Springfield Convention in 1901, still greater accomplishments were envisaged, such as a federation to surpass all federations, "an immense 'trust' uniting all French-Canadian hearts." Such a federation would permanently unite the Franco-American centers erecting an impregnable fortress that no enemy would dare to attack. "Our people would be responsible for all the momentous issues of interest to them and annual conventions would beneficially replace our plenary congresses." All this would create a climate in which "the persecutors of our race would be constrained to act with greater caution."205 The idea produced a consensus strong enough to unite the representatives of the various charitable associations at Woonsocket, in 1902, under the presidence of Urbain Ledoux, United States Consul to Trois-Rivieres. On that occasion, they adopted a resolution to combat without cease the "desertion" of the Franco-Americans towards the Anglophone associations by immediate recourse to an active and sustained propaganda and, more importantly, by improving their associations in taking inspiration from the most progressive intelligence available.206 They also decided to meet every year to discuss their common interests, but without forming any permanent association. 203. Charles-fidouard Boivin, loc. cit, note 192, 390-391, 393. 204. Ibid. 205. Ibid. 206. Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme, "Les Canadiens aux fitats-Unis" (The Canadians in the United States), Revue canadienne, XLI, 1902, 388.

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Several of the objectives sought by those mutualists actually did become reality. In fact, by the end of the decade 1900-1910, the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique numbered 307 courts and 23,400 members, whereas the Association canado-americaine assembled 15,480 members in all 159 affiliates, with the Ordre des forestiers franco-americains comprising 140 courts and 8,500 members. As their promoters had hoped, those associations were soon at the center of every debate and every battle that rocked the Franco-American society. The influence of their leaders, restricted only a few years earlier to the locality where a given association had taken root, soon spread to all the states of New England. This fixation on national associations did not appeal to everyone. The true-blue Americans, in particular—this was how certain individuals described themselves—deplored the phenomenon. "Virtually all our men of eminence are active in the mutuality movement," declared Joseph Monette, a lawyer from Lawrence. "We have become out-and-out mutualists; we are locked into subscribing to all manner of unending charitable works; these same are ubiquitous; they surround us, envelop us, penetrate us. The very air we breathe reeks of nothing but benefits and mutual succor [...]. Such air is salutary only for diseased lungs." It would be much better, pleaded Monette, to invest in business, in politics or in education, as the Irish Catholics have always done and continue to do; indeed they assert themselves everywhere. And today, they are wealthy, powerful and influential, whereas the Franco-Americans with their hundreds of boards, courts and credit unions are reduced to taking "whatever crumbs happen to fall from Irish tables."207 The press The Franco-American press was always appreciated as one of the sturdiest bulwarks of nationality, with the elite regularly vaunting the number of their newspapers. But the virtual halt in immigration dealt a severe blow to the Franco-American papers in that all experienced an appreciable drop in readership, especially as they had always recruited their readers mostly among the new arrivals. Everywhere, the number of subscriptions to the 207. Quoted in Bruno Wilson, Devolution de la race fran$aise en Amerique: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island (The evolution of the French race in America: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island), Montreal, Librairie Beauchemin Ltee, 1921, 252-253.

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Franco-American newspapers fell in step with the growing number of English bilinguals. The militants condemned "the indifference or apathy" of too great a number of their compatriots who "were soused to the hilt in the murky waters of assimilation."208 On many an occasion their cries of alarm were to be heard: "Whatever shall we do without the Franco-American press?"209 Since the halt in immigration greatly affected their traditional clientele, newspaper owners made a concerted effort to retain their FrancoAmerican readers of the second and third generations and even to increase their readership. For that purpose, they accelerated earlier transformations, placing greater emphasis on American news and according much less weight to events occurring in Quebec. Certain attempts to retain the readership of bilingual Anglophones appeared to be exceedingly offensive to the radical militants. A particular instance was the founding of Le Lynnois, a small bilingual paper that some held to be a "remarkable innovation." Nonetheless, many queried: "Is offering a bilingual newspaper [to young people] a good way to bring them back to an appreciation of the French language."210 The parish and leisure time Most families disposed of a more substantial income than during earlier periods, and they also enjoyed much more leisure time. In industry, the average working week decreased by 10% during the first decade of the twentieth century, dropping from 55.9 to 50.3 hours. A growing number of businesses gave time off to their employees on Saturday afternoon. But, how did most people spend their leisure hours? Whist parties, evening dances and picnics were always popular activities. However, for working families, young people in particular, this was not enough. Over time, baseball games, along with boxing and wrestling matches, occupied 208. Jean-Georges LeBoutillier, "Preface" (Preface), in Alexandra Belisle, Histoire de la presse franco-americaine (History of the Franco-American press), Worcester, Mass., L'Opinion publique, 1911, 11. 209. Godfrey De Tonnancour, "La presse franco-americaine" (The Franco-American press), [paper presented at the Springfield Convention, in 1901], in Felix Gatineau (dir.), op. cit., note 136, 458. 210. "Journalisme bilingue" (Bilingual journalism), [Extract from La Tribune], L'Avenir national, January 21, 1915, 4.

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the forefront.211 Yet for all that, nothing ever surpassed the appeal of stage shows, vaudeville and "moving pictures" or "movies." At ten cents an admission and only five cents for the cinema, such leisure activities were well within the means of the majority and offered audiences means of regular contact with American culture. Of course, various societies habitually organized amateur theater nights and, on occasion, Quebec troups, like the Theatre national de Montreal, toured New England; but the competition for audiences was lopsided. How could shows from Quebec rival those which starred artists like Mary Pickford or Charlie Chaplin and which also garnered the lion's share of newspaper reviews?212 Francophone pastors, who viewed this constant evolution as a threat to their control over parishioners, roundly condemned the phenomenon. They censured most severely the adolescent population, youths who appeared to have nothing better to do with their leisure time than to loiter on street corners smoking, swearing, fighting or insulting passersby.213 Other young people, who were in the habit of frequenting the "movie" theaters or the "ten-cent theaters," incurred their wrath as well.214 In the same breath, they also denounced reading material that they viewed as sinful, like the dime novels, "which encourage some of our Canadians to adopt American ways without the slighest compunction,"215 as well as that frenzied and boisterous music called ragtime216 and, above all, the passion 211. For example, L'Avenir national, in 1906-1907, devoted more than a half-page in each issue to covering wrestling matches. 212. "Mary Pickford et Charlie Chaplin" (Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin), L'Avenir national, May 24, 1915, 3. 213. See in particular: "Eloquent appel aux jeunes gens" (A stirring call to young people) [on the part of the pastor Napoleon Gilbert]. L'Avenir national, January 29, 1917, 6; "Une mauvaise habitude" (A bad habit), L'Avenir national, March 25, 1908, 4; "Notre jeune ge"ne"ration" (Our young generation), L'Avenir national, May 20, 1907, 2. 214. The "moving pictures," according to Mgr Georges-Albert Guertin, contribute immeasurably to the growing number of criminals among children. "Les vues anime'es" (The movies), L'Avenir national, January 9, 1911, 1. 215. "Mauvaises lectures" (Sinful reading material), L'Avenir national, March 20, 1909, 4. 216. " 'Ragtime' music," L'Avenir national, May 31, 1911, 4. "The latest and often insipid American ballad has virtually eliminated the old Canadian folksongs," deplored Armand Be"dard, "La langue fran9aise dans la famille et dans les relations sociales aux £tatsUnis" (The French language in the family setting and in social relations in the United States), L'Avenir national, July 6, 1912, 4.

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most young people then had for slow dancing, for "cheap" dances. For, as Father Jean-Baptiste Parent pointed out, "frequenting the dance halls leads to breaking the sixth and ninth commandments of God."217 In fact, nothing that might remove young people from their sight found favor among the pastors or their allies the press. In consequence, as L'Avenir national reported, Catholics would not be allowed to join the Boy Scouts, with its Masonic tendencies.218 Young people, insisted Father Louis-J. Brodeur, Pastor of Berlin, New Hampshire, were at grave moral risk, in that "the occasions of seduction, dissipation and corruption, [owing to] newspapers, cabarets, theaters and all manner of worldly revelry, have reached frightening proportions." To save them, it was, of course, essential to condemn and prohibit undesirable activities, but also offer adolescents ways of replacing them, such as youth clubs, associations and the like.219 In 1908, Father Deny Lamy, a young priest in Spencer, Massachusetts, organized the first circle of the Association catholique de la jeunesse franco-americaine (ACJFA) [Catholic association of Franco-American youth] whose regulations were the same as those of the Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-fran9aise (ACJC) [Catholic association of French-Canadian youth]. Twenty-two young people, mainly students, joined the association. Over the following years, a dozen more circles were founded. After their auspicious beginnings, those groups, ignored by the bishops, gradually declined, then disappeared with the war of 1914.220 The Brigade of Franco-American Volunteers, an outfit which targeted, in particular, the younger laborers, met with greater success. Founded in 1906, the Brigade, within eight years, grouped 35 affiliated guards with more than 1,500 members. These parochial guards were intended to 217. Jean-Baptiste Parent, "Le cabaret et le bal" (The cabaret and the dance hall), [extract from the Lynn Courrier] in L'Avenir national, July 31,1913,4. Father Parent therein repeats the remarks of Mgr Guillaume Stang, the reactionary bishop of Fall River, for whom the dance halls were "a profanation and a direct cause of sin." "A propos de danse" (On the subject of dances), L'Avenir national, May 5,1911, 4. Of further note, in 1916, the Holy See confirmed the decree of the third Council of Baltimore prohibiting parish dances. "Le pape met 1'interdit sur les bals de paroisse" (The Pope prohibits all dance halls in the parish), L'Avenir national, June 5, 1916, 1. 218. "A propos des Boy" (On the subject of the Boys), L'Avenir national, April 2, 1912, 4. 219. "Echos de la convention" (Echoes from the Convention) [8th biennial of the ACA held at Providence], L'Avenir national, August 13, 1908, 2. 220. Adolphe Robert, Souvenirs et protraits (Recollections and portraits), Manchester, s.ed., 1965, 54-56.

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assemble young people, keep them off the street, "train them in the military arts"221 and groom them to "take a useful role in parish projects." All those activities were conducted in the French language.222 Recreation clubs, such as the Cercle national, the Club Saint-Joseph and the Cercle Montcalm were equally popular. Under the surveillance of a chaplain, young people had the use of a gymnasium, a billiard hall and a reading room. "The founders are intent on keeping our young people busy [...], as well as instructing them in a lighthearted way, in the hope of offering them an attractive alternative to the streets."223 The Anglicization of young people, along with their wholesale abandonment of parochial schools, mutual societies and the Franco-American press, were all proof positive of a waning "national" existence in the Little Canadas. Hence, it was hardly surprising to see so many observers deplore the fact that the June 24th was being celebrated with so little pride throughout New England. Every year brought complaints from the newspapers. "Tomorrow we celebrate, or rather we ought to celebrate, Saint-JeanBaptiste Day."224 "We believe that there is no exaggeration in stating that Worcester has not had a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day worthy of mention for the past 20 years," reported the L'Opinion publique in 1905.225 Commenting on the celebration organized, in 1916, in the Saint-Georges parish of Manchester, a reporter from L'Avenir national ironized that "the bad weather indisputably kept many people at home, for there were no more than fiftyodd people in the auditorium, including the committee bigwigs, the orators, the officials of the Society and the members of the orchestra."226

221. "The parochial guards undertook military maneuvers [...]. They engaged in 64 maneuvers with nine-pound rifles." Elmer Boucher, quoted in Jacques Rouillard, op. cit., note 140, 97. 222. "Dieu, patrie et liberte. Historique de la Brigade des volontaires francoamericains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (God, homeland and liberty. History of the NewEngland Brigade of Franco-American volunteers), L'Avenir national, September 3,1910,19. 223. "Nouvelles du New Hampshire" (News from New Hampshire), L'Avenir national, January 30, 1915, 4;"Au cercle Montcalm" (At the Cercle Montcalm), L'Avenir national, March 6, 1912, 3. 224. "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste" (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day), L'Avenir national, June 23, 1904, 2. 225. Extract from L'Opinion publique of Worcester, in "La fete nationale" (The national holiday), L'Avenir national, February 4, 1905, 4. 226. "La Saint-Jean-Baptiste fet£e hier soir par peu de gens" (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrated last evening by very few people), L'Avenir national, June 26, 1916, 3.

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So many changes greatly distressed the elite. But, they had many other phenomena to deplore. The pastors, in particular, worried about how the changing economy was affecting working families. Working conditions and the family Clearly, the living conditions of most working families changed for the better during the early years of the twentieth century. However, that change had important repercussions on Franco-American values. Although they were earning more than their predecessors, the majority of householders could not always manage to make ends meet with their single wage. A survey conducted, in 1908, by the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, concluded that a family needed an annual income of $700 to maintain an "acceptable" lifestyle,227 much more than the mill workers—even the best paid—were earning. This meant that they had to count on the assistance of their children and their spouses. "Virtually all young French-Canadians, boys as well as girls, of age 15 or over, are working," wrote Louise Lamphere.228 And yet, the child-labor laws were much stricter than at an earlier time. Every state in New England prohibited children working before they reached 14 years of age. Moreover, children between the ages of 14 and 16 were required to furnish a certificate to the effect that they had developed normally and that they were physically fit to undertake the work for which they wanted to be hired.229 Nonetheless, many parents, in collusion with employers, flouted the prevailing laws. "Upon their arrival," recounted Elmire Boucher, "emigrant families could easily find work for their children simply by saying that they were 14 years old. I know many who were working in the mills at age 10, my own husband among them [...]. No one asked them for a certificate."230 In the nineteenth century, those parents who sent their children to the factory, rather than to school, found favor with the elite who laid the blame on their employers. However, this was no longer the case. The time had come for callous manufacturers and ignorant and aberrant parents to 227. Alexander Keyssar, Out of work. The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts, Cambridge University Press, 1986, 46. 228. Louise Lamphere, op. tit, note 16, 132. 229. "Le travail des enfants" (Child labor), L'Avenir national, January 9, 1907, 2; "Ecoliers seront dans 1'embarras" (Schoolchildren will be hard-pressed), L'Avenir national, June 4, 1915, 10. 230. Testimony of Elmire Boucher, in Jacques Rouillard, op. cit, note 140, 90.

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be held equally responsible for the odious exploitation of children.231 Parents who maintained that they needed the wages of their offspring to make ends meet were told that "nine times out of ten that reason is untrue."232 It was pointed out that making children work meant "ruining their health and turning them into human wrecks;"233 but, most importantly, it was tantamount to heavily mortgaging their future. "You have only to go where they wield the pickaxe and the shovel—there you will find so very many of our people. As for myself, I have seen 500 men building an aqueduct-— 90 out of 100 were Canadians; I also discovered, thanks to a reliable source, that out of 100 of those workers, 75 could neither read nor write."234 And so, it came to be widely held that children belonged, not in the factory, but in school, and that on a regular basis.235 For, while too many parents, in order to comply with the law, did, in fact, send their children to school, they felt absolutely no compunction in taking them out of the classroom "to send them to work for a day, or a week, whenever the mood struck them."236 Some parents kept their children in school no more than three or four months a year,237 with the result that in some parochial schools, those of Lawrence, for example, "the number of children who regularly attend class never exceeds 75%."238 Because of stricter laws and, to a lesser extent, the exhortations of the elite, the contribution of working children to the family income decreased;239 however, the increase in participation of married women in the 231. "Le travail des enfants" (Child labor), L'Avenir national, October 1, 1903, 2. 232. "L'instruction" (Schooling), L'Avenir national, February 28, 1906, 2. 233. A.-E.-R., "Le travail des enfants" (Child labor), L'Avenir national, February 21, 1905. 234. H.-F. Roy, speech given at the Springfield Convention in 1901, in Felix Gatineau, op. cit, note 136, 446. 235. "Pour les petits" (For the little ones) [extract from the Counter of Maine], L'Avenir national, November 10, 1906, 2. 236. "L'ouverture des classes" (The first day of school), L'Avenir national, September 4, 1900, 4. 237. "Nos e"coles (Our schools), L'Avenir national, June 26, 1903, 2. 238. "De 1'importance de 1'ecole" (On the importance of school), L'Avenir national, December 17, 1901, 2. 239. At Lewiston, in 1920, "in the 10 to 16 age-group, only 16% of individuals contributed to the family income, whereas the percentage stood at 72, forty years earlier." Sylvie Beaudreau and Yves Frenette, "Les strategies familiales des francophones de la NouvelleAngleterre. Perspective diachronique" (Family strategies among the Francophones of New England. A diachronic perspective), Sociologie et societe, (Sociology and Society), XXIV, Spring 1994, 171.

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workforce would soon compensate for any drop in family income. In fact, according to a senatorial inquiry on immigration (the Dillingham Commission), examined by Bruno Ramirez, 22.9% of Franco-American married women were working in the cotton mills in 1908,240 a percentage that had increased over time. This was a highly significant change compared to the last years of the nineteenth century. During that period, only a minority of married women worked outside the home, as dictated by traditional values and the teachings of the Church. A man was responsible for assuring the financial security of his family. But "a working women was tantamount to disgrace."241 And so, most men allowed their wife to work only in times of great need. "Women did not work in the factories on a yearly basis. If her husband took sick, a woman would go out to work for three or four months, until he was back on his feet. Then too, the men who worked as day laborers often found themselves idle during the winter, so they normally looked after the house while their wives went out to work."242 "After my parents were married," recounted Alice Lacasse, of Manchester, "my mother worked occasionally, for two or three months at a time, but only when things were going very badly and my father had run out of money."243 And yet, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the position of the American Catholic Church had not changed one iota. No matter the reason, declared Mgr Guillaume Stang, Bishop of Fall River, married women must never be allowed to work in the factories— except in cases of extreme need. A married woman, by virtue of a solemn covenant—passed before God—with her consort, has committed to fulfilling her duties as a spouse, a mother and a housekeeper. Such covenant shall never be broken, even with her consent. The law of nature requires that a mother give her every care and all her time to her children and to her home. Violating that law would bring ruination to homelife and eventually sap the very foundations of society [...]. The priest should do everything in his power to keep women in their appointed place in regard to work.244 240. Bruno Ramirez, loc. cit, note 46, 139. 241. Testimony of fivelyne Desruisseaux, in Jacques Rouillard, op. cit., note 140,109. 242. Testimony of Elmire Boucher, id., 93. 243. Quoted in Tamara Hareven and Randolph Langenback (eds), Amoskeag: Life and Work in an American Factory-City, New York, Pantheon, 1978, 255. 244. "Femmes et enfants dans les fabriques" (Women and children in the factories), L'Avenir national, February 2, 1906, 2.

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Those prescriptions, which were rooted in a hierarchical conception of the family, found no partisans more eager than the Franco-American priests. The place of a married woman, they repeated, without cease, is at home and nowhere else—most certainly not in the factories and never in politics. "The innate qualities of a women [...] are there to shine and be admired, but only in privacy."245 According to the clergy, women who contested the role attributed to them by Divine Providence were responsible for divorce and mixed marriage—at that time, in truth, quite exceptional occurrences. Divorce led to the "ruination of the home and [to] the degradation of women;"246 as for mixed marriage, the phenomenon was perceived as "a crime against God and a national abomination."247 The elite emphasized repeatedly that the role of the Franco-American woman, although infinitely noble, was also terribly demanding. "As mothers, you are the saviours of our fine French-Canadian race in the United States [...]. Our very destiny is in your hands. Were we to plunge headlong into national bankruptcy, future generations would hold you responsible. But if we can survive [...] the storms unleashed against us, we shall owe our salvation to you."248 A growing awareness of how best to demand rights New patterns of behavior were taking hold as exemplified by the cotton industry. Over the early years of the twentieth century, the situation in the cotton mills changed considerably. Workers began to view employer strategies, adopted to counter the competition of the Southern States, as a concerted attempt to keep wages down and as an actual cause of the

245. "Suffrage feminin dans le Massachusetts" (The female vote in Massachusetts), [extract from L'Etoile de Lowell], L'Avenir national, March 8, 1908, 1. 246. "La plaie du divorce. Eloquent sermon de Sa Grandeur Mgr Guertin" (The scourge of divorce. Eloquent sermon delivered by His Grace, Mgr Guertin), L'Avenir national, November 30, 1908, 1. 247. Extract from the Guide franfais de Fall River (French guidebook of Fall River) [1909], quoted in Elliot Robert Barkan, "French Canadians," in Stephen Thernstrom (ed.), Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1980, 399. 248. "La famille. Espoir de notre avenir national. (The family. The hope of our future as a nation), [extract from L'Union of Woonsocket], L'Avenir national, April 5, 1909, 2.

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deterioration in working conditions. But worse yet, the scientific management policy of major enterprises like Amoskeag (Manchester) was threatening the minimal control that workers had gained over their work place.249 For example, more centralized hiring and personnel-management procedures reduced worker's potential for intervening on the job. As well, the constant surveillance that scientific management entailed not only threatened certain tacit rules of behavior, it also gave foremen a measure of arbitrary power. Moreover, it was perceived as an insult. Then too, piecework and the prevailing bonus systems often pitted workers one against the other. Had manufacturers agreed to accord substantial and regular wage increases, perhaps workers would have accepted the changes without too many complaints. However, quite often the contrary occurred. In an industry already reputed as paying the lowest wages in the United States,250 employers would take advantage of the tiniest slump in the demand for their products to try to force their employees to accept drastic wage cuts. Yet, when prosperity returned, the pendulum rarely swung back to the point of departure without workers having to go on strike. In such circumstances, it was hardly surprising that ever-increasing numbers of Franco-Americans began to join with their fellow workers to fight their employers, or that they were more apt to heed the words of union leaders than those of their elite, in particular their pastors. In Holyoke, from 1899 to 1910, workers regularly participated in strikes. Indeed, according to Peter Haebler, those individuals were anything but passive wage earners.251 And what was happening at Holyoke was in no way the exception. At present, it is impossible to evaluate the number of FrancoAmerican union members of the period. What is certain, however, is that the number of those who opposed the strikes and actively fought the unions remained strong. When a strike erupted, they crossed the picket lines or looked for another job; a few, as in the nineteenth century, even returned to Canada, "but their number was insignificant. Most tended to seek a replacement job in some other American manufacturing center."252 249. See Melvin Dubofski, Industrialism and the American Worker, 1865-1920, Arlington Heights, (III), Harlan Davidson Inc., 1985, 81-86; Tamara K. Hareven, Family Time and Industrial Time, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982, 138-148. 250. Philip Thomas Sylvia, op. cit, note 18, 679-680. 251. Peter Haebler, op. cit., note 46, 206. 252. "Les grevistes de Fall River" (The strikers of Fall River), L'Avenir national, August 3, 1904, 4. The same was affirmed by Peter Haebler, op. cit., note 46, 168, 182-183.

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Those workers saw events in a different light than their unionized compatriots. They were quick to remember that, far from deteriorating, working conditions had, in fact, improved: the work week was shorter, the employment of women and children more strictly controlled, the regulations as to hygiene and workplace safety appreciably improved and better observed253 and, above all, wages were higher. They also valued the quality of the welfare programs set up by the larger enterprises; of equal importance, they continued to adhere to the counsel of their priests. It would be wrong to believe that all the pastors, professionals, newspaper owners and tradesmen were systematically in league against unions and strikes. Quite to the contrary! Except for a few dogmatists, the elite tended to adopt a singularly pragmatic approach. When manufacturers tried to impose drastic wage cuts on their employees, the elite found themselves under fire in that a victory for employers soon meant more meager collections for pastors, as well as fewer fees, subscriptions and sales for all the others. In consequence, they were often allies of the strikers, at least in the beginning. They invited their compatriots to act cautiously, stressing worker responsibilities but, at the same time, reminding employers that workers were entitled to an honest wage, one that would enable them to provide for their families.254 Pastors preached compassion and organized collections for the families that the strike had reduced to dire straits;255 newspaper owners criticized the policy of laisser-faire, extolling worker demands;256 and, tradesmen readily gave credit to strikers. However, when the strike dragged on, bringing misery and violence, the elite, increasingly anxious, began to change tack. They came to view their own interests and those of the entire collectivity as under an even greater threat, more because of the absence of worker wages than because of any potential decrease in same.257 And so, gradually, voices were raised, timidly, 253. Melvin Dubofski, op. cit., note 249, 81; Philip Thomas Sylvia, op. cit., note 18, 673-675. 254. A.-E.-R., "Devoirs des patrons" (Employer responsibilities), L'Avenir national, March 12, 1904, 2. 255. "Dans 1'affaire Ettor [Lawrence]" (On the subject of the Ettor [Lawrence] Affair), L'Avenir national, February 12, 1912, 1. 256. "La greve de Lawrence" (The Lawrence strike), L'Avenir national, January 20, 1911,4. 257. "As a rule, the businessmen of the town showed generosity to the strikers, but many of them soon found themselves in a very distressing situation on account of a protracted work stoppage [several weeks of strike]." Most businessmen came to feel that the workers ought to accept employer offers. "La greve de Fall River" (The Fall River strike),

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21/

at first, then with ever-increasing force, in condemnation of the agitation of union leaders, notably those of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). They also berated worker violence and intransigence and reminded union members that their rights had limits.258 Unionized workers were advised that although they had the right to strike, those on the other side of the picket line had the same right to work, if they so desired259. In the end, workers had to show great flexibility in order to avoid interminable strikes that brought only misery and suffering.260 The origins of a fratricidal quarrel The preceding chapters have shown that the French Canadians of the United States, the emigrants and their children, gradually became FrancoAmericans. The majority of the elite reacted calmly to that transformation. And, although they actively fought the assimilation of their compatriots, they approved the changes deemed necessary for their adaptation to American life. They believed that the French language, the Catholic religion and the traditions inherited from their forefathers could all survive, even thrive, on American soil; indeed, in their judgment, that survival was essential to their accomplishing the mission entrusted to them by Divine Providence. The virtual halt in French-Canadian immigration, during the years 1900-1920, weakened those convictions. Failing the arrival of new recruits, did not the accelerated Anglicization of young people in the mixed parishes, along with a growing desertion of parochial institutions, portend a tragic outcome? Too many Franco-Americans, even those in the national parishes, wrote a Franco-American journalist with L'Avenir national, "see no disadvantages in the public schools, or in the non-confessional associations, or even in mixed marriages. These people are victims, ripe for L'Avenir national, November 11,1904, 1, see also "La greve de Lowell" (The Lowell strike), L'Avem'r national, May 5, 1903, 1. 258. A.-E.-R., "Droits de 1'ouvrier" (Worker rights), L'Avenir national, March 2, 1904, 2. 259. "Trop de greves" (Too many strikes), L'Avenir national, May 28,1903,2. It was no secret that the families of non-unionized workers, who received no outside assistance, were living in abject poverty. "La situation a Lowell" (The situation at Lowell), L'Avenir national, March 25, 1903, 2. 260. "La greve de Fall River" (The Fall River strike), L'Avenir national, November 11, 1904,1. Charles-fidouard Boivin paints a particularly gripping picture of the conflict in "La greve" (The strike), Revue canadienne, 1904, 508-510.

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assimilation, indeed, they are like so many soldiers unable to do battle. It is therefore futile to count on their support."261 Be they radicals or moderates, the militants of survivance all agreed that the fight would be hard-won. More than ever, they viewed the national parish as the sole institution capable of assuring the safeguard of their collectivity with all its distinctive characteristics intact. They demanded that the bishops transform the mixed parishes into national parishes and that, henceforth, they respect their autonomy. However, unanimity ended there. To check the desertion of the various Franco-American institutions, the diehard militants of survivance believed it sufficient to condemn the conduct of deserters and to oppose change. The moderates, for their part, understood and respected the choices of their compatriots and the motives underlying them; there was never any question of condemning those people nor of offering them institutions better adapted to Quebec than to the United States. In order to keep as many people as possible within the Franco-American fold, while making sure that their children enjoyed every benefit offered by the American milieu, they called for an institutional network that would be better adapted to their new environment. For the radical militants, the ideal Franco-American was indubitably one more or less anchored in the past, whereas for the moderates, he was constantly evolving. Over the years, the gap which separated the two groups continued to widen. The radical militants deplored that the moderates, in their common fight against the Irish Episcopate, incessantly preached caution and respect for authority. They were unreliable and among their number could be found certain priests ready to sacrifice the interests of their compatriots on the altar of their personal aims.262 The radicals wondered however if, in the fight for survivance, the most dangerous enemies were not those from within. The latter were persons who, from the beginning of the century, had always cast aspersions at the failure of young people to adjust to their surroundings, proposing as a remedy that secondary schools be established in the United States, rather than sending young people to the 261. "Que deviendrons-nous, II?" (What are we to become, II?), L'Avenir national, November 21, 1913, 4. 262. "They do not want to incur the disapproval of the authorities: they are all aware that a certain elderly priest of Maine paid dearly on account of one patriotic act, whereas another will likely spend his entire life in a third-rate parish for having dared to speak the truth." Ibid.

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colleges of Quebec; the same individuals wanted the parochial schools to be better adapted to the American reality, with teachers more knowledgable of American requirements; and last, but not least, they were anxious for students to learn English rapidly, and openly disparaged too great a dependence on the Quebec model. Their opponents reproached them for speaking only of adaptation and integration within the American social fabric and failing to see or, even worse, being indifferent to, the transformations that threatened the very survival of the collectivity. The moderates, for their part, reproached the radicals for their lack of respect for the bishops, as well as for their virulent statements and their intransigence. They also believed that it was unrealistic to want to keep young people from rejecting the Franco-American fact by offering them a return to the past; on the contrary, that option, so cherished by the radicals, was nothing more than a foil. On the strength of the many hundreds of opinions gathered from myriad sources, it is relatively easy to reconstruct the discourse of radicals and moderates, alike. However, to determine with precision who belonged to which of those two groups is a more complex undertaking. Many documents were unsigned and, depending on whose ear he had or on the particular event that gave him reason to take a stand, the same individual might well adopt either a radical or a moderate discourse. Nonetheless, it is possible to sketch a linear portrait of these groups, albeit somewhat impressionistically. The radical hard core comprised the pastors of the national parishes, natives of Quebec, along with their allies from the press corps and the liberal professions. The moderates were mostly lay people: journalists, professionals, businessmen and local politicians; those people were born in the United States or had been living Stateside for several years; added to their number were the Francophone curates from the mixed parishes. A few individuals—Father Hormidas Hamelin and Aram-Jules Pothier, in particular—whose discourse had kept them on the margin, at first, were soon to play a major role in the Franco-American world. Father Hamelin maintained that each generation had its particular needs. At first, the good of souls had necessitated a multiplication of churches and the bishops had taken every precaution to treat one and all fairly. However, since the bishops had acquired the habit of seeing reality from a strictly diocesan point of view, a number of their decisions were misunderstood. Such misconceptions would disappear "once the American Church becomes uniform; and that uniformity [...] will come

22O

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

as a matter of course. The Catholics arriving from many different lands [...] shall become Americanized in the end, casting off their national prejudices and their mutual antipathies; the time must come when all will be speaking the language of the adopted country."263 At that stage, those "seeking to Canadianize the Franco-Americans of the present generation," were the same individuals who ignored their needs and acted duplicitously in ways that brought both harm to the Catholic religion and turmoil to souls.264 For Hamelin, the Franco-American was first and foremost a Catholic and would remain so until the end of his days. All the militants of survivance ranted that, with that sort of opinion, Hamelin and his ilk had joined the ranks of the enemy. For the moderates, Aram-Jules Pothier, Governor of Rhode Island from 1909 to 1915, was viewed as a sort of champion of the FrancoAmericans, a man who had won for his peers the respect and esteem of their fellow Americans. Even so, the radicals were critical of him. "What did His Excellency actually do to further the cause of his race?" asked L'Avenir national of May 27, 1911, at the height of the crisis opposing Pothier and the USJBA. In 1910, La Tribune of Woonsocket and L'Union, the official mouthpiece of the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique (American union of Saint-Jean-Baptiste), presented Aram-Jules Pothier as an assimilator.265 The dismissal of Philippe Boucher, President of La Tribune and Treasurer of the USJBA, as well as of the Rhode Island Bureau of Charities and Corrections, with his subsequent replacement by Joseph Jalbert, served as a pretext. Both La Tribune and L'Union attributed that disgrace to the unalterable devotion of Boucher to promoting FrancoAmerican survivance, but in equal measure to the "contempt" and the "unmitigated antipathy" with which the Governor had always regarded the 263. Hormidas Hamelin, op. cit., note 137,79-80. Born at Saint-Barnab£ (Quebec) in 1865, Father Hamelin studied at Joliette, at Sherbrooke and at the theological seminary of Montreal. He was curate at Holyoke and at Worcester, then founding pastor at Willimansett, Mass., in 1897. From 1904 to 1926, he was pastor at Adams. 264. Id. 90. 265. Martin Paquet, Perception de la presse franco-americaine au Rhode Island face a la politique americaine: Aram-Jules Pothier, gouverneur du Rhode Island (1908-1915), (Perception of the Franco-American press of Rhode Island in regard to American politics: Aram-Jules Pothier, Governor of the State of Rhode Island [1908-1915]), Master's thesis, University Laval, 1987, 39: Martin Paquet, "Un reve americain: Aram-Jules Pothier, gouverneur du Rhode Island" (An American dream: Aram-Jules Pothier, Governor of Rhode Island), Capaux-Diamants, 61, Spring 2000, 31.

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mutual-benefit system.266 Basically, the radicals reproached Pothier his lack of enthusiasm for the national associations and the parochial schools; he was also pilloried for his cut-and-dried judgments against the nationalists and the archpatriots.267 For the radicals, Pothier was nothing more than an assimilator, in that for 25 years only one idea had determined his actions: "all the many races of people who come to the United States must melt into the great American collectivity [and] the ancestral traditions must disappear to make way for the American fact."268 And so, over the years, the Governor would accord far greater importance to the melting pot concept than to cultural pluralism. The Franco-American was plainly in the process of becoming a new man.269

266. Id. 47, 57. 267. "Lai'ques et ecclesiastiques" (Laymen and ecclesiastics), [extract from a speech delivered by Aram-Jules Pothier at Holyoke], L'Avenir national, February 5, 1912, 4. 268. La Tribune, March 7, 1910, 6. Quoted in Martin Paquet, op. cit, note 265, 57. 269. Fran^ois-Lesieur Desaulniers, "Le gouverneur Pothier" (Governor Pothier), Revue canadienne, new series, 1910, 523.

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Chapter VI RADICALS AND

MODERATES:

THE RUPTURE (1914-1929)

The question must be asked: What are those of us who live in the United States? Are we French Canadians like our brothers in Canada, with the same traditions, the same ideals, the same aspirations, the same future and the same political and social responsibilities? Or, on the contrary, are we Americans compelled to adopt the ideals, the culture, the traditions and the language of this country just as we have adopted her flag, her institutions and her laws? We are no longer the first; yet, we are more than the second. We are an homogenous group, quite distinct from all the other elements [...]. Indeed, we are distinct and independent from all the other collectivities who speak our language, possess the same past, the same traditions and the same culture, because we live in another country, look towards a different future, have different responsibilities and, at times, divergent interests [...]. Be that as it may, we are nonetheless closely tied to the other peoples of this land, in a vast community of allegiance, of responsibilities and of national interests, as well as by the need for a common language and a culture of the mind that will open the door to all the advantages that every American citizen enjoys. And yet, we are distinct from those other elements by virtue of our own specific culture, a function of our past and of the many ideals proper to our race [...].

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Being no longer French Canadians like our brothers in Canada, nor Americans like those who surround us, we are a race blossoming, a people in the process of becoming.1 J-ALBERT FOISY The grim reality is indisputable. The Franco-Americans, although of the French race, no longer speak the French language; as a collectivity, they speak English.2 CLEMENT LEDOUX

T

HE FRANCO-AMERICAN COLLECTIVITY, during and after the war of 1914, found themselves to be the target of an uneasy population looking for a scapegoat. As hyphenated Americans, they were the perfect target. To avoid doubt being cast upon their loyalty, the "Americanizers" enjoined them to become 100% American, exhorting them to learn English, to use only that language and to radically transform their institutions. To confront that danger, radicals and moderates set aside their divergences to erect a common front with the support—although at times restricted—of the bishops. Nonetheless, whenever those prelates adopted ultraloyalist positions, in an effort to defuse Americanizer opposition to Catholicism, even to the point of backing—albeit diplomatically—their Anglicization campaign, rupture ensued, because the moderates refused to follow the radicals in their fanatical war against the bishops of Providence and Manchester. That rupture affected every facet of the fight for survivance, and eventually gave rise to conflicting definitions of the Franco-American identity. The sacred union to defy full-fledged Americanism The war of 1914 On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on the Germany of Emperor William II for the purpose, as stated by President Woodrow Wilson, of safeguarding the freedom of all by assuring the victory of democracy over the forces of autocracy and militarism. To convince Americans of the 1. Joseph-Albert Foisy, Histoire de Vagitation sentinelliste dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1925-1928 (History of the agitation in support of vigilance in New England, 1925-1928), Woonsocket, The Tribune Publishing Co., 1928, 265-267, 270-271. 2. Clement Ledoux, Hamelin et la critique (Hamelin and the critics), s.l., s. ed., 1927, 273.

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legitimacy of that war, Washington organized a large propaganda campaign, which ultimately was so successful that intolerance for all things German became a national virtue. Bookstores refused to sell German books and many colleges stopped offering German-language courses. The patriotism of certain restaurant owners was so strong that they replaced the word "sauerkraut" by the expression "liberty cabbage." Considered to be traitors, all opponents of the war, be they pacifists or pro-German, feared for their safety. This intolerance fuelled the scepticism of a large number of Americans as to the efficacity of the melting pot for transforming immigrants into true-blue Americans. Unless they were pressured to conform, too many newcomers would remain hyphenated Americans the Americanizers believed. For, as Theodore Roosevelt declared in September 1917: "We must be Americans and nothing else. Yet, the events of the past three years bring us face to face with the question whether in the present century we are to continue as a separate nation at all or whether we are to become merely a huge polyglot boarding-house and counting-house, in which dollar-hunters of different nationalities scramble for gain, while each really pays his sole allegiance to some foreign power."3 It was clear that the Americanizers had renounced the traditional model of assimilation, namely, the melting pot, preferring instead that of angloconformity. Under that option, all ethnic minorities had to renounce their own cultural characteristics and adopt those of the dominant group. "It can be expressed by the formula A+B+C = A, in which A is the dominant group and B and C represent ethnic minority groups."4 The anglo-conformity model held that since the cultures of ethnic minorities were inferior, the newcomers had nothing to contribute to American ways and institutions.5 3. Quoted in Ulysse Forget, "Les Franco-Ame'ricains et le Melting-Pot" (FrancoAmericans and the Melting Pot), Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-americaine, 19461947, 32. 4. Norman R. Yetman, "Patterns of Ethnic Integration in America," in Norman R. Yetman (ed.)> Majority and Minority. The Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in American Life, 5th edition, Boston, Alleyn and Bacon, 1991, 212. 5. As for the melting pot, "[it] sees ethnic differences as being lost in the creation of a new society and a new people." Therein, no group is viewed as superior to the others. Id., 213. As Lawrence W. Levine so well explained the phenomenon, the term melting pot — which is still used — "came to symbolize less and less a crucible which boiled down differences into a new composite identity and more and more one which boiled out differences into the image of the old American." Lawrence W. Levine, "Progress and Nostalgia: The Self Image of the Nineteen Twenties," in The Unpredictable Past. Explorations in American Cultural History, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1993, 195.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

In the name of solidarity, the Americanizers enjoined immigrants to become full-fledged Americans, in particular to learn English, then to abandon all other languages. For such purpose, they attacked the institutional networks set up by various ethnic groups. And so, in October 1917, the American Congress voted in a law aimed at controlling the foreign press. It stipulated that a literal translation of any information pertaining to the war must be submitted to the Receiver General of local mails. Once convinced of the loyalty of a given newspaper, the government would issue a permit exempting it from the obligation to have its texts translated.6 Then, in date of April 3, 1918, the Secretary of the Interior, Franklin D. Lane, convened at Washington an assembly of state governors and presidents of the Public Safety Committees to lay the foundations of a new Americanization program aimed at unifying the heterogeneous elements that composed the American nation. It was decided that the English language would be taught to all persons of foreign extraction, schoolchildren and adults, alike. A fourth resolution, adopted at that meeting, further recommended that "in every primary school, English shall be the sole language taught and the sole language of instruction."7 This resolution was not legally binding, but served as an urgent invitation to the various states to so rule. Upon returning to their respective states, the governors and the presidents of Public Safety Committees all set to work forthwith. In New England, the State of Connecticut was the first to act. On April 25, 1918, Governor Marcus H. Holcomb issued a proclamation, by virtue of which he ordered that, as of July 1, 1918, "in all public and private schools, the English language shall be used exclusively to teach children to read, write and spell, as well as to instruct them in English grammar, geography, arithmetic and American history; further, English shall also be the administrative language; however, the private schools shall be permitted to use another language than English for the purpose of religious instruction."8 Resistance was not long in coming: 1'Union des Franco-Ame"ricains du Connecticut (Franco-American Union of Connecticut) loudly denounced the idea that becoming a good American citizen required one not only to 6. Carl Wittke, The German-Language Press in America, University of Kentucky Press, 1957, 264. 7. Quoted in Henri d'Arles, "Le fran9ais en Nouvelle-Angleterre. I. Dans le Connecticut" (The French language in New England. I. In Connecticut), La Revue nationale, 1, January 1, 1919, 6. 8. Id., 10.

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learn and understand English, but to do so to the exclusion of all other tongues. The dissenters pointed out that every time and in every situation where the war was lauded as the fight for democracy and freedom in the face of tyranny and autocracy, the proclamation of Governor Holcomb was there to indicate the contrary.9 The Union also shrewdly evoked the electoral strength of the Franco-Americans. After much pressure had been brought to bear, the Governor finally authorized foreign-language instruction for a period of one hour, each day, in all schools. However, there was little reason to rejoice for, "can any school be called bilingual which teaches French only one hour daily?"10 Soon afterwards, a veritable tidal wave of Americanization swept over the State of New Hampshire, where the Americanization Committee recommended the adoption and full application of the resolutions voted at Washington, in 1918. However, Mgr Georges-Albert Guertin, Bishop of Manchester, intervened and managed to have the famous fourth resolution interpreted with flexibility. It was agreed that in all the schools, even the private schools, English would be used exclusively to teach children the compulsory subjects. English would also be the administrative language, but religious instruction might be given in another tongue. Finally, a foreign language could be taught at the primary-school level, provided that the curriculum outlined by the New Hampshire Department of Public Instruction (or their equivalent) remain unaltered and that the whole was implemented in accordance with state laws. The Americanizers shouted victory while Mgr Guertin believed that he had saved the parochial schools. Obviously, the arrangement was better than nothing, but the Franco-Americans were fully aware of its potential risks. Indeed, Father Henri Beaude (Henri d'Arles), Chaplain General of the Canado-American Association, forcefully expressed the Franco-American disquiet in a speech he delivered on December 11,1918: "If, at the outset, you saturate the curriculum with a large number of subjects to be taught in English only, where will we ever find the time to slip in French? Class time is limited as is the capacity of our children to assimilate so much instruction [...]. You tell us that you want French to be taught? For God's sake, Gentlemen, give us the time and the opportunity to do so. We have no desire to teach French on the sly, windows and doors 9. "L'allemand dans les ecoles" (German in the schools), L'Avenir national, April 29, 1918,4. 10. "A travers les faits" (By way of the facts), L'Avenir national, April 3, 1923, 4.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

shut, under cover, as if we were engaged in some disreputable activity; we want to teach it openly, officially."11 The Franco-Americans reacted vigorously and without hesitation to the winds of Americanization blowing across New England. Moderates and radicals alike suppressed their differences and organized their ranks. However, the Franco-American Catholic Federation, restructured in 1916, was incapable of taking swift and forceful action, even though member groups shared the workload and coordinated activities. For the Saint-JeanBaptiste Union of America, filie Vezina took charge of Connecticut, Henri Ledoux, of New Hampshire and J.-Arthur Favreau, of Massachusetts. The Canado-American Association handled the situation in New Hampshire.12 The clergy, for their part, united their efforts behind the Ligue du ralliement francais en Amerique (League to rally the French language in America), which was founded at Boston shortly after the war, on January 23, 1919, to be precise.13 In order to silence the "vilifiers of our race" and "bring down a peg or two" all those "individuals anxious to disparage our element,"14 those who had made every attempt "to obstruct the language we want to speak,"15 the Franco-American elite protested with vehemence against the doubt that certain Americanizers let hang over the loyalty of their compatriots. To make sure that the message was being heard loud and clear, the Federal Council of the Franco-American Catholic Federation even questioned the expedience of founding an English-language newspaper.16 The elite 11. Adolphe Robert, Memorial des actes de I'association canado-americaine (Memorial of the acts of the Canada-American Association), Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1946, 167. Clearly, the apprehension of Father Beaude was well-founded, but the compromise obtained by Mgr Guertin was flexible enough to enable the Franco-Americans of New Hampshire, once the tumult was over, to return to the situation that had prevailed before the war. 12. Robert Rumilly, Histoire des Franco-Americains (History of the Franco-Americans), Montreal, USJBA, 1958, 306. 13. All the members of the executive committee were priests from Rhode Island or New Hampshire. 14. "Notes breves" (Brief items), La Tribune, May 10, 1917, quoted in Bernard Lemelin, Les Franco-Americains de Woonsocket, Rhode Island, et la Premiere Guerre mondiale (The Franco-Americans of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and the First World War), Master's thesis, Universite Laval, 1987, 106-107. 15. "Notes et reflexions" (Notes and reflections), La Tribune, May 18, 1918. 16. Which, however, would never see the light of day. "Grande poussee pour le College de rAssomption" (Huge momentum for Assumption College), L'avenir national, March 21, 1918, 1.

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remembered a time, after 1914, when the country was hesitating as to the position to adopt, with President Woodrow Wilson recommending the strictest neutrality to his fellow citizens, and yet, already the Franco Americans were actively engaged—urged on by their newspapers—in the fight against the Teutonic "barbarians"17 and the American rabble-rousers. The elite also championed increasing military preparedness in the United States should the country enter the war. And finally, they intimated that in February 1917 the Franco-American Catholic Federation had passed a resolution assuring President Wilson that he would always find among their members "a better than goodly number of soldiers ready to fly to the defense of the Star-Spangled Banner,"18 and that the Brigade of FrancoAmerican Volunteers was offering the support of its 2,000 members.19 As soon as Congress had declared war, the Franco-American militants entered the fray; the American Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union telegraphed Wilson '"promising their assistance and assuring him of their staunch fidelity."20 And throughout the war, the Franco-Americans remained faithful to that pledge. Indeed, at the instigation of their leaders, a large number of young people volunteered for military service. "They are legion, here at Woonsocket," reported La Tribune of September 28,1917, "the young people of our race who obey with fealty the Act of Conscription, and who offer, without a second thought, their services to the American flag."21 In the Guide franco-americain 1921: les Franco-Americains et la guerre mondiale (Franco-American Guide 1921: The Franco-Americans and the World War), Albert Belanger was to write: "One hundred thousand brave men took up arms."22 Many of them lost their health or their life. And although the press was threatened, it condemned the strikes and 17. "Les atrocit^s allemandes" (The German atrocities), L'Avenir national, August 22, 1914,4; "Mentalite de sauvages" (Barbarous mentality), L'Avenir national, March 17,1915, 6. 18. "Notre patriotisme" (Our patriotism), La Tribune, February 24, 1917. 19. "La Brigade franco-americaine est prete a aller se battre" (The Franco-American Brigade is ready to do battle), L'Avenir national, February 7, 1917, 2. 20. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 299. 21. Many young people were in the habit of regularly going back and forth across the border. On April 30,1917, L'fitoile of Lowell asked its colleagues to refrain from intimating that such departures might be occasioned by fear of the draft for "this is surely the best way to depict us, quite erroneously, as cowards and anti-patriots." Quoted in Robert G. Leblanc, "The Franco-American Response to the Conscription Crisis in Canada, 1916-1918," The American Review of Canadian Studies, 23, 3, autumn 1993, 355. 22. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 308. It will be noted that that evaluation was never confirmed.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

lock-outs which harmed the war effort,23 and also heavily promoted the "liberty bonds" issued by the United States Government to finance the national war effort. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union subscribed $25,000 to each of the first two bonds and $50,000 to the next two; it also gave more than $16,000 to the American Red Cross Society.24 Clearly, the FrancoAmerican example left no doubt whatsoever as to the fallacy of a theory arguing that "the hyphen is incompatible with patriotism." "History shows us that [the hyphenated Americans] have always been the first to rally to the call of the United States when her defense was at stake."25 Moreover, L'Avenir national was quick to comment, with sarcasm, that La Fayette, Rochambeau and Pulaski, all heroes who fought and laid down their life for the cause of American independence, were not in fact "just ordinary true-blue Americans" whereas the traitor, Benedict Arnold, was.26 The Franco-Americans never tired of telling the Americanizers that they refused to be lumped together with the Germane-Americans whom they were in the habit of attacking.27 On occasion, they also gave the Irish Americans a rough ride. "So many Irishmen openly long for the defeat of England, a proclivity which can only signify that they also long for the victory of Germany with her jackboot 'kultur.'"28 They also assumed that the assimilators intended to suppress the teaching of German along with "the press that remained faithful to the imperial butcher of Berlin"; yet, were they not going too far in linking the French and German tongues?29 23. "Les circonstances et notre devoir" (Present circumstances and our duty), L'Avenir national, March 1, 1918, 4. 24. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 307. 25. "Nouvelles du New Hampshire. Le club Ferdinand Gagnon prend possession de ses nouveaux quartiers et donne un interessant smoke-talk" (News from New Hampshire. The Ferdinand-Gagnon Club takes over new quarters and gives an interesting smoke-talk), L'Avenir national, January 26, 1916, 6. 26. "Hyphenated Americans," L'Avenir national, July 6, 1915, 6. 27. Bernard Lemelin, op. cit., note 14, 55-58. Certain comments are excessive: "Isolating or quarantining — no matter how we name the thing — every foreigner belonging to an enemy nation, may well become the inevitable alternative." "Les ennemis et les espions aux £tats-Unis" (The enemies and spies in the United States), L'Avenir national, July 11, 1917, 6. 28. "Les Irlandais et la guerre" (The Irish and the war), L'Avenir national, December 28, 1918, 4. The Irish are incapable of "distinguishing between the harm Great Britain has done to their homeland in the past and the sacred universal cause for which Great Britain now rights." "La chasse aux agents de rAllemagne" (The hunt for German spies), L'Avenir national, June 13, 1918, 4.

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"At a time when our soldiers are fighting in Europe and everywhere we are celebrating the undying glory of France, would the United States seek to proscribe her language, to confound it with German? The thing is beyond belief! The very language of La Fayette and of Rochambeau, forbidden in the primary schools?"30 Why must the descendants of France, whose forefathers participated in colonizing the American territory, even defending it with their blood, be ever obliged to furnish proof of their loyalty and beg for a place at that country's table?31 At the same time that they were fighting and further justifying their actions, the elite encouraged their compatriots to show the Americans that their attachment to the French language in no way altered their devotion to the American Republic. This is why they preached naturalization, recommending to persons having an insufficient grasp of English that they attend evening classes, while requiring of all a maximum participation in the war effort. If the neutrality of some was as fodder for their adversaries, the eagerness to fight as evidenced by others unequivocally demonstrated that there was nothing to fear from the vast majority of hyphenated Americans. In April 1917, certain Franco-American leaders even invited their "brothers" from Quebec, who for various reasons had refused to enlist, to wait until "after the war to demand redress for the wrongs they had been forced to endure."32 They feared that this attitude might be misinterpreted south of the 49th parallel and encourage the Americans to believe that "like their Canadian brothers, they [the Franco-Americans] have no desire at all to help the United States in the coming campaign."33 Moreover, both 29. "Une question troublante" (A troublesome question), L'Avenir national, May 2, 1918, 4. 30. "Est-ce une erreur patriotique?" (Is this an error of patriotism?), L'Union, May 1918, 8, quoted in Bernard Lemelin, op. cit., note 14, 112. 31. It must be said over and over again—an old refrain, tried and true: "We are not emigrants who came across packed like sardines into the holds of so many oceangoing vessels or people who brought to this country a civilization incompatible with the American way. Our forefathers colonized this continent well before the English and the Americans had their way." "Belle conference de Mtre Lachance, salle St-Georges" (Inspiring conference of Mtre Lachance, at the Saint-Georges Hall), L'Avenir national, April 3, 1916, 6. 32. The author refers in particular to Regulation XVII (Ontario). "Les Canadiens fran9ais et la guerre" (The French Canadians and the War), L'Avenir national, April 12, 1917, 4. 33. "Un calomniateur americain" (An American slanderer), L'Avenir national, April 18, 1916, 6.

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before and after the conscription crisis in Canada, during the summer of 1917, all manner of nasty allusions were circulating in New England. For example, the Manchester Union was comparing the French Canadians of Quebec to the rebels of Ireland (Sinn Fein),34 while the Boston Post intimated that thousands of them had taken to the forests of Maine to avoid conscription.35 In the end, those many efforts were successful. Unfortunately, they proved of little use against the Americanization campaign which resurfaced after the war, stronger than ever. The "Red Scare," that explosion of collective hysteria which shook the country in 1919, only to be followed by a long stretch of conservatism, set off the "chauvinistic Americanizers."36 The "Red Scare" and extreme conservatism It is not easy for any population, having endured several years of major tension, to become readapted to a calmer, less agitated existence. It is therefore understandable that a frightened minority will cling to anything that offers a measure of stability and even strike out, sometimes violently, at everything that appears to threaten that stability. Intolerance, considered a virtue during the war, easily discovered new prey in its aftermath, striking out blindly, sans discrimination, at communists, anarchists, syndicalists, Catholics, Blacks and immigrants. A large number of Americans saw the Russian Revolution of 1917, along with the spread of communism and socialism throughout the world, as grave threats to capitalism. The introduction of "communist cells" in the United States was viewed as a danger, albeit out of all proportion to reality. The growth of unions and the multiplication of strikes (3,630 strikes in 1919 involving 4 million workers) represented yet another source of fear for the conservative elements of the population. The antagonistic and, at times, explosive nature of certain strikes, such as those of the Boston 34. Quoted in Robert G. Leblanc, loc. cit., note 21, 351. The Leblanc article should be read in toto. 35. "Des rumeurs invraisemblables" (Incredible rumors), L'Avenir national, May 7, 1918, 4. 36. See in particular: David H. Bennett, The Party of Fear. The American Far Right from Nativism to the Militia Movement, 2rd edition, New York, Vintage Books, 1995, 183238; Stanley Coben, "A Study in Nativism: the American Red Scare of 1919-1920," Political Science Quarterly, LXXIX, March 1964,52-75; John Higham, Strangers in the Land. Patterns of American Nativism, 1860-1925, New York, Atheneum, 1975, 254-330.

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policemen in 1919 and 1920, nourished that conviction. In September 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street, killing 38 individuals. A second grenade exploded in front of the home of the Attorney General of the United States and 16 more were discovered in packages to be mailed to politicians and influential financiers. So many events, occurring more or less at the same time, created a veritable collective hysteria, giving rise to a vast, although short-lived, witch-hunt. Reformists, revolutionaries, anarchists and racial minorities, all became the targets of collective rage and repressive acts. During the 1920s, that same collective hysteria gave way to extreme conservatism, which was aimed mainly at foreigners and Catholics. The case of the immigrants illustrates that phenomenon. Protests against open immigration began as early as the end of the nineteenth century, a time—according to statistics—when the number of Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Polish and Russian immigrants exceeded that of newcomers from the countries of northern Europe. Many feared that those "new" immigrants would prove less readily open to assimilation than the British, the Germans and the Scandinavians. The trade unions supported the opponents in the hope that a drop in immigration would result in wage increases for their members. After the war of 1914, the wave of intolerance and paranoia that shook the land fed that opposition. Various groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, convinced that the rise of communism, anarchism and radicalism was linked to the uncontrolled influx of immigrants, joined in widespread protests demanding that Congress adopt restrictive legislation. "The reappearance of the Ku Klux Klan," wrote YvesHenri Nouailhat, "is undoubtedly the phenomenon which best explains the popular belief that Americanism is now no longer [...] the gospel truth for all nations, but rather a family secret that must not be shared with those of another race."37 In 1921, with recession at a peak, approximately 800,000 immigrants entered the United States. Rumors were circulating to the effect that between 5 and 20 million Europeans were ready to follow them.38 In such circumstances, even the most ardent partisans of open immigration held 37. Yves-Henri Nouailhat, Les £tats-Unis: Vavenement d'une puissance mondiale, 1898-1933 (The United States: the birth of a world power, 1898-1933), Paris, Editions Richelieu, 1973, 234. 38. Leonard Dinnerstein and David Reimers, Ethnic Americans. A History of Immigration and Assimilation, New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1975, 71.

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their tongue. And, in short order, the partisans of restriction seized power both on Capitol Hill and in the White House, adopting increasingly restrictive laws which, in turn, caused the number of immigrants to drop from 800,000, in 1921, to 150,000, in 1927.39 "America," declared President Calvin Coolidge in 1923, "must remain American," in other words White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant.40 Although such laws did not affect Canadians, still and all, the FrancoAmerican elite were inclined to worry and took every opportunity to distance themselves from the radicals. The press approved all measures aimed at blocking the "worst European elements" from entering the country,41 while applauding "the vast clean-up apparently under way in the United States."42 "Whatever the cost, we must get rid of that Bolshevik vermin without delay, just as soon as the boats can take them away," wrote L'Avenir national43 At the same time, the Franco-Americans were insisting that it would be unjust to reproach as a group all immigrants, even those whose only shortcoming was a failure to become "Americanized," to suit the tastes of the extremist Americanizers.44 For, "our collectivity has no room for 'Reds,' anarchists or nihilists. Our religion, our schools and our newspapers all actively preserve us from the contagion of this dreadful social scourge."45 The elite used that debate on immigration and the fight against the xenophobes to reiterate with force that it was not imperative to renounce the language, religion or native institutions to be a good American, even if President Coolidge had so intimated in 1923. For them, this would be a poor way to become Americanized.46 "That a truly American race take 39. Yves Roby, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1776-1930 (The Franco-Americans of New England, 1776-1930), Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 281. 40. David Shannon, Twentieth Century America, The Twenties and Thirties, Chicago, Rand McNally and Company, 1969, 276. 41. "Le bolche'visme chez nous" (Bolshevism within our borders), L'Avenir national, March 18, 1919, 4. 42. "Debarrassons-nous des bolcheVistes" (The Bolshevists must go), L'Avenir national, June 12, 1919, 4. 43. "De"barrassons-nous du bolchevisme" (Bolshevism must be eradicated), L'Avenir national, February 17, 1919, 4. 44. "Le probleme de rimmigration" (The immigration problem), L'Avenir national, June 11, 1919, 6. 45. "Mtre A. E. Boisvert au Conseil St-Antoine" (Mtre A. E. Boisvert to the St-Antoine Council), L'Avenir national, March 2, 1920, 8. 46. Georges Duplessis, "Ame'ricanisation et Action francaise" (Americanization and the French effort), L'Action francaise, June 4, 6, 1920, 278.

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shape one fine day as did the French, German or English races, so be it! But, tempered by the era, this race must enjoy distinctive characteristics, quite different from those that today are the prerogative of the AngloSaxon race! Each group shall contribute distinguishing features and not one of them shall disappear to allow for the exclusive existence of any other."47 Along with their efforts to check the arrival of fresh immigrants, the Americanizers multiplied their initiatives to assure the defense of American institutions and American culture, which, in their view, were threatened by the rapid growth of Catholicism. They denounced the loyalty of Catholics to Rome as a menace to republican institutions, castigating as well the refusal of a great many parents to send their children to public schools, which they believed was the very best way to Americanize the immigrant. In New England, the Franco-Americans, who were numerous and also had the reputation of keeping their own counsel, bore the brunt of the attack, one that took various forms. In December 1918, the Visitor of Providence recommended implementing the plan of a certain Doctor Hennices who had suggested that a modicum of English be introduced in the foreign-language newspapers so as to eventually render them bilingual. Over time, it would be enough to graduallly increase the space reserved for English to see the other language totally disappear.48 At the beginning of the following year, the same newspaper stated that associations composed of individuals of foreign extraction should be obliged to keep their registers in English and to use that language for conducting their business transactions.49 Soon enough, the Manufacturers Record of Baltimore quite simply advocated "the interdiction in the United States of all foreign languages, as well as of all newspapers published in a foreign language."50 Reproduced in the majority of Franco-American newspapers, those suggestions spread panic. The will of the assimilators was also apparent in 47. Extract from La Tribune, reprinted in "La fusion des races" (Melding the races), L'Avenir national, June 15, 1925, 4. The author advocates cultural pluralism. For a clearer definition, see Norman R. Yetman, loc. tit, note 4, 214. 48. "L'americanisation" (Americanization), extract from La Tribune, reprinted in L'Avenir national, January 21, 1919, 5. 49. "L'americanisation" (Americanization), extract from La Tribune, reprinted in L'Avenir national, January 23, 1919. 50. "Une langue, un peuple" (One language, one people), L'Avenir national, November 17, 1919, 4.

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several milder measures. A law of New Hampshire stipulated that after October 1, 1919, no enterprise would be allowed to hire any individual aged 16 to 21 "unless that individual speaks and reads English, or if that individual is able to produce a certificate duly attesting that he or she is attending night school."51 In Rhode Island, a similar law obliged all foreigners aged 16 to 21, who could neither read, write, nor speak English, to take 200 hours of "courses in Americanization."52 Most alarming to Franco-American leaders were the fresh attacks being levelled at the parochial schools. They feared that the arrangement concluded in New Hampshire would soon gain ground.53 The League to Rally the French language in America, founded in January 1919, sounded the alarm: This is a dramatic moment for all Franco-Americans. We are being threatened in everything that we hold dear. The problem now facing us brings to mind the celebrated quotation: to be or not to be. A vast movement in favor of using the school to promote Anglicization is now in the works; indeed, in certain places, it has already been launched. A tidal wave of assault approaches, and if we lower our guard, its huge surge will sweep away our sacred treasure—the mother tongue.54

The leaguers took up the fight by publishing numerous tracts, which were disseminated in the thousands under such titles as: Le franc,ais dans le Connecticut (The French language in Connecticut), by Henri d'Aries; Le fran^ais dans nos ecoles (French in our schools), by Henri d'Aries; La langue francaise et le christianisme (The French language and Christianity), by Mgr Guertin; Le franc, ais dans le New Hampshire (The French language in New Hampshire), by Henri Beaude; La race francaise (The French race), by Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan; La paroisse franc,aise (The French parish), by Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan; and La langue francaise (The French language), by Denis-Michel-Aristide Magnan.

51. "Notes de 1'Amoskeag" (Notes from the Amoskeag), L'Avenir national, October 1, 1919, 5. 52. Richard S. Sorrell, The Sentinelle Affair (1924-1929) and Militant Survivance. The Franco-American Experience In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Ph.D. thesis, New York State University, Buffalo, 1975, 161. 53. A virtually identical bill was presented in Vermont in 1919. See "La defense du francais et Mgr Rice" (The defense of French and Mgr Rice), L'Avenir national, May 21, 1919, 6. 54. Adolphe Robert, op. cit, note 11, 177.

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The initial assault on the part of the Americanizers came from Washington where, in 1919, the Smith-Hughes bill was discussed; that bill provided for making English the sole language of instruction in the primary schools—both public and private. The states, charged with its application, were to receive one share each of the $100 million allocated to the program, provided they observed the federal regulations.55 The same year, Charles S. Jackson, Superintendent of Schools Lynn, submitted to the legislature a bill which, had it been adopted, would have limited the teaching of French in the 61 parochial schools of Massachusetts to one hour a day. "One hour a day is quite enough to lose one's language," raged Elie Vezina at the second Congress of the Franco-American Catholic Federation, which was held at Worcester.56 The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America had petitions signed and led a delegation of 600 persons to Boston, the very day of the public audience. In the end, Jackson agreed to withdraw his bill. A similar fate was reserved for the bill of George Chamberlain of Springfield, who wanted to transfer to a state commission the power vested in local school boards to approve or prohibit schools. Because the bill appeared to be aimed as much against the Catholic schools as against foreign-language instruction, Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston, Mgr Feehan, Bishop of Fall River and Mgr Beaven, Bishop of Springfield, all supported the Franco-American opponents. Ultimately the bill was stripped of its main contentious elements.57 The "Red Scare," a thing of the past, the ardor of the Americanizers seemed to diminish. But that was only an illusion. Alarming rumors continued to arrive from every front. In the State of New York, a bill to amend the Constitution spoke of eliminating all the private schools. "A real democracy," declared John W. Slacer, of Buffalo (N.Y.), "must be founded on a common language, shared aspirations and ideals, as well as being defended by an intelligent electorate. The public school should be the vehicle that brings American democracy and ideals to the children of New York State, especially to those whose mother tongue is not English."58 In 1923, Alvin Owsley, National Commander of the American Legion, advocated that English become the single official language in all the schools, 55. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 315. 56. Ibid. 57. Id., 316-318. 58. "Le bill Slacer tend a supprimer toutes les ecoles paroissiales" (The Slacer bill would eliminate all the parochial schools), L'Avenir national, April 3, 1920, 1.

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public and private alike, across the land.59 The same year, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, speaking of the threat to the country that foreigners embodied, cited the example of the Franco-Americans, who "speak the French language, support parochial schools and breed like rabbits."60 Such comments and many others, as reported by a worried press, caused much distress. At Washington, the Smith-Hughes bill, having become the SmithTowner bill, resurfaced in 1921. Had that invidious measure been adopted, Washington would have enjoyed a much tighter control over the schools. For, as the Union was to write "Never before have the Catholic schools in the United States faced a threat to their existence greater than the SmithTowner bill."61 It was clear to everyone that the main thrust of that measure was aimed at prohibiting the use of foreign languages in the parochial schools. And so, in every corner of New England, the Franco-Americans, backed by the Catholic Episcopate, once again successfully mobilized their forces. That mobilization was but a dress rehearsal for events that loomed in Rhode-Island. In 1922, a strong wind of Americanization swept across Rhode Island. One Frederick Peck presented a bill to the legislature, in virtue of which both the attestation and the surveillance of private schools were to be transferred from the local school boards to a state-run agency. The private schools could be approved only if they taught fully and efficiently the subjects then offered by the public schools. The centralizing principle was identical to that of the Smith-Towner bill. The Peck bill, presented at the close of the session, was adopted by the two Houses.62 Taken by surprise, the Franco-American leaders begged Governor Emery Sansouci, one of their brotherhood, to veto the bill, assuring him a vigorous campaign was forming against it. Indeed, La Tribune of Woonsocket, Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Pawtucket, L'Independant of Fall River, the clergy and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America had all taken up the fight. They maintained that such a law would reduce French 59. "L'on applaudit le discours de M. Alvin Owsley" (Many applaud the words of Mr. Alvin Owsley), L'Avenir national, February 1, 1923, 6. 60. "A travers les faits" (Reading the events), L'Avenir national, April 23, 1923, 4. History records a number of incidents involving the Klan and the Franco-Americans. See C. Stewart Doty, "How many Frenchmen Does it Take to... ?," Thought and Action, XI, 2, Autumn 1995, 92-94. 61. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 321. 62. Richard S. Sorrell, op. cit., note 52, 163.

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to being taught as a foreign language, authorizing its use solely for teaching subjects not on the public school curricula, more specifically, religious instruction and Canadian history. They presented their opposition in refusal of any centralization which might hinder religion, local autonomy and parental rights.63 On May 3, the Governor finally opposed his veto; too late, for he had exceeded the legal ten-day limit. Albeit bitterly disappointed, the Franco-Americans refused to give up the fight. On the contrary, they threw themselves into a lengthy guerilla combat which was to bear fruit three years later. The campaign against the law reunited opponents of every stripe, from the most moderate, like filie Vezina and Eugene Jalbert, to the most radical, like Elphege J. Daignault. Their considerable efforts proved so successful that in 1922 the Republicans, held as responsible for the adoption of the law, suffered a crushing defeat. The Franco-Americans had deserted the Republicans, their traditional allies, to lend massive support to the Democrats. From that point on, their representatives worked tirelessly to have the law amended; they achieved that goal in 1925. The amendment returned the surveillance and the attestation of private schools to the local school boards; however, it also stipulated that the private schools had to devote as much time as their public counterparts to teaching the compulsory subjects in English. Under that proviso, in addition to French as a subject matter, both religion and Canadian history could be taught in that idiom. The amendment was significant for two major reasons, first, it removed the threat of centralization and, second, it recognized officially the right to teach in a foreign language.64 In the end, the Franco-American elite, prompted by their anger and their apprehension, had reacted to the attacks of the Americanizers. They rightly feared that such forms of rejection would accelerate the assimilation of their compatriots; but above all, they were afraid that the attacks of the xenophobes could seriously weaken or even lead to the disappearance of their schools, their press and their associations, all of which they deemed essential to the survival of their collectivity. To defend their people, they adopted the same strategy as their predecessors had done during the Chinese-of-the-Eastern-States episode. On every occasion that the Franco-Americans became the targets of Americanization, their leaders protested with the greatest energy. They 63. Id, 164. 64. Id, 165-167.

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refused to have doubts cast on their loyalty, repudiating all attempts to assimilate their entity with Germane-Americans, Bolsheviks or anarchists. Their compatriots were all model citizens who loved the United States, their country first and foremost; they spoke her language, venerated her institutions and exalted "her soul with all its essential characteristics"; moreover, they took an active interest "in her good government, her prosperity and in her moral, intellectual and physical well-being."65 Certain fanatics wanted to prove that abandoning their language, their faith and their institutions would make them better citizens. Yet, quite the contrary was true. "It has often been said and rightly so that each immigrant brings with him certain racial qualities, certain natural aptitudes and a specific culture; the preservation of all these can but enrich the national heritage of the American nation as a whole."66 More particularly, if the FrancoAmericans had renounced their language, they would have deprived the United States of a precious benefit, thereby diminishing her "national heritage." For, as Henri d'Arles declared, "throughout the Great War, were not those of our soldiers, or our officers, who knew both French and English, in a better position to render services twofold?"67 Attempting to convince the Americans of the truth in that discourse would have been useless if their compatriots had not actively concurred. That was why the elite sought, by their own exemplary conduct, to convince their fellow-citizens that the attachment to the French language or to the Catholic religion in no way altered their devotion to the American Republic. That was also why they tried to inculcate in as many of their compatriots as possible a greater recognition of the need to become naturalized and, most importantly, to exercise their right to vote. "The assaults of the "Smith-Towner" bill at Washington, of the "Jackson" and "Chamberlain" bills in Massachusetts and of the "Peck" bill in Rhode Island, are those not enough to make us realize, that the "right to vote" is the one, the only way for us to defend firmly, indeed with every energy, our precious rights and liberties that have been scorned so utterly."68 65. Charles Dollard [pseudonym of Father Adelard Duplessis], "Chronique francoame'ricaine: notre statut national" (The Franco-American chronicle: our national status), L'Action franfaise November 5, 6, 1921, 688. 66. Georges Duplessis, loc. cit, note 46, 276. 67. Henri d'Arles, loc. cit., note 7, 18. 68. Wilfrid-J. Mathieu [of the Order of Franco-American Foresters], "Naturalisation et enregistrement" (Naturalization and Registration), L'Avenir national, June 15, 1922, 4.

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The multiple facets of the Americanization program aroused and provoked the combativity of Franco-American leaders who, in the face of that threat, cast aside all that divided them in order to erect a common front. That was to be the first consequence of so many years of combat. In reaction to the scornful and threatening stance of the Americanizers, the elite eventually came to clarify their own perception of what it actually meant to be a Franco-American. And, in the end, it was because they were bilingual Catholics, people who combined the cultures of their home country and their adopted land, that the Franco-Americans became better Americans. The Sentinellist unrest and the rupture between the moderate faction and the radical militancy The bishops and nativism Because the various "nativist" bills were aimed as much against the Catholic schools as against foreign languages, the bishops of New England, without exception, openly supported the Franco-American militants in their many combats. However, over time, the American Episcopate found themselves in a delicate situation in that a number of the positions which they were led to adopt revived dormant animosities. In April 1917, many German-American Catholics, still attached to their native land, looked askance at the United States taking up arms. For their part, the vast majority of Irish Americans were disinclined to see America become allied with England. In consequence, it was hardly surprising, under the circumstances, to see the bishops make a great display of their loyalty, while supporting President Wilson in his crusade against the forces of autocracy and militarism. "We are all loyal Americans ready to do the maximum necessary to assure the safeguard, progress and triumph of our beloved homeland," trumpeted the American archbishops, on the occasion of their annual meeting, on April 18, 1917.69 However, certain incidents that occurred in Ireland led the Americans to doubt the word of the episcopate. In the spring of 1918, British Prime Minister Lloyd George, whose troops were short of manpower, tried to conscript the Irish into the British army. That project, doomed from the 69. Thomas McAvoy, A History of the Catholic Church in the United States, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press, 1969, 364.

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outset, gave rise to widespread resistance in Ireland. Very soon, the Catholic hierarchy in that country were leading the fight against conscription. That entire movement, which came about at the time of the great German offensive in the spring of 1918, alarmed various groups of Americans who wrongly suspected the Catholics of some sort of collusion with the enemy.70 The euphoria in the aftermath of victory momentarily eliminated that fear. But the triumph of the Sinn Fein in Ireland and the subsequent engagement of the American Catholic Church in the pro-Ireland movement brought it once again to the forefront. Prelates, priests, and IrishAmerican leaders, in the thousands, pleaded in favor of the Irish, asking Wilson to have their right to self-determination recognized at Versailles. In vain. The arrival in the United States, in June 1919, of the Sinn Fein leader, Eamon de Valera, and the energetic campaign that he led for over a year and a half to collect funds and support for the Irish nationalists opened old wounds. For many Americans, de Valera represented the elements that had shafted the British ally during the war against Germany. The IrishAmerican campaign against Wilson's League of Nations, reinforced by the presence of the Irish leader, irritated many more Americans, reminding them that American patriotism was, in fact, sullied by "hyphenated loyalties."71 The widespread fear of an overweening Catholic influence became an essential component of American conservatism during the 1920s. These facts are essential to understanding the attitude of American prelates as concerns education. In 1922, the National Catholic Welfare Conference, which assembled the American Bishops, published A Catechism of Catholic Education. The Conference of bishops used this manual, which dealt with the history of Catholic education in the United States, including the organization of the diocesan school system, to lead an aggressive fight against State monopoly in the area of public instruction, as evidenced by several of the nativist measures already contemplated. To defuse the opposition of the Americanizers, the Church flaunted ultraloyalist positions. Page 75 of the Catechism indicates that: "English is the language of the Catholic school [...]. The Catholic policy in education holds that all subjects, including religion, must be taught in English." However, the need to allow for instruction to 70. Edward Cuddy, "The Irish Question and the Revival of Anti-Catholicism in the 1920's" The Catholic Historical Review, LXVII, April 2, 1981, 237-238. 71. Id., 240-242.

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be given in a foreign language was recognized in instances where newly arrived immigrants or insistent parents so required. The policy of the Church, with respect to this question, is not to force the issue, but rather to await patiently the appropriate time, to wit, the particular moment when each foreign group is ready to accept the English language. In such way, there can be no risk of offending the racial susceptibilities of any immigrant, while working to successfully transform the foreign-language school into a school where English is the single language of instruction. The results achieved thus far have proven the wisdom of this deliberately patient approach.72

It is likely that the bishops were not simply reacting to the nativist position; in reality, they were taking advantage of events to accelerate the process, in order to promote a strong and united, even monolithic, Catholic Church—a hope they had fostered for a considerable length of time. The winds of centralization and standardization then sweeping the country also forced the bishops to acknowledge a need to strengthen the control of diocesan authorities over the parochial schools, while eradicating a manner of anarchy which seemed to have seized therein pride of place. The task was both onerous and delicate for, in that arena, each ethnic group was jealous of its prerogatives. The initiatives of the various "school committees," "visitor committees," "diocesan educational committees" or the committees grouping "superintendents of schools"—all of which had been set up to standardize the primary-school network (school calendars, programs, age of admission, number of school years, teacher training and the like)73—were examined in minute detail by pastors and religious communities alike and, quite often, criticized in the press. The bishops realized as well that it was imperative to organize Catholic access 72. Adolphe Robert, op. cit., note 11, 227. As early as 1921, the National Catholic Welfare Council had indicated that it concurred with the American Legion campaign to make English the sole language of instruction in the public and private schools. See the extract of La Tribune reproduced in "L'American Legion et notre langue" (The American Legion and our language), L'Avenir national, July 15, 1921, 4. 73. Pierre L'Heureux, Etude desfonctions de survivance ethno-religieuse et d'integration socio-culturelle d'une institution ethnique aux £tats-Unis. Le cas des ecoles paroissiales catholiques franco-americaines de Manchester (N.H.), 1900-1940 (Study of the functions both of ethno-religious survivance and of socio-cultural integration of an ethnic institution, in the United States. The case of the Franco-American Catholic parochial schools of Manchester (N.H.), 1900-1940), Master's dissertation (History), Universite du Quebec at Montreal, 1994, 67-69.

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to higher education in order to occupy that arena before the government did so. For such purpose, the Conference of Bishops insistently preached in favor of promoting the institution of high schools capable of rivaling their public-school counterparts. The program of the Bishop of Providence In June 1922, Mgr William Hickey,74 Bishop of Providence, convened his pastors to present them a program that reflected the preoccupations of the Conference of Bishops in regard to education. First off, he recalled that there had been many attempts made in the past to assure the development of secondary schools, but all those efforts, under parochial auspices, had seen but paltry results. "The day has come where we must admit that the parishes are unable to maintain higher learning of a sort and in a way that can compete with the public schools." And so, he decided to take on that work, in keeping with the instructions of the Council of Baltimore. "Henceforth, these upper schools shall be diocesan schools, built with the financial support of the parishes in the region where they are to be established; thereafter, they shall be maintained by the same parishes." Next, he launched a vast campaign of voluntary subscriptions75 to amass $1 million over a three-year period (1923, 1924, and 1925). Each parish was assigned a contributory amount, with a special tax imposed on any parish unable to comply. This tax, equal to the unpaid amount of the sum assigned, decreed the Bishop, "will be taken from the parish funds already at your disposal, or from the ordinary or extraordinary parochial revenues, or else be amassed through collections, gifts or amusements." Hickey advised the pastors that since there was no question of contracting any new debt or loan, it was unnecessary to call for a vote, of whatever sort, on the part of 74. Mgr William Hickey, appointed coadjutor of the Providence diocese in 1919 and bishop of that diocese in 1921, was born at Worcester and studied theology at the SaintSulpice Seminary at Paris. He was curate in several mixed parishes of New England, then, pastor of Sainte-Trinite" at Gilbertville (Mass.) during 13 years and at Clinton (N.Y.) for two years. Preoccupied by the issue of Catholic education, he developed a comprehensive education plan, based on diocesan centralization. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 319. 75. A drive. "This is a voluntary subscription on the part of every parishioner based on respective means. It is a form of taxation that everyone freely accepts. Thus organized, the campaigns last, as a rule, from six to ten days." Bruno Wilson, L'tvolution de la race fran$aise en Amerique: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island (The evolution of the French race in America: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island), vol. 1, Montreal, Librairie Beauchemin Lte"e, 1921, 230.

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the parochial corporations.76 That plan greatly disturbed the FrancoAmericans of the diocese, even more so because the pastors were convinced that the Bishop fully intended to tighten his control over all the parochial schools.77 They cited his ambiguity in the debate over the Peck bill. Of course, he energetically opposed the will of the state to abrogate the powers of the local school boards, but, at the same time, he refused to take an unequivocal stand on the issue of foreign-language instruction in the parochial schools. Elphege-J. Daignault,78 the foremost adversary of Mgr Hickey, wrote in his book, Le vrai mouvement sentinelliste en Nouvelle-Angleterre (19231929) et I'affaire du Rhode Island (The real Sentinellist movement in New England (1923-1929) and the Rhode Island Affair, published in 1936: "The 'Catechism' and parochial taxes are at the root of all the uproar."79 The terms of the policy designed by the Conference of Bishops ran counter to parental rights in regard to education, whereas the plan of the Bishop of Providence flouted the authority of parishioners in administrating parochial assets. "And," as Daignault concluded, "war broke out."80 The Crusaders and the subscription campaign of Mgr Hickey Mgr Hickey initiated his plan at a very unfavorable moment. The FrancoAmerican Catholic Federation and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America were engaged in the fight against the Peck bill, while the League to Rally the French Language in America was restricting its action to publishing tracts. And so, it was the Order of the Crusaders—modeled on the 76. Letter of Mgr Hickey to the pastors of the diocese of Providence, May 23, 1923, quoted in Adolphe Robert, op. cit. note 11, 228. That letter, written in 1923, when the voluntary subscription was launched, describes the program of June 1922. 77. Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 328. 78. Daignault was born at Woonsocket in 1876. He spent his entire life there, except for the years he studied at the Saint-Charles-Borromee Seminary of Sherbrooke and at the College Sainte-Marie of Montreal. From 1922 to 1936, he was President General of the Canado-American Association. His compatriots saw him as an ardent defender of their rights. In 1914, after a highly publicized fight, he managed to force Mgr Harkins, Bishop of Providence, to remove the French Marist Fathers from the Sainte-Anne parish of Woonsocket and to appoint as pastor, in their stead, Father Camille Villiard, a native Franco-American. 79. Elphege-J. Daignault, Le vrai mouvement sentinelliste en Nouvelle-Angleterre (1923-1929) et I'affaire du Rhode Island (The real Sentinellist movement in New England (1923-1929) and the Rhode Island Affair), Montreal, Editions du Zodiaque, 1936, 51. 80. Id., 52.

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Knights of Columbus and founded in 1920 at the time of the fight against the Smith-Towner bill—whose members would lead the protest movement. That secret society, led by Daignault with the support of pastors Joseph-H. Beland (Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Cceur of Central Falls), JosephS. Fortin (Sainte-Famille of Woonsocket) and Achille Prince (Saint-Louis of Woonsocket), as well as that of several curates, had espoused the immediate objective of halting the voluntary subscription campaign. For that purpose, in 1922, Daignault convinced Canon Joseph-Narcisse Gignac, a Quebec specialist in canon law, to draft a petition to be submitted to Pope Pius XI. That petition stated that the Catholics of the diocese, who were accorded no state assistance, were obliged to finance the construction and upkeep of the churches, the schools and various other parochial institutions; that most of those institutions were crippled by mortgages; that the Catholics of the diocese had paid their Bishop $100,000 in 1918 and $250,000 in 1920, and that he was demanding of them, at that point, payment of $1,000,000. "This sum of one million dollars that the Catholics of the diocese of Providence are asked to pay is an exorbitant tax, one that Catholics cannot assume without great risk to their churches, their schools and to all the Catholic works which they are required to fund."81 To conclude, the petition begged for papal protection against the Bishop's fiscal measure. A growing fear that the initiative taken by Mgr Hickey might well signify the death of many parochial projects took root, largely because it became increasingly obvious that Franco-American generosity had certain limits. From 1918 to 1920, 35 Franco-American parishes contributed $2,153,126.91 to parochial projects; among their number, the five parishes of Woonsocket alone provided the sum of $372,096.82 Even so, urgent needs remained to be met. And, at the annual Congress of the FrancoAmerican Catholic Federation, £lie V£zina offered the following statistics: "in Massachusetts, out of 68 parishes, 43 had schools and 25 did not; in New Hampshire, 14 parishes had schools, two did not; in Maine, 23 parishes had schools, six did not; in Connecticut, 17 parishes had schools, eight did not; in Vermont, eight parishes had schools, three did not; and, in Rhode Island, 16 parishes had schools, five did not."83 81. Id., 72-73. 82. Bruno Wilson, op. cit., note 75, 231. 83. Adolphe Robert, op. cit., note 11, 220.

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Mgr Joseph Halle, Bishop of Hearst in Ontario, took the petition to Rome in January 1923. Daignault duly notified Mgr Hickey, asking him to kindly defer his subscription pending a reply from Rome. Of particular note was the fact that their petition did not oppose voluntary subscriptions; rather, the Crusaders contested the exorbitant nature of the sum requested. Nonetheless, in May 1923, Daignault delivered a letter to the Apostolic Delegate, Mgr Pietro Fumasoni-Biondi, in which the applicants requested "that a directive be given to Monsignor Hickey instructing him to declare publicly and to make known widely that the subscription ordained by him is free and voluntary; further, that he be forbidden to appropriate parochial assets or assets of other religious corporations, unless he be given legitimate authorization to so proceed."84 The dissenters realized that the action of the Bishop clearly represented a mortal threat to the integrity of the parochial institution. "It is certain," wrote Daignault, "that the parish, thus far the cornerstone of our national and religious preservation, the source and inspiration of all our devotion and all our generosity, must needs disappear as the guiding principle of our religious economy, to give way to the diocese."85 The parish, "bastion of the race,"86 had to assume a secondary role. When, in 1923, the Bishop of Providence launched his subscription campaign without awaiting the judgment of Rome, he infuriated the Crusaders for whom the quarrel over the construction of the Mont-Saint-Charles Academy only added fuel to the fire. The Mont-Saint-Charles Academy, a source of division among the militants of survivance Over the period before the United States entered into the war, leaders like Gedeon Archambault, Jean-Leon Kemmer-Laflamme and Adolphe Robert spoke of developing access to higher education so as to better prepare Franco-American youth for the world of industry and commerce. And, although such colleges as Central Falls, Nashua and Manchester—all three directed by the Sacred Heart Brothers and offering a commercial course— did exist, these were only parochial institutions with limited possibilities. In 1918, a certain Mgr Charles Dauray also dreamed of opening a high school in his parish of the Precieux-Sang, at Woonsocket. He instructed 84. Elphege-J. Daignault, op. cit., note 79, 77. 85. Id., 67. 86. Elphege-J. Daignault, "La paroisse: moyen supreme" (The parish: the last best means), La Sentinelle, March 12, 1925.

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Father Georges Be"dard, his nephew and curate, to start up a subscription for the "Academic du Mont-Saint-Charles" (Mont-Saint-Charles Academy). In record time, Father Bedard had collected the tidy sum of $100,000, mostly in the parish of the Precieux-Sang. The promoters, possessed of a civil charter and the authorization of the Bishop, were in a position to establish an institution, open to all their compatriots in New England, and one that would be the counterpart of Assumption College. They envisaged founding a bilingual college for advanced commercial studies in order to train "those young people, who eventually will be called to positions of leadership."87 They succeeded in interesting the large mutual societies in their project to the extent that the latter bodies, in 1921, decided to organize a subscription campaign in every state of New England. The goal was set at $500,000. To underscore the national character of the project, the Franco-American Catholic Federation took it under its wing. They sent out a circular presenting the project to every Franco-American priest and also coordinated a vast publicity campaign in all of the daily and weekly newspapers. Thanks to our parochial schools, we have built a solid foundation for the Franco-American edifice. Now we must crown those glorious commencements. Every pillar must have a capital and every house, a roof. The same applies to any educational endeavor. In strategic locations, throughout New England, we must set up boarding schools for advanced commercial, industrial and technical studies. We shall be unable to establish them all at the same time. To begin with, we must choose the city which now offers the most advantages, and the finest opportunities for achieving every success [...].

That city was Woonsocket.88 The Federation called upon all Franco-Americans to open wide their purses. "According to his means, any individual may subscribe such amounts as $25, $50, $100, $1000 or more. As for those less monied, all subscriptions of $5, $10, $15 and $20 are most welcome."89 87. "Apres Fecole primaire, F6cole secondaire" (After the primary school, the secondary school), L'Avenir national, October 11,1920. Make no mistake: despite the highfalutin name of College for advanced commercial studies, in reality, that institution was no more than a high school. 88. "La Federation catholique s'adresse au clerge" (The Catholic Federation addresses the clergy), L'Avenir national, January 10, 1921, 4. 89. The Franco-American Catholic Federation, "Le passe, le present et Favenir des Franco-Americains. 28e article. Maniere de souscrire en faveur du premier College des

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The campaign failed. The Federation collected barely $47,500.90 The economic slump, and the other parochial subscriptions were contributing factors, but there was more. Some held that any Franco-American participation in a strictly "diocesan" project would inhibit the parishes developing their own institutions. As for the Crusaders, whose membership comprised professionals and influential businessmen of Woonsocket, they feared that Mgr Rickey would eventually take over the Mont-SaintCharles Academy and they made known their apprehension, thereby sinking the ongoing subscription. After 1922, Daignault cited the policy of the Conference of Bishops to justify his premonition; that which followed only confirmed his perception of the events. Mgr Dauray adhered obstinately to his project, appealing to Mgr Hickey for assistance. That prelate promised to intervene if another sum of $100,000 could be found. Matters progressed swiftly. Solicited by the same Father B£dard, Auguste Lepoutre, a major French industrialist of Woonsocket, promised to pay the interest charges of $100,000 over ten years. With the signature of the Bishop, the banks agreed to a loan of $400,000.91 Mgr Hickey drew praise on the part of La Tribune. Recalling that the Bishop of Providence had once declared that the Mont-SaintCharles Academy would also have its share of the funds raised during the diocesan subscription campaign, that newspaper wrote: "Should we not rejoice at so much benevolence accruing to us from the Bishop of Providence [...]. Despite serious obstacles, it is thanks to him that the Mont Saint-Charles Corporation has been able to begin work on its project with the support of solid financial backing [...]. We can and we must bless our Bishop for all the goodwill he has shown us." "[Mgr Hickey] takes a heartfelt interest in Franco-American endeavors."92 At the time of the celebrations to mark the inauguration of the Academy, Adelard Soucy, Mayor of Woonsocket, further added: "Even through material difficulties stood in the path of this worthwhile project [...]; even though the construction

hautes etudes commerciales, industrielles et techniques" (The Franco-American past, present and future. 28th article. How to subscribe to the First College for advanced commercial, industrial and technical studies), L'Avenir national, April 1, 1921, 4. 90. "La convention de Lowell est termin£e hier" (The Lowell Convention ended yesterday), L'Avenir national, September 19, 1922, 1. 91. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 345. 92. "Mgr Harkins," L'Avenir national, May 31, 1921, 4.

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work appeared to be delayed indefinitely, Your Grace intervened, bestowing the prestigious support of a Bishop."93 Mgr Hickey, a friend to the Franco-American! That was too much for Elphege-J. Daignault, who insisted that the college, which had been built by and for his compatriots, would become, if such was not already the case, an instrument of Anglicization in the hands of its promoters and of Mgr Hickey. He emphasized the fact that young Francophones would not be the only ones to attend the college; hence French would not be the dominant language of instruction. As a diocesan institution, he believed that Mont-Saint-Charles represented a significant phase in implementing the program announced by the Bishop of Providence in June 1922.94 "That institution was erected with our money," wrote La Sentinelle. "It is true that the money no longer belongs to us, since, after having given it to the Bishop of the diocese, that individual loans it to us, with the obligation to pay it back to him."95 Under such circumstances, those who believed that they were in a position to exercise a long-standing influence on the orientation of that institution were deluding themselves, dangerously. To add insult to injury, in the eyes of E.-J. Daignault, the closing of the Central Falls boarding school, a parochial institution, located only a few miles from the Mont-Saint-Charles Academy, represented nothing less than a catastrophe. Moreover, he accused Mgr Hickey of having forced the hand of the Sacred-Heart Brothers.96 The entire Mont-Saint-Charles Affair gave a second wind to the fight that the Crusaders had undertaken earlier on. The announcement launching the initial phase of the subscription campaign for the diocese of Providence had provoked them considerably. They held meeting upon meeting and, as was seen, asked the Apostolic Delegate to intervene. Those many efforts proved useless; the subscription was a success. The Bishop collected $562,000, with more than $100,000 donated by the FrancoAmerican parishes. The Crusaders, whose influence had proved virtually nil, then determined to found a newspaper. La Sentinelle started operations on April 4, 1924. Its promoters, who presented the daily as a news93. Address read by His Worship the Mayor Adelard Soucy to His Grace, Mgr William Hickey, in Dedicace du Mont-Saint-Charles-du-Sacre-Coeur (Dedication of the Mont-SaintCharles-du-Sacre-Cceur), November 11, 1924, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, s. 94. Richard S. Sorrell, op. cit., note 52, 200-201. 95. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 371. 96. Id., 368.

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paper inspired by L'Action catholique of Quebec City and Le Droit of Ottawa, solicited and obtained the encouragement of several Canadian bishops. L'Action catholique even saluted Daignault as a "providential leader."97 Under the direction of Joseph-Albert Foisy,98 formerly a journalist with L'Action catholique and editor in chief of the Ottawa daily, Le Droity La Sentinelle took up the fight against the project of Mgr Dauray and the subscription of Mgr Hickey, to obtain, in the end, little more success than that which the Crusaders had managed to achieve earlier on. For, despite the rather moderate tone that the paper used at first, the leaders of the fight rapidly made many enemies. Urged on by Mgr Dauray, who held Daignault's Crusaders to be responsible for the failure of the 1921 campaign led by the Franco-American Catholic Federation, moderates like Adelard Soucy and numerous clergy left the secret society. The Saint-JeanBaptiste Union of America, whose chaplain was Mgr Dauray, also blamed the Crusaders for their actions. In fact, the society, which was leading the fight against the nativists, needed the collaboration of the clergy who gave every appearance of siding with them.99 La Tribune not only extolled the merits of Mgr Hickey, it also denounced the pessimists and all other obdurate individuals who dared contest the Franco-American character of the Mont-Saint-Charles Academy.100 La Sentinelle, which soon began to stagnate, became a weekly, with Elphege-J. Daignault, Phydime Hemond and Henri Perdriau taking the reins. The trio fully intended to halt the third phase of the Hickey campaign, planned for 1925. They spoke of again petitioning Rome and even invoked the possibility of civil proceedings. More combative, the new team adopted an arrogant tone and, on occasion, did not hesitate to use excessive language. People who believed that they were being attacked unjustly, to quote Daignault, "cannot be expected to speak calmly and with benevolence like a Sainted Cure of Ars."101 "What sort of weapon should we use," he queried, in August 1925, "to ward off assimilators like certain FrancoAmericans who are hawking our rights while pretending to defend them? The manure shovel," he replied. "This is the only weapon suitable for 97. 98. 99. 100. 101.

Id, 365. Born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, February 6, 1887. See supra. Robert Rumilly, op. cit. note 12, 370. Elphege-J. Daigneault, op. cit., note 79, 47.

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fighting the malefactors who are blackening the pages of our very history."102 The tactics and the tone employed by Daignault and his coterie would provoke an irremediable division among Franco-American leaders. And the inevitable rupture occurred at the Congress of the Franco-American Catholic Federation, held at Willimantic, on December 15, 1924. The Congress of Willimantic, Connecticut The seventh annual Congress of the Federation reunited the representatives of 25 associations, along with a student delegation from Assumption College in Worcester. The radicals and the moderates met in violent confrontation. In his opening address, President Eugene Jalbert, a Woonsocket lawyer, started by praising the Mont-Saint-Charles Academy, while also lauding that institution's principal artisans: Mgr Dauray and Mgr Hickey. Then, he made a declaration that plunged the gathering into turmoil. Let me say here that I am not insensitive to the attacks that certain newspapers and certain individuals, more zealous than intelligent, [...] have been leading against His Grace, the Bishop of Providence and against the honorable old man who shepherds the Precieux-Sang parish of Woonsocket [...]. To seek public approval, under the guise of wanting to arouse the attention of one's readers, is, in all truth, to scorn the sovereignty of Rome, in a word, to drag respect for authority through the dungheap and to plant in souls the seeds of contempt and hatred, thereby opening wide the door to schism... For my part, I herewith disavow—in its entirety—the campaign of abuse and slander that has been directed over the past year against His Grace, Mgr the Bishop of Providence. And, it is my sincere hope that the resolutions of this Congress will enable us to deny any responsibility on the part of our society.103

Of course, that declaration had to be included in the Acts of the Congress. Adolphe Robert, who represented the Canado-American Association, pointed out the risk of having the public conclude that the Federation as a whole condemned the attitude of La Sentinelle—quite obviously an impossibility since he himself, and many others, supported it. He asked therefore to have added to the Acts the fact that Jalbert's declaration represented but his personal opinion, nothing more. Others, like 102. Elphege-J. Daigneault, "La superieure devra toujours etre une irlandaise" (The Superior must always be an Irishwoman), La Sentinelle, August 20, 1925. 103. Adolphe Robert, op. cit., note 11, 229-230.

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filie Vezina, who feared that the Federation would crumble, suggested to Jalbert that he alter his report. As for Daignault, he denied the Federation the right to condemn—under the aegis of their president—the work of La Sentinelle, further demanding that such condemnation disappear from the archives. In vain. Jalbert remained intractable and the report was put in the archives and communicated to the newspapers, as was then the custom. And, when the time came to elect dignitaries, the representatives of the Canado-American Association, whose president was Daignault, refused to occupy any function on the federal board. Inevitably, the Association broke with the Federation. In sympathy with their Association colleagues, the Societe Jacques-Cartier of Rhode Island followed suit.104 That incident spelled the climax of a lengthy debate among the Franco-American elite. Ought Franco-Americans to forget the past and agree to collaborate with the religious authorities and the Catholics of other ethnic groups? Were the Franco-American national associations, in particular, expected to join the American Federation of Catholic Associations in order to assure the defense of Catholic interests throughout the country? Those possibilities had been broached to the elite on several occasions since the beginning of the twentieth century, but never with as much insistence as by the National Catholic Welfare Council, after the war. "It is imperative," declared Mgr Guertin in 1921, "that Catholic organizations rid themselves, once and for all, of so many amorphous strata of indifference and mistrust while they are still but a loosely cemented mosaic"105 "The everlasting salvation of Catholicism in the United States depends on Catholic solidarity [...]. The duty of American Catholics is unequivocal. They must follow the directions of those who are authorized to lead them."106 Again, as in the past, the militants—radicals and moderates, alike—hesitated. Although they saw the need for close collaboration with the bishops in order to counter various sectarian bills, they also feared —the radicals, in particular—that the American Federation of Catholic Associations was working behind the scenes to effect the assimilation of their collectivity. In 1921, as in 1910 and 1915, the leaders of Franco-American associations decided to take the middle road. Rejecting 104. Id, 230-235. 105. "Allocution de S.G. Mgr Guertin" (Allocution of S.G. Mgr Guertin), L'Avenir national, November 25, 1921, 2. 106. "L'union des catholiques" (Catholic solidarity), L'Avenir national, December 1, 1921,4.

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the notion of any individual affiliation, instead, they opted for the regrouping of associations within the Franco-American Catholic Federation. "When it comes to religion, we are ready to fight, side by side, with the other Catholic-American organizations, be these called "Catholic Welfare Council," "Knights of Columbus," "Catholic American Federation," or whatever; but, we also want to keep for ourselves the credit for our efforts and the weight of our influence, rather than seeing these smothered in the much-vaunted folds of a flag more green [Irish] than Catholic."107 In the end, that was the solution retained. In the course of their fights against the various bills introduced by the Americanizers, along with their crusade to garner the "bonne presse" (Catholic press)108 while promoting the subscription campaign to finance the Mont-Saint-Charles Academy, the Episcopate and the FrancoAmerican associations collaborated smoothly. But the radicals, Daignault and his coterie, in particular, ever suspicious of the "real" intentions of the bishops, continued fighing their predecessors. When their compatriots, alleging respect for authority, asked them to remain silent, they slammed the door and returned to their policy of non-participation, thereby severing the links of a very fragile solidarity. The maneuver of Eugene Jalbert, which Daignault called "the death blow of Willimantic,"109 was to cause a considerable stir. Referring to an account of the events that had appeared in L'Avenir national, Mgr Guertin, Bishop of Manchester, wrote to Father L.-J.-A. Doucet, Chaplain General of the Canado-American Association, to condemn the "entirely reprehensible" attitude and the "intolerable" conduct of the Association members. He implored Doucet, and his assistant, Father Henri Beaude, to require of that Association's senior officers that they make a full retraction, in terms that would have to be submitted to his prior approval; this retraction was to be published subsequently in L'Avenir national of January 17, 1925.no Bishop Guertin, himself, composed the statement of retraction.111 The Head Office and the Chaplain asked the Bishop for an audience. In vain. 107. Joseph Lussier, "La fissure" (The crack), Justice, reprinted in L'Avenir national, August 18, 1921, 4. 108. "Mouvement en faveur de la bonne presse" (Movement to garner the Catholic press), L'Avenir national, February 22, 1922, 5. 109. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 374. 110. Adolphe Robert, op. cit., note 11, 238-240. The letter is dated January 8, 1925. 111. Id., 243-244.

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When L'Avenir national appeared on January 17 with no retraction, Mgr Guertin removed the Association's two chaplains. Mgr Guertin and Mgr Hickey, scapegoats of the Sentinellists Daignault was furious. While persevering in his fight against Mgr Rickey's program, at the same time, he wanted to settle a score with the Bishop of Manchester. From February 12, 1925, to February 11, 1926, he published some 30 virulent editorials in La Sentinelled2 Those texts clearly illustrate the mistrust harbored by the Sentinellists towards the Episcopate and the abyss that was widening between the radical and the moderate militants. Reason enough to take a closer look at how things stood. Daignault peremptorily affirmed that Mgr Guertin, on account of his overweening desire for conciliation and harmony, could not be viewed as a defender of Franco-Americans.113 Rather, he was a docile instrument in the hands of the Irish assimilators whom the Sentinellist leader called "national assassins."114 And yet, by persecuting the Canado-American Association, he was playing into the hands of Mgr Hickey "who seeks the annihilation of all ethnic groups other than the Irish"; unwitting accomplice to Mgr Rickey's endeavor, Mgr Guertin, by that very fact, was surrendering his compatriots to the same prelate's will.115 Even worse, the Bishop of Manchester was acting like an Irishman. Disregarding the events in Maine earlier on, he kept alive in his diocese the system of the Sole Corporation. Under that system, all monies that were donated to the funds of the various parishes became the property of the Bishop, who could dispose of same as he saw fit. As a result, the Irish, who represented the

112. Robert Perreault reproduced them in extenso in Elphege ]. Daignault et le mouvement sentinelliste a Manchester, New Hampshire (Elphege J. Daignault and the Sentinellist movement at Manchester, New Hampshire), Bedford, N. H. National Materials Development Center, 1981, 49-226. 113. Elphege J. Daignault, "Le systeme de la Corporation Sole" (The system of the Sole Corporation), La Sentinelle, February 19, 1925. 114. Elphege-J. Daignault, "Le sauveur de la race au New Hampshire!" (The Savior of the race in New Hampshire!), La Sentinelle, July 16, 1925. 115. Elphege-J. Daignault, "Evenements recents. Maximes qui en decoulent." (Recent events. Ensuing maxims), La Sentinelle, July 9, 1925. Mgr Hickey ordered the removal of certain CAA leaders "because they thwarted his plans for Anglicization and are in the process of sounding, throughout New England, a wake-up call that will save the nation which he seeks to kill."

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minority in the diocese, "obtain therewith everything they want." Mgr Guertin uses the monies contributed by the Franco-Americans to build for the Irish some of the most splendid institutions in his diocese."116 La Sentinelle accused the Bishop of seeking "to meld all the races in a single mold."117 For that purpose, he did not hesitate, just like his Irish colleagues, to appoint Irish pastors to head the national parishes. In so acting, he violated both the letter and the spirit of Church laws, as well as her secular traditions. He did just that in 1914 when he appointed Father P. J. Ernest Devoy as pastor of the Saint-Georges parish at Manchester. In truth, Father Devoy had trained in Quebec, had an excellent command of French and was very understanding of his Franco-American flock; but, under his direction, would the parish "become that bastion of faith and patriotism that everyone was entitled to expect? Never! Left to his natural inclinations, Father Devoy will likely turn the good Saint-Georges parish into a center of indifferentism."118 According to Daignault, the process was all the more insidious in that Pastor Devoy was so much appreciated by his parishioners. He had established free education at Saint-Georges —all scholastic supplies, such as text books, notebooks, pens and pencils were provided free of charge—which, in turn, earned him the title of "Father of free education in [the] Franco-American schools of New Hampshire."119 And, in September 1924, he founded the Saint-Georges High School for the young ladies of the parish and surrounding areas, yet another innovation in the diocese of Manchester. For all those reasons, L'Avenir national saw in him "an apostle of French survivance,"120 whereas La Sentinelle presented him rather as "an apostle of French degeneration."121 For, "although he mouths words of sympathy and gratitude for our nationality, to us, his actions only prove that his heart is full of hatred 116. Elphege-J. Daignault, "Corporation Sole: (Systeme abusif)" (Sole Corporation: [An abusive system]), La Sentinelle, April 2, 1925. 117. Elphege-J. Daignault, "At Manchester as in France," La Sentinelle, March 19,1925. 118. Elphege-J. Daignault, loc. cit, note 86. 119. J.-E. Vaccarest, "Mgr Devoy et 1'ecole Saint-Georges. La voix des anciens Sieves" (Mgr Devoy and Saint-Georges School. The voice of the Alumnae), in Noces d'or sacerdotales (Golden sacerdotal anniversary). Monsignor T. J. E. Devoy 1888-1938, Manchester, N. H., 1938, 10. Extract of an article in the edition of September 28 of the CanadoAmericain. Funding is assured by an additional donation of five cents for each pew space occupied during the Sunday masses. 120. Elphege-J. Daignault, loc. cit., note 115. 121. Elphege-J. Daignault, loc. cit., note 103.

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for all that is French." The proof: he speaks nothing but English to his altar boys, to the schoolchildren and to the Franco-American adults whom he meets in the street. "Is that not diabolical?"122 "So tell me, how can you keep on recommending moderation, patience and diplomacy?"123 By establishing in the Manchester diocese a school system that tended to advance "an absolute unity of all the elements," Mgr Guertin was viewed as striving to "denationalize" and, in consequence, to "dechristianize" his compatriots.124 The French language was cast aside or placed on the back burner in every mixed parish, without the slightest intervention on the part of the Bishop. "Our rights when it comes to French-language instruction " concluded La Sentinelle, "are more entirely disregarded in the diocese of Mgr Guertin than in any other diocese we know."125 Moreover, that prelate was held accountable for having increased the centralization of diocesan authority in regard to schooling. Had he not instituted, under his own governance, a commission responsible for the general management of all the parochial schools?126 That was the same commission which began, as of the summer of 1920, to organize sessions in pedagogy for parochial schoolteachers, which sessions were offered in English only.127 In the end, the Sentinellists reproached Mgr Guertin for promoting the collaboration—indeed even the affiliation—of Catholics from the different ethnic groups. For these many reasons, as Daignault contemptuously affirmed, "if Manchester is the criterion for the benefits flowing from the mitre coiffing a certain Franco-American, let us pray to the Good Lord that He spare us any future repetition of such a calamity." It appeared that the only advantage of having Franco-American bishops was "on condition that they be appointed to the head of national dioceses." In the mixed 122. Elphege-J. Daignault, "La nationalite du cur6 Devoy" (The nationality of Pastor Devoy), La Sentinelle, September 24, 1925. "He tags along behind the Irish tribe, the very people who want to see our ancestral tongue die on our lips," he wrote in the same article. 123. Elphege-J. Daignault, loc. cit., note 103. 124. Elphege-J. Daignault, "Puisqu'il faut s'expliquer!" (Since we must make ourselves clear!), La Sentinelle, April 16, 1925. 125. Elphege-J. Daignault, loc. cit., note 118. 126. Daignault says little about the composition of that commission which, in addition to the Bishop, included five pastors: three from national parishes, one from a mixed parish and one from a territorial parish. They offer, wrote L'Avenir national, "every guarantee [...] that the rights of the French language will be safeguarded." "Commission scolaire catholique" (Catholic school commission), L'Avenir national, January 20, 1919, 4. 127. "Des cours a 1'usage des instituteurs des ecoles catholiques" (Courses intended for teachers in the employ of Catholic schools), L'Avenir national, July 24, 1920.

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dioceses, they would always be constrained to give way before "the obstinately perfidious and underhand action of the Irish priests in their diocese, who enjoy the full support of the Irish episcopate." Manchester was seen as living proof of that reality.128 The fight against Mgr Hickey's program was just as relentless and almost as brutal. In early 1925, the Sentinellists addressed a fresh memorandum to Pius XI. Invoking the councils and canon law, that missive contested the right of the Bishop of Providence to draw funds from the coffers of parish corporations without their consent, asserting that such withdrawals were quite simply illegal. Nonetheless, on December 19,1925, the Sacred Congregation of the Council rejected the appeal of Daignault and his partisans. Throughout all of 1925, the battle raged in the diocese of Providence and virtually everywhere else in New England. The Franco-Americans were tearing one another to pieces. Some priests gave their support to the contesters, others denounced them from the pulpit. La Sentinelle, which enjoyed the support of L'Independant of Fall River and of ^Impartial of Nashua, fought against La Tribune of Woonsocket, La Justice of Holyoke, L'Avenir national of Manchester and Le Courrier of Lawrence. Blows rained thick and fast. Referring to Daignault as the new Torquemada, L'Avenir national reproached him for having "fabricated from start to finish (a national cause), invented grievances and unearthed, virtually everywhere, enemies of our race [...]. The nationalist extremists have established a kind of patriotic dictatorship. Only those who share their animosities and their prejudices are recognized as patriots." They persecuted "with a violent, albeit futile, rage those who are pursuing in this land of America such goals as harmony, peace and fruitful collaboration with the foreign Catholic collectivities."129 Even the mutual societies were divided. The Canado-American Association and the Soci&e" Jacques-Cartier sided with La Sentinelle, whereas the Order of Franco-American Foresters and, most importantly, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America condemned the fanaticism of Daignault. "It (the Union) rejects with utter contempt," declared £lie Vezina, in June 1925, "the perfidious counsels handed out by the denigrators of religious authority, as well as by the sowers of discord 128. Elphege-J. Daignault, "La situation & Manchester" (The situation at Manchester), La Sentinelle, March 5, 1925. 129. "Une vilaine besogne" (A nasty piece of work), L'Avenir national, August 31, 1925, 4.

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and hatred or by the libelers, whose hypocracies appear in newspapers and circulars, indeed, by all those false apostles who array themselves in the magnificent cloak of 'savior of the race' in order to astound gullible fools."130 All the attempts of the Sentinellists to rouse support for their cause proved futile; Mgr Hickey's campaign was a stunning success. Within three years, the Catholics of the diocese had underwritten some $1,160,000. Recourse to the civil courts, excommunication and definitive outcome The year 1926 was one of transition. Early on, the Sentinellists addressed yet another petition to Rome, therein describing at great length the ordeals which they had had to endure on account of their attachment to the French language.131 In their view, that same fidelity to the language of their ancestors was at the root of the agitation rocking the diocese of Providence. Hence, they were asking for a thorough inquiry into the situation they faced. At the same time, the Sentinellists envisaged a recourse to the civil courts. They contemplated bringing suit against the parochial corporations—12 in number—which had "embezzled funds" to meet the Bishop's request. However, such action was risky since the Bishop himself was also a member of those corporations. Daignault consulted widely to learn whether "without risking excommunication, he could bring before the courts the parochial corporations, whose bishop was, ex officio, a member of their association."132 The opinions he obtained were reassuring.133

130. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 381-382. The Union thereby elicited the praise of Mgr Guertin. "Eloge d'eveque dans une lettre a 1'Union S.-J.-B." (Praise of a Bishop in a letter to the S.-J.-B. Union), L'Avenir national, September 5> 1925. 131. See "Memoire des catholiques franco-americains du diocese de Providence, Rhode Island, a sa Saintete Pie IX" (Memorandum of the Franco-American Catholics of the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, to His Holiness Pius XI), in Elphege-J. Daignault, op. cit., note 79, 135-140. 132. Elphege-J. Daignault, id., 145. 133. Canon Gignac of Quebec, in particular, maintained that the Bishop could not affirm that the applicants would be excommunicated, ipso facto; he could threaten excommunication, but the applicants enjoyed a right of appeal "with devolutionary and suspensive effect"; since the appeal had brought the cause before the Holy See, "the hands of the Bishop were tied." "Lettre du chanoine Gignac du 21 novembre 1926" (Letter of Canon Gignac, November 1926), quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 401^02.

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At the beginning of 1927, the Sentinellists were persuaded that civil proceedings would settle, definitively, the litigious issue at hand, thereby creating a precedent for the future; they were also convinced that they had sufficient guarantees to proceed. And so, they brought suit against 12 Franco-American corporations. Each accusation was signed by five members of every parish. The plaintiffs alleged that substantial sums had been embezzled from parochial funds, then paid to the chancery of the diocese of Providence to be used for purposes that had nothing to do with the parochial corporations.134 When the time came to discuss the question in court, the Sentinellists convened an important assembly at Woonsocket, on July 28, 1927; there, they promised to no longer give even so much as a red cent to parish projects; they also refused to pay the pew stipend. That measure followed on the heels of Mgr Rickey's announcement in May that he was launching a new subscription campaign, this time to benefit the diocesan charity fund. It was also a gesture in support of the pastor of Saint-Louis of Woonsocket, Achille Prince, whom the Bishop had relieved of his duties on account of his support for the Sentinellists. In his pastoral letter of February 15, 1928, which he asked the clergy to read and explain from the pulpit, Mgr Hickey condemned the Sentinellist boycott as a "conspiracy" against the very existence of the Church and her institutions.135 And so the battle reached a climax in New England. Priests refused entry to their church to parishioners who declined to pay the pew stipend and, on occasion, even asked the police to intervene and remove the recalcitrants. Others refused confession and communion to leaders of the movement. Invectives soon gave way to outrage. La Sentinelle called Mgr Hickey a Judas and the Franco-American priests who supported him traitors to their race. The Sentinellists too were raked over the coals, being labeled jackals, pigs and drunkards. La Tribune called Daignault and his partisans, "satanic Bolsheviks" and "anarchists of the Sacco-Vanzetti stripe."136 All those incidents made one Josaphat Benoit cry out in despair: 134. Robert Rumilly, id., 422. 135. "A propos de 1'affaire du Rhode Island" (On the question of the Rhode Island Affair), L'Avenir national, February 20, 1928, 4. 136. Richard S. Sorrell, "Sentinelle Affair (1924-1929): Religious and Militant Survivance in Woonsocket, Rhode Island," in Madeleine Giguere (ed.), A Franco-American Overview, vol. 4, New England, Cambridge, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual/Bicultural Education, 1981, 176-177.

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"This is the most tragic episode, the blackest page, the single most disgraceful passage in the Franco-American annals."137 In the autumn of 1927, two virtually simultaneous occurrences threatened the very existence of the Sentinellist movement. The first was the decision of one Judge Tanner of the Rhode Island Superior Court. In his judgment, Tanner declared that the expenditures of parochial corporations were in no way illegal since the corporations in question had been organized to serve the universal, not the parochial, Church. The second was the opinion that the Sacred Congregation of the Council handed Mgr Hickey allowing him to excommunicate those who had summoned him to appear before the civil courts. Thereafter, the Sentihellists were on the defensive. Daignault, immensely distressed, journeyed to Rome to present to the Pope a fresh petition from the Franco-Americans of the diocese of Providence. He did not have the opportunity to submit the document to the Holy Father. For, on April 8,1928, Easter Sunday, he read in the Osservatore Romano that Rome had banned La Sentinelle and excommunicated its director, along with the 55 individuals who had signed the petition then before the civil courts.138 The pressure to have Rome intervene was increasing. On a visit to the Eternal City, the American bishops had denounced, in turn, the Sentinellist battle against Episcopal authority, while emphasizing the need for Catholic high schools in the United States. Moreover, the news coming out of New England grew more disquieting with each passing day. As early as March 11, 1927, filie Vezina had written to Mgr Benedetti: "The fire now blazing in the four corners of the diocese of Providence is spreading rapidly to the other dioceses of New England [...]. The majority of our Franco-American priests—pastors and curates, alike—view most favorably the movement led by Daignault and are even backing it with their parish monies."139 On April 15,1928, Mgr Hickey had the excommunication announced from every diocesan pulpit, further advising his diocesans that no one had the authority to receive, read, purchase or sell La Sentinelle, under pain of mortal sin. That news, while alarming the Sentinellists, did not put an end to the uproar. A handful of militants was ready to pursue the fight until the 137. Josaphat Benoit, L'dme franco-americaine (The Franco-American soul), Montreal, Editions Albert Levesque, 1935, 226. 138. Elphege-J. Daignault, op. cit, note 79, 177-178, 202. 139. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 404.

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bitter end. As of May 31, La Verite replaced the banned publication La Sentinelle. Later on, La Verite was taken over by La Bataille, to be succeeded by La Defense. Henri Perdriau, without his leader's knowledge, published a brochure entitled Fiat Lux—le Bon Sens et la logique (Common sense and logic). Thereby, he invited the Franco-Americans to join the Latin Orthodox, or American Catholic Church, directed by Casimir Durand, "where parochial finances are controlled by the faithful." A call to schism had been sounded.140 Once back from Rome, a livid Daignault repudiated his collaborator and burned the 10,000 copies of the brochure. But the damage was done. Rome then decided to lay down the law. On January 7, 1929, Mgr Hickey, at the request of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, notified Daignault that should he and his friends remain more than a year under the sword of excommunication, to wit, until May 17,1929, without seeking absolution, they would be suspected, forthwith, of heresy and dealt with accordingly.141 The same day, Mgr Fumasoni-Biondi, Apostolic Delegate, notified the Canado-American Association that no society comprising an excommunicated president and members, could be considered Catholic. As a result, the High Court, at its assembly of January 30, adopted a resolution inviting the members in question to seek release from the order of excommunication, on pain of expulsion. In the event of a refusal, Daignault, for his part, would be ordered to tender his resignation as president of the Association.142 The anti-Sentinellists also increased the pressure; then, filie V£zina accomplished a masterstroke by convincing Henri Bourassa, Editor in Chief of Le Devoir, a man highly respected in every Franco-American milieu, to take a stand on the issue. From January 15 to 19, 1929, Bourassa published a series of five sensational articles in Le Devoir. The Church, he wrote, recognizes that all peoples have the "right to survive," but forbids them, under the pretext of protecting such right, to scorn lawful authority, "to subordinate Catholicism to nationalism."143 140. Id., 433. 141. "Documents officiels" (Official documents), L'Avenir national, January 14,1929,1. 142. Adolphe Robert, op. cit, note 11, 282-283. 143. Henri Bourassa, L'affaire de Providence et la crise religieuse en Nouvelle-Angleterre (The Providence Affair and the religious crisis in New England), Montreal, Le Devoir, 1924, 20. This is the brochure which reproduced the five articles that appeared in Le Devoir, from January 15 to 19, 1929.

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Either at home or elsewhere, let it be well understood that no matter the issue—be it faith, morals, language, nationality or money—never shall the Holy See, never shall the Church, tolerate that Catholics drag before public disapproval any prelate, who is in communion with the Apostolic See, for acts (just or unjust) that fall under Episcopal jurisdiction [...]. Never shall she concede that in matters of great moment to her will she act without first carefully weighing every aspect. Never shall she sacrifice the principle of authority which strengthens her—and the security of her children—to become a government of opinion, buffeted by the many winds of error, swayed by the myriad passions of the masses.144

The Sentinellists had but one course open to them: "to submit—or cry quits, in other words, to leave the Church."145 Bourassa's prestige is such, affirmed Robert Rumilly, that the publication of the five articles "is tantamount to a fresh excommunication striking the Sentinellists."146 Daignault capitulated. "We have drunk to the dregs the cup of humiliation for the privilege of remaining children of the Roman Catholic Church."147 The following June 24, on the occasion of the SaintJean-Baptiste celebrations at Woonsocket, Daignault, having been roundly acclaimed, announced: "The fight has only just begun; but in the future, we shall have to employ more diplomatic methods."148 First and foremost—Francophones or Catholics? The Sentinellist agitation was primarily a quarrel between Franco-American militants and the Bishop of Providence. Yet, it was also a fight between the radical and the moderate partisans of survivance. The foregoing analysis has brought to light a certain number of facts about those people, but there is a need to take an even closer look. "It is most astonishing," wrote La Tribune,"[...] to see the ascendancy, which certain men have been holding over the people; the individuals in question enjoy no personal merit, no authority, indeed, no mission other than the one they have concocted."149 That remark was aimed at Daignault and the Sentinellist hard core, but their sympathizers, the radical militants, were to be found well beyond the borders of Woonsocket and Rhode 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149.

Id., 19. Id., 18. Quoted in Robert Rumilly, op. cit., note 12, 448. Id., 451. Id., 458. Joseph-Albert Foisy, op. cit., note 1, 154.

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Island. Who were those militants? Exactly which ideas did they defend and what was their view of the world, and the extent of their influence? To begin with, the clergy numbered many militants in their ranks. L'Opinion publique of March 19, 1927, published a letter from Pastor J.-Donat Binette of Cochituate (Mass.), who stated that 52 of the 55 Franco-American priests of the archdiocese of Boston were Sentinellists.150 That same year, Henri Ledoux, President General of the Saint-JeanBaptiste Union of America, confirmed Father Binette's comments: "The clergy of Rhode Island and Massachusetts," he declared "is almost unanimously against us."151 In New Hampshire, although sources there were much more discreet, it was common knowledge that two curates of SaintMathieu and Saint-Martin of Somersworth, Adrien Verrette and J.-E. Vachon, had been censured by Mgr Guertin.152 In Maine, a number of priests supported Le Messager of Lewiston in their fight against Mgr Walsh who, in 1923, after having instituted a new parish at Lewiston, where the parishioners were 80% Franco-Americans, christened it Holy Cross and appointed an Irish pastor to lead the flock.153 As has been noted earlier, newspapers, such as L'Impartial of Nashua and L'Independant of Fall River, as well as many professionals and the mutualist leaders of both the Canado-American Association and the Societe" Jacques-Cartier sided with La Sentinelle. It would be impossible to overestimate the ascendancy that those militants held over their compatriots; they accomplished that feat by expressing the ideas and the uneasiness that had always had equal resonance in Franco-American circles. Their discourse was identical to that of the militants of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes of Fall River, of Danielson, of North Brookfield and of Maine. In their view, the existence of national parishes headed by Franco-American priests was essential to the survival, let alone the promotion, of the French fact in New England. Moreover, wherever there existed national parishes shepherded by a clergy of French-Canadian origin, whose members were not subjected to nitpicky supervision, the 150. Robert Rumilly, op. cit, note 12, 404. 151. Id, 406. 152. "Geste e"mouvant hier a Peglise de Somersworth" (A moving gesture yesterday at Somersworth Church), L'Avenir national, November 19, 1928, 1. 153 Paul Pare, "A History of Franco-American Journalism," in Renaud S. Albert (ed.), A Franco-American Overview, vol. 1, National Assessment and Dissemination Center for Bilingual/Bicultural Education, Cambridge, Mass., 1979, 253-254.

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Franco-Americans thrived; elsewhere, most notably in the mixed parishes, they rapidly became Anglicized. And, who in fact imposed the preservation of mixed parishes? Who rejected the creation of national parishes? Who deprived the existing national parishes of French-Canadian priests? The bishops. Very little, if anything, that the episcopate had done in the past found favor with those militants. Of course, they were forced to recognize that the bishops had authorized the creation of national parishes much more often than they had refused to do so. But, at the same time, the radicals affirmed that it would be folly to view the creation of some 150 national parishes and the presence of hundreds of French-Canadian priests in New England as an indication of a benevolent attitude on the part of the episcopate. That reality was instead the fruit of a fierce and relentless battle waged by the Franco-Americans and their elite. The Irish assimilators of the 1920s appeared to them as more menacing and cunning than ever before. Certain bishops continued to reject the creation of national parishes there where they were needed, or else consented only grudgingly to this. Moreover, in order to achieve their goal of establishing an English-speaking Church that was united, strong, affluent and influential, they employed a more subtle strategy. Rather than clashing head-on with the Franco-Americans by imposing on them pastors of Irish extraction, the bishops strove to eliminate in all quarters the very meaning of a national parish by strengthening the authority of the diocese over primary education and over the administration of parochial assets. Like their predecessors, the Sentinellists believed that to thwart those maneuvers it was imperative to appeal to Rome even though the Roman authorities had always persisted in siding with the bishops. And so, they continued to believe, or so they pretended, that the Holy See, were it better informed, would vindicate the Franco-Americans. Those same militants also believed for a time that if Rome were to accord them one or several bishops of their own nationality, as a matter of course, all their problems would be settled. However, Daignault insisted that the example of Mgr Guertin at Manchester had effectively proved to the contrary. Clearly, means for a new reprisal needed to be found. The militants of Maine had applied to the legislature in an attempt to restrict the authority of the Bishop in regard to administrating parochial assets. That undertaking had met with failure. Then, as a last resort, the Sentinellists had appealed to the judiciary, with no greater success.

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By fighting so fiercely to retain control over their parishes and thereby assure the survival of the French language, the Sentinellists and their supporters never felt that they were disserving the Catholic Church. On the contrary! If language occupied the forefront of their contentions, it was simply because they held that language continued to play a vital role in the defense of their faith. For, as Joseph-Albert Foisy averred in 1922—at the time, he was advocating radical positions—"In places where the [FrancoAmericans] became Americanized, where they lost the language as did their Irish counterparts, they had first turned their back on the Catholic Church. In any place where the parochial institution has enabled them to remain French, both in language and in tradition, they have all retained the Catholic faith."154 Both during and after the Sentinellist crisis, the moderates defended quite different ideas. Who were the moderates? Priests, some of whom were of Quebec origin, but for the most part they numbered Americans, clerical counterparts who were born in the United States, along with professionals and businessmen, journalists from the La Tribune of Woonsocket, La Justice of Holyoke, L'Avenir national of Manchester, the Courrier of Lawrence and, finally, the mutualists of the Order of Franco-American Foresters and of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Union of America. For Daignault and his coterie, they were renegades or turncoats, individuals who, out of cowardice or self-interest, had given up the fight. Joseph-Albert Foisy represented the epitome of that contingent.155 Yet, the reality was quite different. In fact, that group comprised the true militants of survivance, people who took pride in their language, as well as in their traditions and in their customs and who were prepared to make many sacrifices to conserve their way of life; but manifestly, their view of reality and that of the Sentinellists were very often poles apart. The moderate militants never believed that outside enemies were to be feared. "The nativists never succeeded in accomplishing anything but exciting collective passions, tempering divisions and organizing a modicum of resistance. In the face of determined persecutors, our element has al154 Joseph-Albert Foisy, La langue maternelle (The mother tongue), Montreal, Bibliotheque de 1'Action fran^aise, 1922, p 7. 155 Born at New Bedford (Mass.), in 1887, Foisy worked for the Action catholique of Quebec and the Droit of Ottawa before assuming the direction of La Sentinelle in 1924, which newspaper he left a year later. He went next to La Tribune of Woonsocket from where he actively fought his former collaborators.

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ways risen above petty schoolyard squabbles to offer a united front."156 After the war of 1914, the radicals and the moderates, alike, confirmed this by setting aside their differences to unite their efforts in combatting the extremist Americanizers. Moreover, those militants did not believe, or rather no longer believed, that the policy of the American bishops represented any real danger to the survival of the French fact in New England. And, although they advocated vigilance, they refused to believe, as did the fanatics, that "everything Irish is bad." Indeed, any convinced moderate had only to consider that situation without prejudice. "We have a national clergy [...]. We enjoy parochial schools, as well as convents and academies directed by a clergy and nuns from the Province of Quebec. We also have magnificent parishes dispersed throughout the land. All those parishes, all those institutions and all those national ventures have germinated and blossomed under the patronage and the direction of Irish bishops," wrote La Tribune of April 28, 1927. That newspaper went even further, insisting that "Mgr Hickey, over a period of ten years, has afforded to all the FrancoAmerican institutions expansion and vitality that they have never before enjoyed."157 The same reality was evident in the diocese of Portland where the fight against Mgr Walsh had proven particularly bitter. With the appointment of Mgr Murray in 1925, "the reign of oppression and injustice, which the Franco-Americans have had to endure over close to a quarter of a century, is over. Many Franco-American parishes which, for some years, were shepherded by Irish priests have become French. So many scandalous disputes, one might even speak of a potential schism, have disappeared as if by magic."158 Nonetheless, the moderate militants were neither blind nor amnesiac. They recognized that certain bishops really believed in the inevitable 156. Joseph-Albert Foisy, op. cit, note 1, 298. 157. Id, 421. 158. "A travers les journaux" (Perusing the newspapers), L'Avenir national, January 8, 1926, 6. The moderate militants relished other news items. The Franco-American Oblates requested, then obtained, their "full and complete separation from the Irish group" with the creation in 1921 of the Vice-Province of Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Lowell, which become Province in 1924. The same year, the Marists secured the creation of the territorial Province of Boston, which grouped the French-language houses; the La Salette Fathers also established a Franco-American Province in 1927. Richard Santerre, La paroisse Saint-JeanBaptiste et les Franco-Americains de Lowell, Massachusetts, 1868 a 1968 (Saint-Jean-Baptiste parish and the Franco-Americans of Lowell, Massachusetts, 1868 to 1968), Manchester, Editions Lafayette, 1993, 159-160.

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assimilation of French-Canadian immigrants, coupled with the ultimate disappearance of the French language in the United States. However, "such conviction is that and no more, certainly not a covert desire to have the French language die as it crosses our lips." Was it not preferable "to laud them for having established so many French-language parishes despite that conviction?"159 The moderates therefore encouraged their compatriots to distrust the fanatics who "declare that they speak and act to promote the race." Like the Pharisians, they call themselves pure, "washing themselves daily in the waters of venim," and "wearing the apparel of a mean-spirited patriot." They were daunted no less by the reputation of their compatriots than by that of their enemies. If someone dared to contradict them, he was labeled "a renegade, a traitor, (even) a Judas." "They are Rostand's 'toads.' They slobber without cease, on everything, on everyone." Many viewed as pernicious, hence inadmissible, the belief that "they have placed the love of language above the love of God, the attachment to traditions above the attachment to the Church, and, when they love the Church, they love her as a servant of the race, not as Queen of the universe"160 The fanatics claimed to defend the Franco-Americans; yet, over the short and the long term, they did nothing but damage their cause. "In future, if we have valid protests to make, if we seek to have our voice heard at Rome, we shall be met with suspicion [...]. Instead of an ear always favorably attuned to our words, we shall face authorities who actively fear supporting any movement which might well degenerate into a pitched battle with the Church."161 In short, "the real danger, the death threat, comes from within."162 For a long time, the militants of survivance, radicals and moderates alike, carried out together their religious and their national action. Henceforth, the excesses of the Sentinellists would encourage the moderates to defend the idea "that the most precious ancestral traditions, the most vital to preserve, are those which promote submission to Church dogma and fidelity to the Catholic faith."163 "It is right and proper to safeguard one's

159. 160. 161. 162. 163.

Joseph-Albert Foisy, op. cit., note 1, 21. Id., 305-307, 325. Id., 323. Id., 300. Id., 419.

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language; to safeguard one's faith is even better."164 Nationalism was considered an excellent thing, but not at the expense of its becoming the refuge of fanaticism, for "extreme nationalism is the very negation of all things Catholic."165 Moreover, defending the principle of authority within the Church led the moderates to recognize the primacy of the diocese over the parish. "In religious life, in the life of the Church, the diocese is the vital cell. The parochial body follows on the heels of the diocese and could not exist without it." In many instances, as La Tribune recognized, "the diocese alone can institute and develop certain projects for the benefit of all faithful; hence, it is only fair that all parochial entities be solicited to contribute to them, in proportion to their population."166 Such was far from the notion defended by Daignault, that the parish is the "stronghold of the race " The struggle against Anglicization and Americanization: a deeply divided elite Over the years following the First World War, the exodus of French Canadians towards New England resumed with a vengeance. The arrival of more than 100,000 new immigrants, during a turbulent period, sorely distressed the Franco-American community, intensifying divisions extant and hastening the course of events. The new demographic deal From 1920 to 1930, 130,000 individuals are said to have left Quebec to settle in the United States.167 Over certain years, from 1923 to 1926, for 164. "II faut surtout tendre a toujours garder la foi" (Above all, it is vital to seek a steadfast preservation of the faith), L'Avenir national, January 19, 1925. "La langue fran9aise, en ce pays, a majorit£ protestante, est une sauvegarde pour la foi. C'est une circonstance qui eleve la langue a cette dignite et ce serait une h£resie de faire dependre la foi de la langue" (In this country, which is mainly of the Protestant persuasion, the French language safeguards the faith. That particular circumstance raises the language to towering heights, but it would be heresy to make the faith subservient to the language), JosephAlbert Foisy, op. cit, note 1, 283. 165. "Brillant de"but de la convention des F.-F.-A. a Hartford" (Brilliant opening of the F.-F.-A. Convention at Hartford), L'Avenir national, September 4, 1928, 2. 166. Id., 29. 167. Yolande Lavoie, "Les mouvements migratoires des Canadiens entre leur pays et les fitats-Unis aux xix6 et au xx6 siecles: £tude quantitative" (The migratory movements of Canadians between their native country and the United States in the nineteenth and

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example, the movement was so extensive that it recalled the worst moments of the exodus that took place between 1865 and 1900. Until 1920, the French Canadians of Quebec believed they were safe from the catastrophe that would soon strike. Yet, in early 1921, Quebec was struck full force by a recession. Every sector was hard hit and would endure the consequences over varying lengths of time. The gross worth of agricultural production fell successively from $266,367,000 in 1920 to $184,069,000, then to $154,085,000 and, ultimately, to $135,679,000 over the succeeding three years. The resulting drop in revenues was sorely felt in every quarter. Lacking cash, some farmers were at great pains to pay the bills they had signed to purchase ploughs or other machines. Many more were unable to repay the notary or the local dealer the monies borrowed to buy a new farm or improve an old one. As in the worst moments of the preceding century, it meant turning to unscrupulous moneylenders or, failing that, suffering the inevitable seizure or sale of the farm... or, as a last resort, emigration. In regions where agriculture was relatively unprofitable, the difficulties faced by the logging industry, the absence of major public-works projects and falling fish prices created a similar situation across the board. In the manufacturing sector, business was scarcely any better. The historian Marc Vallieres determined the average annual growth rate of the gross worth produced by that sector (inflation-adjusted dollars 1935-1939 = 100); based on his calculations, the years 1920 and 1921 were the diciest, since negative rates of -1.42% and -1.85% were recorded. The recovery, begun in 1922, steadied in 1923 with rates of 5.17% and 13.62%.168 All the industrial groups were affected, albeit in quite different ways. For example, the crisis struck the pulp and paper sector in 1921, whereas that of tobacco and its by-products was hit in 1922, 1923 and 1924. Throughout those twentieth centuries: quantitative study), in Hubert Charbonneau (ed.), La population du Quebec, etudes retrospectives (The population of Quebec, retrospective studies), Montreal, Les Editions du Bore"al Express, 1973, 78. "According to official figures obtained this morning, an average of 400 persons cross the Canadian border each day to settle in the major textile centers of New England." "Une immigration du vieux Quebec va s'accentuant" (A wave of immigration from old Quebec is on the rise), L'Avenir national, May 3, 1923, 8. 168. Marc Vallieres, Les industries manufacturieres du Quebec, 1900-1959. Essai de normalisation des donnees statistiques en dix-sept groupes industriels et etude sommaire de la croissance de ces groupes (The manufacturing industries of Quebec, 1900-1959. Essay on the standardization of statistical data in seventeen industrial groups and a summary study of the growth of those groups), M.A. dissertation (history), University Laval, 1973, 154.

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difficult years, unemployment, wage cuts and reductions in the number of work-week hours plagued the Quebec laborer. As in the nineteenth century, they embarked on an infernal round of poverty, debt, turning in desperation to the usurer or the pawnbroker... and, ultimately, emigration. In the city, as in the country, clear evidence of the recession was visible everywhere. The most patent indication of that crisis and, surely the saddest, was, as before, the resumption of a mass exodus of young people, indeed, of entire families, towards New England. "So many people were heading towards the States that it was hard to get across the border."169 That huge new wave of emigration recalled the tragedy of the preceding century. Happily, it did not last as long. The economic recovery, sluggish in 1925, rapidly gained ground in 1926-1927. "In the Province of Quebec, the exodus petered out some time ago," L'Avenir national reported in December 1927.170 If so many people headed out to the United States, from 1921 to 1926, it was because New England continued to be a pole of attraction. "You could earn much more money in the United States than in Canada," recounted one Beatrice Mandeville. "People were happy in the United States. There was money enough to live on. In Canada, there was only poverty."171 At first glance, that could be seen as a surprising assertion. For although the footwear and textile industries appeared again to have taken on the majority of the new French-Canadian emigrants, nonetheless, those same industries and, more particularly, the cotton industry, were in difficulty, contrary to the situation in other sectors of the American economy. From 1919 to 1929, there was a considerable slump in the NewEngland cotton industry. The number of spindles dropped from 17,543,000, in 1919, to 11,198,000, ten years later—or a decrease of 36.2%. The drop differs by state, that is, 4.4% in New Hampshire, 15.8% in Connecticut, 24.8% in Rhode Island and 37.8% in Massachusetts. As

169. Recollection of Mrs Bruno Noury, in Jacques Rouillard, Ah les Etats! Les travailkurs canadiens-franfais dans I'industrie textile de la Nouvelle-Angleterre d'apres le temoignage des derniers migrants (Ah, the States! French Canadian workers in the textile industry of New England according to the testimony of the last migrants), Montreal, Boreal Express, 1985, 131. 170. "A travers les journaux. L'exode est arrete" (Perusing the newspapers. The exodus is over), L'Avenir national, December 16, 1927, 6. 171. Affirmation of Beatrice Mandeville, in Jacques Rouillard, op. cit., note 170, 123.

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always, the slump derived from the implacable competition of the Southern States which counted 17,650,000 spindles, in 1929, compared to 14,029,000, ten years earlier—or an increase of 25.8%. The South which possessed only 23.9% of the total number of spindles, in 1899, upped their share to 61.2%, by 1929.172 In order to survive, the manufacturers had to reduce their production costs and step up productivity. The most popular means in times of recession was to reduce wages substantially. And so, in January 1922, barely one year after having imposed a 22.5% wage cut, the manufacturers announced yet another cut of 20%. In 1924 and in 1927, the reduction was 10% or more, depending on the locality. When prosperity returned, they consented to wage increases, but they were inferior to the earlier cuts. That policy led to a wage drop that was evaluated at 30% between 1920 and 1928.173 Through a more scientific organization of the workload, most companies also sought to increase work rates and worker productivity. In this way, they managed to achieve satisfactory profit levels, but at the expense of workers. There followed a considerable manpower turnover, many workers electing to try their luck in the more prosperous silk, woolen, manufacturing or construction industries. It will be recalled that over the preceding years, in order to resolve manpower problems, many employers had called upon Italian, Portuguese, Greek and Polish immigrants who more readily agreed to lower wages and difficult working conditions. However, during the 1920s, that was no longer possible since new immigration laws considerably decreased the number of immigrants coming from Eastern and Southern Europe. It was thus with great relief that employers welcomed the French Canadians of Quebec, to whom the new immigration laws did not apply. Bruno Ramirez has indicated that the vast majority of those emigrants were farmers, farm workers and day laborers. Because of the transformations then affecting the economy of Quebec, which were also changing the New England labor market, there was, according to Ramirez, a decrease in the proportion of family units, hence in the number of children within the migratory movement, as well as a collateral increase in the single-male 172. Alice Galenson, The Migration of the Cotton Textile Industry from New England to the South: 1880-1930, New York, Garland Publishing Inc., 1985, 2. 173. As Louise Lamphere reports, From Working Daughters to Working Mothers. Immigrant Women in a New England Industrial Community, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1987, 174.

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adult component.174 The demographer, Yolande Lavoie, further indicated that "more than 80% of [Canadian] immigrants over the period 19101930, were under 35 years of age; the groups most represented were the 25-29 year-olds for men and the 20-24 year-olds for women"175 The 1929 depression unequivocally ended the earlier form of FrenchCanadian emigration towards New England. From then on, only workers assured of a job in the United States, or persons with respondents able to support them, could obtain visas to emigrate Stateside. The flood of new recruits entirely transformed the demographic landscape. Between 1920 and 1930, the number of Franco-Americans grew by 119,065, or 19.1%. That was the largest increase in absolute figures since the last decade of the nineteenth century. Indeed, out of 743,219 FrancoAmericans, 264,261 were born in Canada, representing an increase of 23,867, or 9.93%. This gain was significant when compared to that of 2,779 (1%) for 1900 to 1920, to say nothing of the decrease of 37,771 (13.6%) for the succeeding decade. Yet, even though their number was growing, the relative importance of first-generation Franco-Americans continued to decline. They represented only 35.6% of the total US population in 1930, compared to 38.3% in 1920, for a drop of 2.7%. Nonetheless, the decline had considerably lessened in that over the three preceding decades, it had been fluctuating between 7% and 8.5%. Troublesome newcomers The arrival, between 1921 and 1926, of tens of thousands of French-Canadian migrants had a considerable impact on the working conditions and the life of Franco-Americans, as well as on their institutional network. The first instance deserves attention. The Great war brought unprecedented prosperity to Franco-American workers. To meet the demands of warring nations, all enterprises, particularly, cotton and woolen mills, along with footwear manufactures, were 174. Bruno Ramirez, "L'Emigration des Canadiens fran9ais aux fitats-Unis dans les annees 1920" (The emigration of French Canadians to the United States hi the 1920s), in Yves Landry et alia (ed.), Les chemins de la migration en Belgique et au Quebec, xvrf-xx* siecles (The paths of migration in Belgium and in Quebec, seventeenth-twentieth centuries), Beauport and Louvain, Edition MNH and Academia, 1995, 240. 175. Yolande Lavoie, L'emigration des Canadiens aux. £tats-Unis avant 1930. Mesure du phtnomene (The Emigration of (French) Canadians to the United States before 1903. Measuring the phenomenon), Montreal, PUM, 1972, 24.

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operating at full capacity. The heavy demand for products, coupled with a scarcity of manpower, exacerbated by the halt in European immigration and conscription, forced new wage hikes. From $580 in 1914, the average yearly wage of factory workers rose to $980 in 1918, then reached $1358 in 1920.176 From 1916 to 1920, the textile workers saw their wages increase by 169%.177 One Henry Boucher, of Woonsocket, who was 16 years old in 1914, spoke of how the mills were running 24 hours a day at that point, with considerably less than a full contingent of qualified workers. So it transpired that a growing number of Franco-Americans had the opportunity to land skilled and better paid jobs.178 Then, the end of the war brought a temporary business slowdown. In fact, after a few difficult months, the economy embarked on a new boom which lasted until January 1920. Everything was racing ahead as if prosperity were limitless. Prosperity or no, the working conditions of mill laborers began to deteriorate once the hostilities had ended. As over the preceding years, manufacturers made every effort to reduce production costs while increasing productivity, in order to survive competition from the South. Increasing the production rate and the workload, extending the workweek, in addition to standardizing piecework and the bonus system were the solutions retained; for, it would have proved far too costly to modernize enterprises. As well, the introduction of the scientific organization of work increasingly threatened the control that workers had come to exercise over their workplace, thereby incurring their anger and opposition. Finally, the refusal of employers to increase wages created tensions and conflicts. In January 1920, all workers confronted a far more serious problem: a depression progressively struck every sector of the economy with unusual force. Businesses closed their doors, while others reduced working hours and took advantage of the situation to impose a wage reduction of 22.5%.179 Financial straits prevailed in every household and upset the workplaces. Many married women, who had left home to work in the 176. Peter Fearon, War, Prosperity and Depression. The U.S. Economy, 1917-1945, Lawrence, The University Press of Kansas, 1987, 65. 177. Philip Thomas Sylvia, The Spindle City, Labor, Politics and Religion in Fall River, Massachusetts, 1870-1905, Ph.D. thesis, Fordham University, N.Y., 1973, 711. 178. Affirmation of Henry Boucher, in C. Stewart Doty, The First Franco-Americans. New England Life Histories from the Federal Writer's Project, 1938-1939, Orono (Me), The University of Maine at Orono Press, 1985, 131. 179. "300 000 personnes devront accepter une baisse de 22 c." (300,000 persons will have to swallow a wage cut of 22 percent). L'Avenir national, December 10, 1920, 1.

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factories during the war, were soon obliged to cede their jobs to men and children. Job sharing rapidly became the order of the day. Into that new context arrived the first French-Canadian emigrants, forced by the depression to leave Quebec. They met with a cold reception on the part of the Franco-Americans "Gang of Canayens!" protested the people of Manchester. "You come down here to steal our jobs! Why don't you just go back home? Then, the rest of us can work in peace!"180 Franco-American aggressivity rose several notches at the time of the 1922 strike in the New England textile industry. In January 1922, scarcely a year after the imposition of a 22.5% wage cut, the manufacturers announced an additional reduction of 20%, along with an increase from 48 to 54 hours in the work week. For strikers who had seen the early backto-work stages as a chance to recuperate the losses sustained during the recession, such a gesture on the part of their bosses was totally unacceptable. A nine-month strike ensued starting in the valley of the Pawtucket in Rhode Island; the walkout soon spread to Massachusetts, then New Hampshire and, finally, to some towns in Maine. The Franco-Americans, whose militant trade unionism seemed to have attained its greatest strength since the beginning of their collective history, actively participated in the conflict. Sixteen weeks into the strike, the companies, counting on the exhaustion and the poverty of their workers, indicated their willingness to reopen a few mills "to give a chance to those workers forced by the strike to endure inactivity and who might be disposed to yield to the inevitable without further delay."181 Little by little, workers who had exhausted all their savings and contracted heavy debt loads were joined by impoverished immigrants, and they all caved in. Over the successive weeks and months, the Franco-Americans, just like their fellow-strikers, insulted, threatened and even manhandled the scabs.182 "When they left the mill to go home at night," recounted Alexandre Boivin, "they put their life at risk."183 Dissension gripped the 180. Affirmation of Rose-Anna Bellemare, in Jacques Rouillard, op. cit., note 170,116. 181. "La greve et la liberte du travail" (The strike and the freedom to work), L'Avenir national, June 2, 1922, 4. 182. "L'injonction de L'Amoskeag" (The Amoskeag injunction), L'Avenir national, June 9, 1922, 1. 183. Affirmation of Alexandre Boivin, in Tamara K. Hareven, Family Time and Industrial Time. The Relationship between the Family and Work in a New England Industrial Community, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982, 323.

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parishes; longtime friends quarreled; families tore each other to pieces. "A Frenchwoman, named H.," recalled Alexandre Boivin, "went back to work. When she leaves the factory, her brother spits in her face."184 The French Canadians who had recently arrived from Quebec were particularly detested, especially when they crossed the picket lines. And, according to certain observers, many did. On November 24, 1922, the Boston American reported that 2,000 laborers, namely, one third of those who had gone to work for the Amoskeag at Manchester, were strikebreakers from Canada, Massachussetts or Maine. "Those foreigners arrived truckloads at a time. They were lodged temporarily in a large boarding house in the western part of town."185 After long months—42 weeks at the Amoskeag— the workers, realizing the futility of their efforts, ended the strike gradually, in one place after the other. Everywhere, they returned to work under conditions dictated by the employers. Over the process, they had lost millions of dollars in wages and all respect for the companies that employed them. Moreover, many of those who had fought with conviction came out of the strike utterly disillusioned with trade unionism, believing they had been duped by their leaders. But most important of all, the entire Franco-American community was indelibly marked by a conflict that had created dissensions which would again emerge, with equal force, during the short-lived recessions of 1924 and 1927. The situation of the new French-Canadian emigrants was particularly ambivalent. Although they had been welcomed with open arms by the traditional elite because they could reinforce the institutional web of the Little Canadas, they were often despised by the ordinary folk with whom they rubbed shoulders on a daily basis. Since they were strikebreakers, who had agreed to work on the cheap and for as many hours as the bosses dictated, the Franco-American workers held them in part responsible for employer intransigence and arrogance. At a time of widespread unemployment, they were accused of snatching the few jobs still available. Among Franco-American workers, class consciousness quite often superseded ethnic considerations. Indeed, this reality tainted intergenerational relations within the Little Canadas. 184. Id., 322. 185. Quoted in id., 337. The phenomenon existed in other industries. For example, the owners of the granite quarries of Bare, in Vermont, hired hundreds of French Canadians from Quebec to replace their striking workers. See C. Stewart Doty, op. cit, note 179, 106.

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Other effects of the new migration The arrival, between 1921 and 1926, of tens of thousands of FrenchCanadian migrants had an important impact on the evolution of the institutional network of the Little Canadas and also on everyday life. A substantial growth in the population increased the need for new parishes and new schools. And so, during the 1920s, 28 new parishes were instituted, including 14 national parishes, compared to 15, of which 7 were national, over the preceding decade.186 Various other institutions were added to an already lengthy list: a hospital was built at Winooski in 1924; an orphanage was erected at Lawrence in 1926; Assumption College, which obtained in 1917 a charter to grant the Bachelor of Arts degree, enrolled 306 students in 1926, taking its place among the regional institutions of higher learning. The newspapers—6 dailies, 2 tri-weeklies and 12 weeklies, in 1921187—saw their subscriptions grow by leaps and bounds. For example, La Justice of Biddeford, which had only 500 subscribers in 1910, numbered 1,400 in 1920,3,000 in 1926 and 4,200 in 1930.188 Many observers insisted upon the close link between that increase and the new migration. "I can affirm, without hesitation, that very rare are the young households, having benefited from bilingual instruction in our separate schools, who regularly subscribe to French-language newspapers; the readership of those papers is recruited among the people who learned French in Canada."189 Many researchers also see a very clear correlation between the highs and the lows of the new migration and the evolution of the Franco-American student population. For example, in the diocese of Manchester, the number of pupils in Franco-American schools increased from 4,876 to 5,856 between the academic years 1920-1921 to 1924-1925, to fall back to 5,459 in 19281929.190 186. Statistics compiled for this study by Francine Roy. 187. La Federation catholique franco-americaine, "Le passe, le present et 1'avenir des Franco-Am£ricains, 8e article. Nos journaux fran9ais. Leur histoire et leur action sur notre element" (The Franco-American past, present and future, 8th article. Our French newspapers. Their history and their action on our element), L'Avenir national, March 9, 1921, 4. 188. Michael Guignard, La foi — La langue — La culture (Faith — language — culture). The Franco-Americans of Biddeford, Maine, s. 1., s. ed., 1987, 77. 189. L.-T. Morin, "La presse franco-americaine" (The Franco-American press), L'Avenir national, December 4, 1924, 4. 190. Pierre L'Heureux, op. cit, note 73, 72. In like fashion, the number of students enrolled in the classical colleges and convents of Quebec rose from 2,060 for the period 1920-1924 to 2,407 for the succeeding five-year span. Robert G. Leblanc, "A French

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The most important effects of the new migration at that stage were qualitative, not quantitative. The newcomers reinvigorated both the traditional Franco-American elite and the diehard group agitating in favor of survivance. Such reality is easy to explain in that the essential needs of the migrants were more readily met in a parochial environment similar to the one they had left behind. But their presence did become a source of tension for those who were seeking to change their lifestyle so as to better adapt same to the American way. For them, the emigrants represented a brake on the necessary and inevitable progress of the Franco-American institutional network. To better appreciate this point of view, let us take a closer look at what was happening to the Little Canadas during that period. First off, the war had had important effects on the collective reality. The harshness of the conflict and the anxiety about the lot of relatives and friends who had been mobilized, helped them to draw closer to their compatriots of whatever ethnic origin, while allaying their feelings of belonging only to the little homeland. The impact of the conflict on young people was even greater. After the exciting months spent in southern training camps,191 then at the Front, many young soldiers, once demobilized, soon felt hemmed-in at home in the Little Canadas. The prosperity generated by the war had turned their brothers and sisters, who had remained behind, into fullfledged members of consumer society. In short order, cinema, radio, and automobiles transformed daily life, providing many the opportunity to discover a world of new ideas, images and values. In general, people began to find the atmosphere of the Franco-American parish too austere and even stifling. Moreover, they became increasingly aware of the limits imposed upon them by an insufficient knowledge of English, not to mention the second-class treatment often leveled at them as Franco-Americans. Over time, many young people192 began showing a total indifference to survivance and ignoring the slogans of the elite. Their attitude regarding the French language only accelerated a process that had been set in motion several years earlier. For example, in the mixed parishes, young people Canadian Education and the Persistence of the Franco-Americanie," Journal of Cultural Geography, 8, 2, Spring/Summer 1988, 59. 191. "Les troupes du N.H. iront s'entrainer a Charlotte, N.C." (New Hampshire's troups are to train at Charlotte, N.C.), L'Avenir national, July 14, 1917, 3. 192. A goodly number of young people who participated in the war effort were heads of a family in the 1920s.

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tended to use French considerably less often or else were incapable of using it. In a 1923 report to the Franco-American Catholic Federation, Felix Gatineau wrote that in certain parishes of the Springfield diocese— "Every Sunday, the pastor would preach in French at the High Mass, but the young Franco-Americans never attended that Mass because their French was inadequate."193 The situation in the national parishes, albeit less dramatic evolved just as rapidly. As part of a survey conducted at Woonsocket in 1926 and published in 1931, Bessie Bloom Wessel noted that English was the language spoken in 2.3% of families of Quebec origin; the percentage rises to 8.8% in the households where one parent is a native of the United States and to 17.8% when both parents are native Americans. "Bilingualism," the author indicates, "is characteristic in 13.0 per cent of the homes where both parents are foreign born; in 24.7 per cent of the homes in which one parent is native born; and in 36.5 per cent of the homes in which both parents are native born [...]. Only 45.7 per cent of the homes in which both parents are native born report French as the common language."194 In families where bilingualism was the rule—English bilingualism according to Veltman—the command of both languages sometimes reached the same level among the children, but, most often, English held sway over French. In such instances, parents resorted to various tricks to keep French alive for their children. "When the children were born," recounted Diane Lemieux, "we wanted them to speak nothing but French, but when they started going to school, what could we do, they began to speak English [...]. We promised them 5 op. cit, note 1, 92. 181. "Commentaire de Gregoire Chabot" (Commentary of Gregoire Chabot), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 107. 182. "Eventually," wrote Maurice Violette, "the language will be lost but there will be impressions, customs, feelings still there." Quoted in Dyke Hendrickson, Quiet Presence: Histoires de Franco-Americains en New England, Portland, Gay Gannett Publishing Co., 1980, 140. 183. Madeleine Giguere, in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 74. 184. Madeleine Giguere, "The Franco-Americans: Occupational Profile," in Raymond Breton and Pierre Savard (eds), The Quebec and Acadian Diaspora in North America, Toronto, The Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1982, 65.

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Personally, I would change the old saying: Who loses his language, loses his faith, to read: Who loses his language, loses his culture"185 It is only in perfecting the language of our fathers and mothers, she went on to say, that we shall reinvigorate the Franco-American ethnic group. The fact that we eat meat pies at Christmas and on New Year's Day will not be enough to assure that we maintain our cultural identity; but, for us to be able to express our true essence, our way of being, of thinking and feeling, in our very own language, enables us—indeed, shall ever enable us—to become more entirely ourselves [...]. Hence, we have a choice to make. Shall we choose Moliere or the meat pie? Or can we still have both Moliere and the meat pie? Our instructing the "meat pie" children in the language of Moliere is the only way that we can preserve the French culture within the very bosom of our ethnic reality186

Perceptions of the present and the past—poles apart The perception of what Franco-Americans had become, after more than a century of history, and of the role that had been played by the elite and the traditional institutions in that evolution, was dividing the young militants much more profoundly than the question of the French language. That which was most dispiriting for the radicals—the protesters from the University of Maine at Orono and the researchers and writers from the NMDC—was the negative image in which research in the social sciences was cloaking their compatriots. Many were compelled to note that it was almost as if the Franco-Americans, who had played a major role in the history of New England, merited no more than a few footnotes in the new manuals on the subject of immigration to the United States. In fact they appeared to form a virtually invisible collectivity. And, even as late as the 1960s, they seemed to be suffering from low-achievement syndrome, according to a number of researchers. Indeed, compared to other groups of Catholics, their educational and professional mobility was negligible. For, as Marcel Bellemare noted, in the Social Quarter of Woonsocket, in 1970, 61.4% of the residents, aged 25 or over, had failed to complete high school and barely 4.8% had completed one year or more of higher education. The situation of young people was scarcely more promising: that same year, 185. Claire Quintal, "Pourquoi avons-nous besoin d'une culture vivante?" (Why do we need a living culture?), BFFFA, December 22, 1973, 12 186. Claire Quintal, "Culture francaise et re"alite ethnique franco-americaine" (French culture and the Franco-American ethnic reality), Le Travailleur, June 29, 1974, 2-3.

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43% of all the young people between 16 and 21 years of age were not attending school and had not even graduated from high school.187 However, there is no reason to find those figures remarkable since the Little Canadas, over a period of several years, had lost their most dynamic elements and found themselves with an ageing and impoverished working-class population. And so, it was hardly surprising that the Americans viewed their Franco-American compatriots as docile, passive and defeatist creatures, totally lacking in ambition.188 The negative character traits widely attributed to the FrancoAmericans who, for the most part, readily recognized their veracity, were seen by the young radicals as a product of the culture inherited from their ancestors, as well as the stifling morality imposed by the elite throughout the Little Canadas, but, most importantly, the traditional Franco-American institutions. If the Franco-Americans have known so little success in politics, wrote Norman Sepenuk in an oft-quoted article, it is because "the many thousands of habitants who migrated to the New England mill towns during the years following the Civil War brought with them the attitudes of a rural, clergy-oriented, anti-intellectual, anti-state society which did not see political action as a necessity and did not view politics as an honorable way to spend one's life"; those same attitudes have been preserved virtually in toto by their descendants.189 The fact that so many young people were deserting the parochial institutions was ascribable in large measure to the stifling morality preached by their clerics and to the ultra-conservatism of certain leaders. The newspapers were riddled with examples of both of those negative influences; and, the following instances lent credibility to the phenomenon. At Saint-JeanBaptiste of Lowell, the pastor, Henri Bolduc, o.m.i., prohibited the boys in the high schools of his parish from any and all frequenting of young girls.

187. Marcel Bellemare, "Les Franco-Americains et la societe pluri-ethnique americaine : strategies d'hier et consequences d'aujourd'hui" (Franco-Americans and the multiethnic American society: yesterday's strategies and today's outcome), hi NMDC (ed.)> op. cit, note 1, 49-50. 188. Donald Dugas, "Franco-American Language Maintenance Efforts in New England. Realitites and Issues," in E. Snyder and A. Valdman (ed.), Identite culturelle et francophonie dans les Ameriques (Cultural identity and the French-speaking world in the Americas), Quebec, PUL, 1976, 46. 189. Norman Sepenuk, loc. cit., note 163, 223.

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Whosoever failed to obey his orders was barred from participating in sports at school and from receiving his diploma publicly.190 VAction of Manchester reminded adolescents that "passionate" kissing was permitted solely to married couples. For anyone else, such an act constituted a mortal sin against the sixth or the ninth commandment of God.191 L'Independant condemned rock and roll for corrupting young people and leading them into bestiality,192 as well as the twist, that "social epilepsy, [which] all too clearly indicated that essentially man was a savage who ever seeks to return to that condition".193 The same paper also denounced the wild fantasies of the beatniks, "those troublemakers of contemporary society," those wasters who lounge about in despicable promiscuity, all the while poetizing their basest instincts.194 At the same time as the "black revolution" and the Civil Rights movement were at their height, a powerful reminder to white America of the crimes and injustices endured by African-Americans over more than three centuries, Lajoie was labeling Martin Luther King a firebrand and presenting the freedom riders as agitators and shifty idlers; as for the white liberals, in his view they were no more than "sanctimonious nitwits, advocating full integration" or worse, the agents of international communism. Yet, in the same breath, he was also inviting the AfricanAmericans to refrain from leaping into the fray.195 Even though the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional the laws establishing segregation, Lajoie was proclaiming that mutual assistance was one thing, but miscegenation was quite another;196 for his part, Cyril Lessard of Le Tra-

190. Roland Girard, "Je butine un peut partout" (I buzz about collecting tidbits), Le Travailleur, November 21, 1957, 3. 191. Quoted in Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "Ca et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, October 17, 1956, 1. 192. Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "C£ et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, April 6, 1957, 1. 193. Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "C£ et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, January 6, 1962, 1. 194. Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "C£ et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, February 16, 1960, 1. 195. Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "C£ et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, May 24, 1961, 2; August 2, 1961, 1; "Qa et la" (Here and there), Le Travailleur, July 18, 1963, 2. 196. Philippe-Armand Lajoie, "C£ et la" (Here and there), L'Independant, August 2, 1961,1. Mgr Joseph Rummel, Archbishop of New Orleans, who had declared that segregation in the schools was immoral and a sin, was asked, maliciously, if separating Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren could not also be described in similar terms. Roland

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vailleur was praising the policy of apartheid in Rhodesia.197 And finally, the anti-communist struggle gave rise to all manner of abuse as described by Robert Perreault: Almost on a daily basis, the nuns remind us of our duty as defenders of the faith, and we realize that at any moment, God could put us to the test. For instance, we were told that if the communist soldiers invaded the United States, they would no doubt take over our school. Upon arriving in our classroom, they would tear the crucifix off the wall; then they would force us, one after the other and under pain of death, to spit on it. Of course, we would have to refuse and so to ready ourselves to suffer martyrdom in the Name of God.198

However, the young radicals believed that the real reason for deserting the fold was the policy of survivance that had been preached by the elite for a century as well as the institutions set up to assure the success of that policy. In the early days, the French-Canadian immigrants saw the parish and its institutions as a way to adapt to American society. For the elite, they represented much more, in that they were expected to assure the religious and social self-sufficiency of the collectivity. That strategy, although beneficial at first, would prove to be destructive over the long term. It soon became obvious that "the parish as the strategic linchpin, instead of encouraging the collectivity to appropriate the resources available to them in the public domain, quite to the contrary, compelled them to sustain the level of self-sufficiency already theirs and to carry on as had always been their wont [...]. In the end, the collectivity would deplete their material resources supporting the French parochial school and the Catholic high school. Another negative consequence of maintaining the parish as the strategic linchpin of the ethnic group involved a slowdown in the occupational mobility of Franco-Americans."199 By insisting on the preservation and use of the French language, the various institutions better served the collectivity than any individual. Indeed, as Madeleine Giguere wrote: "The Franco-American social structures allowed leaders a measure of social mobility, but for the majority of our people, who had not mastered the Girard, "Je butine un peu partout" (I buzz about collecting tidbits), Le Travailleur, May 3, 1962, 1. 197. Cyril Lessard, "La Tour de Babil" (The Tower of Babel), Le Travailleur, May 11, 1974, 4. 198. Robert Perreault, loc. cit, note 44, 341. 199. Marcel Bellemare, loc. cit., note 187, 51.

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language of the country, those institutions were quite simply a trap which shackled them to their hapless situation as factory workers."200 A few observers recalled that the elite might have proposed another line of conduct to their compatriots. In so doing, they could have resisted "the very notion of ghettoization," promoting instead a swift and thorough integration within the American social fabric, without ever advocating that the French language be abandoned. The Franco-Americans who chose the latter path enjoyed much greater success than did the others.201 And yet, did the families who remained in a Franco-American milieu "offer greater resistance to the American absorption?"202 Of course, the radicals recognized that the Franco-Americans had not entirely disappeared. And, as Claire Bolduc noted, in all the towns and villages of Maine, French was still spoken.203 However, in those same districts, the Franco-Americans were relegated to ghettos where they no longer controlled even the institutions of their own making. Worse yet, they had interiorized the negative image that the Americans and even their own elite attributed to them. "It's an obsession, indeed, educated people keep telling us—the English have told us—we are DUMB, and we believed it... We keep repeating it at home, in the street, in any number of theses and so forth. We have really gotten the idea square into our head... The Francos will never set the world on fire."204 Quite clearly, the Franco-Americans had to rid themselves of that negative image, that perception, which was preventing them from wielding authority. They had to rediscover who they really were: autonomous and dynamic individuals, quite capable, within certain limits, of shaping the world in which they lived. They also had to revive their real past, from which they had been alienated, for the discovery of an honorable past is ever a source of pride and a stimulus to effect change. They had to recognize that the exodus of thousands of French Canadians towards New England and the adaptation of those emigrants to the American way of life 200. "Commentaire de Madeleine Giguere" (Commentary of Madeleine Giguere), in NMDC (ed.), op. tit, note 1, 75. 201. Jacques Ducharme, "Apres trente ans" (Thirty years on), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1,20-21. 202. Id., 21. 203. Claire Bolduc, "Les Franco-Americains, eux-memes, veulent-ils d'une renaissance culturelle?" (The Franco-Americans themselves, do they want a cultural renaissance?), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit, note 1, 102. 204. Id., 104.

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had been presented to them solely through the distorting prism of what the elite said and thought. In the Franco-American history to which they were exposed, the leaders, namely, priests, male and female religious and members of the liberal professions, always took the lead. And if workers and their families were mentioned at all, it was quite simply as a reminder that most of the time they submissively obeyed the directives of their elite. There was only rarely any question of what such people believed, thought, said or did. "An unromantic history of the Franco-Americans is very much needed."205 "The renewal, the renaissance," insisted Claire Bolduc, "will come to pass in our hearts, in our perception of ourselves."206 But to effect that, the young Franco-Americans had again to reject the leadership of the militants of survivance—those of the past and their disciples of the present— who had taught them to believe in waiting to be saved by others and to also accept the guidance of their leaders, like a docile herd. Salvation would come from the young and from ordinary people who had been freed from their complexes. Most importantly, their collectivity had to fight against all forms of discrimination, get out of their ghettos and demand their rights in each and every context.207 "What we need right now is to hear French spoken in the offices of the Great Northern Paper Company, in the hospitals, in the so-called public schools, in the social welfare bureaus, in paper-making technology courses and the like."208 "Now is the time to live out what is left to us of our culture and our language so that we can see and discover how best to create and invent the means to develop those vital resources in a way that is pragmatic and useful to us as individuals and to our collectivity as a whole."209 That was the only way the 205. "Commentaire de Gregoire Chabot" (Commentary of Gregoire Chabot), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 108. 206. Claire Bolduc, loc. cit., note 203, 105. "Over the past five years, I have heard so many young Franco-Americans tell me: (I can't [...]). And yet, only a few months later, those same young folk were able to publish a newspaper, spend many hours at the psychiatric hospital, set up an office, attend to correspondence, receive the French Consul General, prepare an anthology, etc. Now, that is what I call a renaissance" (p. 104). 207. "Commentaire de Raymond Lacasse" (Commentary of Raymond Lacasse), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 59. They need a Malcolm De Gaulle, he wrote, in reference to a composite of Malcolm X and Charles de Gaulle. 208. Claire Bolduc, loc. cit., note 203, 102. See also "Commentaire de Francois Paradis" (Commentary of Fra^ois Paradis), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 78-79. 209. Commentaire de Yvon Labbe" (Commentary of Yvon Labbe), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 130.

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Franco-Americans, who, in becoming a proud people, sure of themselves and audacious, could look to the future with optimism. That discourse, very strongly influenced by the Black Power philosophy and by radical feminism,210 exasperated the more conservative young militants, those who were anxious to situate their action squarely on the side of the elders. Claire Quintal denounced the sermons of militants whom she called "new priests," the Ph.D's, "who are striving frantically to live the lives of men liberated once and for all from the control of our institutions."211 Paul-P. Chasse" averred being annoyed and disappointed by what he saw as a pretentious new leadership "which, every so often, reverts to reciting the same litany of incantations or lamentations "of the lost seeking to be found," or, even worse, adopts a new rite, one morose and phlegmatic but that nonetheless means ranting and raving in public [...]." Chasse also refused "to wallow in the depths of self-pity over [his] miserable destiny of belonging to a minority that is disadvantaged and incapable of acting." In his view, this was nothing but an adolescent reflex tending "to always look for a scapegoat to avenge one's own foibles." "What religion has condemned us? What political system has crushed us? [...]. Am I to relinquish my family, the school, the Church, the societies, the newspapers, the language, indeed, all those institutions which, not even once, have saddled me with a complex?" Whereas the past "for some is a source of shame or insecurity, for others, it is just as much a fount of life."212 Why, asked Claire Quintal, are there people who intimate that the elite have imposed on ordinary folk a program and institutions incapable of meeting their needs? "True enough, grandiose sermons and fine speeches, those have always taken center stage, but that was exactly what the working classes wanted; some 80, 50 or even 20 years ago, my people were elated to be able to boast about their beautiful churches and impressive head offices."213 210. Even the more moderate young Francos recognized the existence of that filiation. "We, who are already active members of our ethnic group, include in our number sociologists, Blacks, Indians and, of course, women; so many people to whom we owe thanks for having shown us the way to demand our ethnic rights and how to obtain our cultural liberation by teaching us that we must ever be proud of what we are." Claire Quintal, loc. cit, note 186, 3. 211. Claire Quintal, "Ou il s'agit de discourir — Les actes sont a venir" (Nothing but speechifying — Action to come later on), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 141. 212. "Commentaire de Paul Chass£" (Commentary of Paul Chasse), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit, note 1, 111-113. 213. Claire Quintal, loc. cit., note 211, 143.

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Like their opponents, the moderate young militants believed that the Franco-Americans had reached a juncture where definitive choices had to be made. The Franco-American entity, as championed by the elders—in particular the more radical element—no longer existed. Moreover, French life continued to decline. The earlier Franco-American lifestyle based on the parish and the family no longer corresponded to reality. "No more can we expect the parish and the family to assure our cultural heritage since they have not remained French!"214 The traditional institutions had to be relinquished, not because they had played an adverse role in the life of the community, but quite simply because they no longer played—could no longer play—the role of stronghold or bastion of French life. However, the young were expected to have regard for their elders, as it was thanks to them that they had become what they were. Then too, some of those elders remained reliable and informative guides. Indeed, the likes of Quintal, Chasse, Santerre, Theroux, Chartier, Brault and many others, were once again asking Thomas-Marie Landry to show them the path to follow. In 1972, at a colloquium held at Boston and organized by JeanMaurice Tremblay, Director of the Maison du Quebec, Landry stressed the urgent need for his compatriots to adopt a major new strategy, to launch a massive transformation.215 He declared that the Franco-American nation had to put down even deeper roots in its adoptive land. "They must be 'American' first and 'Franco' afterwards." That begetting, he warned his listeners, could be accomplished only through an extremely audacious and informed acculturation. The Franco-American would have to immerse himself in the American culture while, at the same time, striving to preserve all the essential and fine characteristics of the French culture, but only as a second culture. In particular, he would have to fight to recuperate the lost French language, making it his second tongue while battling against all those who opposed such systematic recuperation or those who were utterly indifferent to it. "If we fail to pull it off, our collectivity, only recently Franco-American, will become 'American only' retaining of that which may be termed 'French' but a small part of the history and the heritage." To convince the audience to embark on such an adventure, he proposed a rereading of the past. The Franco-Americans would have to be 214. Bernard Theroux, loc. cit., note 38, 25 215. He repeated the broad outline of his thesis on acculturation presented at the tenth Congress of the Franco-Americans of New England held at Auburn, Maine, April 18, 1970.

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encouraged to interpret their history, endowed by 125 years on American soil, not as a failed attempt to recreate the lost homeland in New England, but "as a long and painful American acculturation, one more or less considered, one more or less beneficial, simply because the thing has been more or less well-stewarded; then, and only then, will they be able to draw from that experience many useful lessons of life for the Franco-Americans of today and of tomorrow."216 That program, which proposed a major, yet subtle, reorientation in that it would not break radically with the past, seduced the young moderates, who readily took it up. In 1974, Bernard Theroux urged his colleagues to assess, then embrace, the alternative of acculturation, which opened the door for each Franco-American "to becoming unequivocally American while vigilantly retaining that quite particular characteristic accruing to him 'from his French ancestors." Let us embark on this great adventure, he went on to say, "not just to be a small part of this great English-speaking country that constitutes the United States, but, more importantly, to become authentic Americans determined to share unstintingly with their fellow Americans the rich lode of both their French culture and their ancestral heritage."217 The oration delivered by Father Thomas-Marie Landry at the colloquium of Bedford, New Hampshire, in 1976 In June 1976, the NMDC invited some 30 Franco-American militants, for the most part, young people, to discuss the Franco-American entity, its present and its future. The colloquium, a highly colorful event, to say the least, was one of the most important in Franco-American history. The convenors of that gathering hoped that a frank and open dialogue might rekindle a spirit of understanding.218 But the discussions became so virulent that some people reproached the organizers for having deliberately conspired "to fan the flames by seeking out commentators known to be diametrically and viscerally opposed to a given speaker."219 Nonetheless, 216. Thomas-Marie Landry, "La Franco-Americanie en reaction" (The FrancoAmericans up in arms), Le Travailleur, November 25, 1972, 1, 3. 217. Bernard Theroux, loc. cit., note 38, 26-27. 218. Robert L. Paris, "Qui sommes-nous? Pourquoi sommes-nous ici? Que voulonsnous? Les objectifs du colloque" (Who are we? Why are we here? What do we want? The aims of the colloquium), in NIMDC (ed.), op. cit., note 1, 13-14. 219. Claire Quintal, loc. cit., note 211, 142.

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the colloquium did prove to be an excellent forum for participants to communicate their ideas in clear-cut terms. The outstanding oration delivered on that occasion by Father Landry was by far the highlight. As was his wont, the Dominican endeavored to unite all the factions around a common ideal. Reading from a very substantive text, he posed the following questions: "Considering what still remains of the French culture and language among the Franco-American population at the present juncture, is it possible to bring about a 'renaissance' which will keep pace with the progress that we have already made? Or shall we not let perish those institutions, those structures and that 'context'—which have become but other forms of 'bondage'—with the specific intent of creating a new life based on fresh contexts, structures and institutions?" Faithful to his wont, he replied without hesitation. Everyone, he pursued, must come to realize that the Franco-American of today is above all else an American, but not necessarily Catholic and French, that his institutions harbor very little or indeed nothing at all of French life, that the Franco-American modes of living as elaborated at the Franco-American centennial of 1949 are no longer valid. Under such circumstances, "all efforts to return to "the good old days," a time when everyone spoke nothing but French, at home, at church, at school and in our associations, are, in my view, absurd and devoid of logic. Do rivers flow upstream?" All that transpired in another era was good, but such is now no longer our reality. May those who lived that Franco-American life, who live it still, try to accept the present situation just as it is; "may they turn resolutely towards the future and clear the way for those who must take the helm [...]; may they put themselves at their behest instead of throwing a wrench into their works." A renaissance is both desirable and feasible, but not at any price. In the Franco-American context of tomorrow, English will be the lingua franca; the American culture, the predominant culture. Notwithstanding, the Franco-American renaissance will have to be rooted in a revised credo as concerns things French; this will entail a collective will to maintain or to recuperate the French language as the transcendent second language with 220. The texts quoted in the preceding paragraphs, are taken from Thomas-Marie Landry "Une renaissance est-elle possible, dans le cadre de notre langue et de notre culture?" (Is a renaissance possible in the context of our language and our culture?), in NMDC (ed.), op. cit, note 1, 83-88.

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the essential elements of French culture constituting the dominant second culture. Life in the Franco-America of tomorrow will be separated from such Catholic institutions as the parish and the parochial school, with laymen rather than priests or religious taking the helm. "If the accent is placed on the recuperation and use of the French language, the FrancoAmerican renaissance will be primarily shaped by an elite, by a very small group, but, if that accent is placed instead on French culture and the French way of life, then our renaissance will be essentially the work of the masses, led by their new elite." The men and women who want this renaissance will have to redefine "a concrete historical ideal" which can be proposed to their compatriots; "and, as far as possible, they shall make an accurate head count of all available Franco-American human resources; finally, they shall make every effort to unite all the Franco-Americans in a methodical and coherent endeavor to attain that new life ideal." In the end, it will fall to them to create the modern institutions needed for assuring the success of that renaissance, their gaze fixed as much on the brand-new context as on the past.220 For Landry, the latter task was incumbent on the Comite" de vie franco-ame'ricaine [Committee on Franco-American life]. "Do not pay too much heed to those who disparage the Committee," he warned, alluding to the Young Turks. That committee sprang from the need to have an institution capable of guarding the cultural and spiritual interests of the Franco-American community. "No other Franco-American association may claim that raison d'etre as their own, nor, henceforward, replace in our midst the Comite de vie as such."221 Landry's appeal received a mixed reaction from the young people present at the colloquium. All welcomed most favorably the call for a renaissance and openly agreed on the need for new institutions to be directed by a young lay elite. However, their opinions differed on the place that French should occupy in that renaissance; there was also a parting of the ways over the role to be attributed to the Comite' de vie francoame'ricaine. Some participants, in particular the anti-establishment protesters, were more inclined to entrust that task not to the "so-called kingpins" of the Comite de vie, but rather to a new organization, more representative and more democratically constituted, that is, an organization 221. Appel pressant du Comit£ de vie franco-ame'ricaine" (Urgent appeal from the Comite" de vie franco-ame'ricaine), Le Travailleur, December 1976, 7.

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whose members would pay close attention to the will of ordinary people and never, in any way, dare to impose upon them an ideal coming from on high, thus quite divorced from their perceived reality. The more moderate militants, who often criticized the leaders "avid for honors and power," or who, even at 80 years of age, refused to cede their role of leader to younger candidates,222 never hesitated, when invited, to work with the Comite de vie. By December 1976, Claire Quintal, Gerard Brault, Paul-P. Chasse, Roger Lacerte and Richard Santerre had become full-fledged members of the Committee.223

Father Thomas-Marie Landry's thinking always remained in step with the evolution of Franco-American reality. Even as late as 1955, he contemplated the ideal American as a bilingual American citizen, a practicing Catholic who combined the cultures of his native and his adoptive countries. However, as time went on, he was compelled to recognize that the disappearance of the Little Canadas, the overwhelming Anglicization of young Francos and the relentless decline in religious practice had made that perception unrealistic and even chimerical. He therefore encouraged his compatriots to acknowledge and accept that reality. But, for all that, never would he countenance any question of renouncing the heritage handed down to them by their ancestors. True enough, at the colloquium of 1976 he had proposed a radical new strategy to his fellow-participants, but he had also urged them to persevere in the fight to maintain French and to make it their second language; never would he be able to imagine the Franco-Americans, in particular their elite, becoming unilingual English speakers. Did the young militants of 1976 really share in Father Landry's dream? Could they make it reality? Was that still feasible or was it not already far too late?

222. Paul-P. Chasse, loc. cit., note 176, 41. 223. "Appel pressant du Comite de vie franco-americaine" (Urgent appeal from the Comite de vie franco-americaine), Le Travailleur, December 1976, 7.

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EPILOGUE1

A Franco-American is any person who is actively interested in the French language and culture; who can speak, read or understand French; who has a French surname or is of partially French descent, whatever his surname.2 PAUL LAFLAMME

F

ATHER THOMAS-MARIE LANDRY confronted the young FrancoAmerican militants with a momentous challenge at the Bedford colloquium in June 1976. By inviting them to become the architects of a renaissance that could rally all young Franco-Americans, he was asking them nothing less than to succeed where the elders had failed. Would the young militants be able to convince their peers to secure for the French language and culture the status of dominant second language and second culture? In 1976, the majority held that to be possible or at least acted as if they did. However, scarcely ten short years later, all were obliged to recognize that that dream would never become reality. Indeed, except for a tiny minority whose number continued to wane, the young Franco-Americans no longer spoke French. Faced with that reality, was it possible to maintain their interest in the French culture or, at the very least, in certain aspects of the Franco-American culture? Would that suffice to allow them to retain the designation of Franco-American? Or, would not American of FrenchCanadian extraction be the more appropriate designation? 1. Faced with writing the history of more recent years, the historian is somewhat at a loss. The material available to him is rather sketchy, less than readily accessible, and, speaking as conventional wisdom dictates, he lacks, in particular, the remove needed for him to give events their real meaning. For all those reasons, this epilogue is restricted to identifying and describing the major trends. 2. Paul Laflamme, "Who and What is a Franco," Le Farog Forum, February-March 17, 5-6, 1990, 1.

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In pursuit of Father Landry's dream Father Landry's appeal had fired the zeal of the young militants. The majority of them, including the radicals who only the day before had been supporting the opposite tack, were now ready to preserve or secure for the French language and the French culture their rightful place in FrancoAmerican life. A closer look at the situation may prove instructive. Some of the declarations made before and after 1976 may have intimated that the participants in Le Farog Forum or the members of the NMDC were quite indifferent to the fate of the French language. And so, in reply to readers who were surprised and indignant that the newspaper out of Orono was publishing texts in "Franglais" or pidgin French, those responsible insisted that the French language was "an implement, not a God, nor a goddess."3 "When words spring from the heart, we don't correct the grammar."4 The policy of the newspaper, the editors reminded readers, is to publish every text in the "natural" language of the author, be that English, French or Franglais.5 Then, in 1981, Quebec City hosted the third Rencontre des peuples francophones [Assembly of Francophone peoples] organized by the government of Quebec. Several of the young members of the Franco-American delegation neither spoke nor even understood French. To say the least, that state of affairs disconcerted the Quebec organizers and the other participants, some of whom let this be known without mincing words which, in turn, aroused feelings of considerable exasperation and embarrassment within the Franco-American delegation. At Orono, Yvon Labbe, of Le Farog Forum was incensed, reporting that a number of young Franco-Americans "were ridiculed, while others were ignored, because they did not speak French like the rest or they spoke it with difficulty, or, quite simply, they did not speak French at all." This was seen as discrimination, "cultural and linguistic colonization [...]. We must go abroad just as we are."6 "To not speak French is hardly the end of the

3. "Le courrier/The Mail," Le Farog Forum, May 5, 8, 1978, 17. 4. Le Farog Forum, September 1, 11, 1983, 14. 5. Celeste Roberge, Le Farog Forum, September 1, 2, 1974, 1. The geographer, Yves Brousseau, calculated that, from 1974 to 1985, texts in English represented 54.8% of the newspaper's content. French language texts represented 23.7%, bilingual texts, 9.7% and texts published in a mixture of French and English, 7.3%. Yves Brousseau, "Autopsie d'un journal..." (Autopsy of a newspaper...), Le Farog Forum, October 1, 14, 1986, 6. 6. "Yvongdisations," Le Farog Forum, September 1, 8, 1980, 14.

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world."7 Such declarations led some observers to conclude that, for the militants of Orono, Father Landry's dream was unrealistic, that wanting to convince the young Franco-Americans to speak the language of their parents, or to learn it all over again, amounted to wishful thinking. However, not everyone viewed the situation that way. In the eyes of the radical militants, the young Franco-Americans had interiorized the negative image in which the Americans continued to cloak them. In other words, they were docile, unambitious, wary of change and lacking in self-confidence; they were also ashamed of their origins and of the French they spoke, when they spoke it. In short, they were vulnerable. How could they be helped? By laughing at them, by endlessly harping on the inadequacy of their French or by faulting them for having renounced the language of their father and mother? That would have been the best way to put them right off French and their native culture once and for all. On the contrary, they had to be treated with respect and welcomed with open arms; as well, any impulse to make a production of their imperfect command of French or of their English unilingualism was to be avoided at all costs. Indeed, the entire program of Le Farog seemed to be based on that central notion. The program was relatively straightforward. It was thought that inviting students to recount their public-school experiences in Le Farog Forum would be the most effective way to help them understand the source of their problems. For instance, one Michael Bouchard wrote that he had first felt ashamed of being a Franco-American at high school. "Students who are French have to spend their school days afraid of being ridiculed because they are French."8 Another Franco, Mark Rossignol, related how frustrating it was to be told on just about every other school day that the French he learned at home was incorrect and virtually incomprehensible to all other Francophones.9 Encouraging Franco students to trace their genealogy and to question their parents and their grandparents about their work, their customs and their beliefs, would lead them—it was widely held—to take pride in their origins and to learn more about their culture and their history. To quench their thirst for knowledge, the newspaper suggested which courses to take, which films to see and which books to 7. Le Farog Forum, March 6, 8, 1981, 5. 8. Michael Bouchard, "From My Neck of the Woods," September 1, 8, 1980, 9 9. Mark Rossignol, "To be or not to Be... French," Le Farog Forum, December 4, 8, 1980, 7.

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read. It was also hoped that by showing students that the Franco-American collectivity had managed to produce writers as famous as Jack Kerouac and Grace Metalious, would help them come to appreciate why the Franco-Americans had no reason whatsoever to envy other ethnic groups.10 In the end, many believed that it was only once they had recovered their self-esteem and their self-confidence that those same young people would join in the fight against all forms of discrimination, while becoming the architects of a renascent history and the promoters of FrancoAmerican culture. Just like the Compagnie des Cents Associes [Company of the one-hundred associates], which every year bestows on meritorious Franco-Americans a Golden Frog Award, they would even learn to poke fun at those who disdained them and to transform into a source of pride that which had once been an object of ridicule.11 Ultimately, much hope was entertained that if a policy of open-mindedness were adopted towards them, a good many Francos would even make an effort to relearn French.12 Obviously, it is impossible to measure the extent to which the Orono militants achieved their objectives. Literally hundreds of students benefited from the services offered by the FAROG; as well, Le Farog Forum, which a circulation of 6,000 copies, was distributed throughout New England—hardly an insignificant phenomenon. What seems clear is that over time Orono became the principal bastion of Franco-American culture and of the French language in northern New England. Indeed, the Orono militants actively pursued Father Landry's dream without openly acknowledging what they were doing and often without even being aware of it. In southern New England, thanks to Claire Quintal. Worcester played the same role. Professor of French at Assumption College and President of the Federation feminine franco-americaine (Federation of Franco-American Women) from 1973 to 1981, Claire Quintal concurred entirely with Father Landry's ideas. As architect of the French competition sponsored by the 10. Much care has been taken to show that, even when written in English, the work of those authors bears all the marks of their Franco-American identity. See Peter Wolfson, "The French-Canadian Heritage of Jack Kerouac," Le Farog Forum, February 1, 7,1979,17; Elizabeth Aube, "Jack Kerouac," Le Farog Forum, November 3, 22, 1983, 11. 11. Melinda Lake, "En bref" (In short), Le Farog Forum, November 3, 11, 1983, 13. 12. Julien Olivier, in Jean Blouin and Jean-Pierre Myette, Les Francos-Americains II. Emissions actuelles (The Franco-Americans II. Available programs), Montreal, RadioCanada, Service des transcriptions et des derives de la radio, January 1983, 57.

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"Fede (FFFA)" and of the Youth Festival which replaced it, Quintal was well situated to appreciate the ravages that Anglicization had inflicted on young Francos and to recognize that the traditional institutions were incapable of arresting that process. "We are therefore obliged to reconsider our heritage, to choose new ways of acting" which have nothing in common with those of an earlier time, she reminded the delegates at the 50th Congress of the Union des Franco-Americains du Connecticut (Union of the Franco-Americans of Connecticut) in May 1981. "Our gestures must be adapted to our era and to our milieu."13 Strong in her beliefs and with the support of Father Wilfrid Dufault, a.a., Vice President of Assumption College, in 1979, she presided over the founding of the Institut fran9ais (French Institute) at that college. The French Institute adopted as objectives "to encourage and promote the study of the French language and literature, as well as of the history and culture of France and Francophone America; moreover, they were anxious to foster a wider knowledge of Franco-Americans, their traditions and their history." To achieve those goals, the Institute was ready to organize colloquiums and conferences; to set up pedagogical workshops for professors; and, to build up a library for the purpose of gathering an making available every document likely to advance the study or studies of the Franco-American fact. They also anticipated organizing student trips for educational purposes or to help young people get a taste of cultural tourism, as well as crafting courses on language and culture for students and, finally, sponsoring activities apt to interest older persons. The Institute intended to publish various brochures and books to provide information about the research work it hoped to foster, and, it would also take charge of the Youth Festival. The founders of the Institute even anticipated establishing a central and permanent secretariat which could see to the needs of such Franco-American societies as the Comite de vie francoamericaine, the Societe historique franco-americaine, the Federation feminine franco-americaine and the like.14

13. Claire Quintal, "Restons fideles les uns aux autres" (Let us ever remain faithful to one another), BFFFA, XXIX, 2-3, Summer/Autumn 1981, 1. 14. "Un institut d'etudes fran9aises et franco-americaines a Worcester" (An Institute for French and Franco-American studies at Worcester), Viefrangaise 33, 7, July-August 8-9, 1979,11-12; see also Claire Quintal, "Projet d'etablissement d'un Institut d'etudes francaises et franco-americaines a I'Assomption" (Project to set up an institute for French and FrancoAmerican studies at Assumption College), BFFFA, XXVII, 2, Spring 1979, 6 9-10.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

To operate that huge machine, the director, Claire Quintal, could always count on the help of a secretary. At the outset, it was indeed a mission impossible. Nonetheless, all the activities contemplated, except for the last one, were taken over by the Institute—but to be honest, more or less without friction. During the early years, thanks to her indomitable energy, her remarkable sense of organization and a vast network of devoted collaborators, Quintal presided over a virtually uninterrupted series of Institute-sponsored activities. The most prestigious was surely the colloquium which every year convened some 300 to 400 participants. Academics and other figures of note were there afforded a precious opportunity to give papers of the highest scientific caliber on one or another aspect of the Franco-American experience; of course, the Institute published those papers soon after.15 In the course of a few short years, Claire Quintal had turned Worcester into the most dynamic Franco-American city in southern New England. However, thanks to the NMDC, at times, Manchester has challenged Worcester's right to claim that title. From 1975 to 1982, the year when the federal government cut off their means of subsistence, the NMDC was operating at full capacity, placing at the disposal of students and researchers a significant number of highly useful documents. Pierre Anctil published a bibliographical catalogue that included several hundred titles.16 Renaud Albert, Madeleine Giguere and others edited Franco-American Overview, an imposing compilation of articles, in eight volumes, on the Franco-Americans, the Francophones of Louisiana and the French-Canadians of the West and the Midwest; Richard Santerre, for his part, brought out Anthologie de la Htterature franco-americaine de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (Anthology of the Franco-American literature of New England) in nine volumes. In addition, the Center disseminated an appreciable number of texts on such subjects as ethnology, genealogy, popular literature and theater, and coordnated the transcription of many folktales.17 When are added to the totality of those 15. In 1996, Claire Quintal put together in a very beautiful book, 683 pages long, entitled Steeples and Smokestacks. A collection of Essays on the Franco-American Experience in New England, 37 of the more than one hundred articles published at an earlier time. A number of other articles, in particular, those of Yves Frenette and Francois Weil, would have been quite at home in that rich collection. 16. Pierre Anctil, A Franco-American Bibliography, New England, Bedford (N.H.), NMDC, 1979, ix, 136 pages. 17. Armand Chartier, Histoire des Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 17751990 (History of the Franco-Americans of New England, 1775-1990), Sillery, Septentrion,

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works the many Master's dissertations, Doctoral theses and monographs which regularly appear in the United States, Canada and Quebec, clearly, American authors no longer have any reason to relegate their FrancoAmerican peers to little more than a few footnotes.18 Over time, the dynamism of those militants proved to be contagious, as substantiated by the following affirmation of one Paul Pare, Secretary of Action pour les Franco-Americains du Nord-Est (ActFANE) [Group to act on behalf of the Franco-Americans of the Northeast]: During that period, various organizations gave evidence of their greatly renewed momentum. The Federation feminine franco-americaine organized a number of Youth Festivals19 and ethnic holidays with considerable success. The Mouvement Richelieu (Richelieu movement) founded new clubs [...]. The Societe historique franco-americaine (Franco American historical society) continued to attract an elderly and religious elite to their banquets and luncheon meetings [...]. A few Franco communities, such as Fall River, Mass., are undertaking a renewal with the help of the Association francophone de Fall River (Fall River Francophone Association); Lewiston, Me., thanks to the Unite franco-americaine (Franco-American United Front); Manchester, N.H., to the Conseil franco-americain du New-Hampshire (Franco-American Council of New Hampshire); Biddeford, Me., to the Federation franco-americaine (Franco-American Federation); Burlington, Vt,

1991, 332, 377. For many years, Armand Chartier has been an actor and well-informed observer of the Franco-American scene. For that reason, his book is an invaluable source which has been consulted often and to great advantage. 18. For an enumeration of those works, see Yves Roby "Un Quebec emigre aux EtatsUnis. Bilan historiographique" (A Quebec having emigrated to the United States. Historiographical assessment), in Claude Savary (dir.),Les rapports culturels entre le Quebec et les £tats-Unis (Cultural links between Quebec and the United States), Quebec, IQRC, 1984, 103-130. 19. Every year, in June or July, the Federation convened fifty or so young people, from 14 to 18 years of age, to afford them an opportunity to reflect on their Franco-American identity. Indeed, as Claire Quintal wrote, "We hope that we can give our young people a deeper and more lucid understanding of themselves and of their particular qualities by showing them exactly who their great grandparents actually were, namely, francophones who had left Canada to settle in New England." We also hope to make them FrancoAmerican Kunta Kinte (heroes of Roots). Claire Quintal, "Message de la presidente. Le retour aux racines" (Message of the President. Retracing our roots). BFFFA, XXV, 2, Spring 1977, 1. For high-school students, the Fede" organized a genealogical competition entitled "Mes racines. La genealogie de ma famille" (My roots. The genealogy of my family). "Reprise du concours oral de la Fede" (Resumption of the oral competition of the Fede), BFFFA, XXX, 3-4, Summer/Autumn 1982, 4.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND to the Societe des deux mondes (Two Worlds Society) and various towns of Connecticut to the Union des Franco-Americains du Connecticut (Union of the Franco-Americans of Connecticut).20

At the same time, many Franco-Americans were discovering that they had acquired a real taste for genealogy and for their culture. In 1973, Lucille Lagasse and Roger Lawrence founded at Manchester the American Canadian Genealogical Society. Farther south, Henri Leblond and Robert Quintin established the American French Genealogical Society at Pawtucket (R.I.). Those same societies set up documentation centers, offered workshops and conferences and published magazines.21 Ultimately, for thousands of ordinary Franco-Americans, searching for roots became an unrivaled pastime, a veritable passion. Further evidence of that passion was confirmed by the ever-growing Franco attendance at the many festivals that had sprung up over those years: the Festival americain de Lewiston (American festival of Lewiston), the Semaine franco-americaine de Lowell (The Lowell Franco-American week), the Festival des deux mondes (Festival of the two worlds) and many others—too many to count. This need to celebrate publicly the FrancoAmerican culture spread like wildfire, noted Real Gilbert, President of ActFANE.22 The programs of the people of Orono, of Worcester and of Manchester had a great deal in common, much more than had ever been realized earlier on. Indeed, the groups had always busied themselves on their own, on home ground, and without taking much notice of the others. However, some Francos, troubled by that lack of cohesion, began to ponder creating another organization to replace the Comite de vie franco-americaine. Ultimately, Quebec would enable them to fulfill that wish. When the Sovereignists took power in 1976, the Franco-American believed that the moment was ripe to remind Quebecers that their help "is absolutely necessary to the cultural survival of the Franco-American collectivity."23 Without the injection of human, technical and financial resources, wrote Armand Chartier, full assimilation will occur in less than 20. Paul Pare", "Plus que voisins" (More than neighbors), Le Farog Forum, October 2, 9, 1981, 1. 21. Armand Chartier, op. cit, note 17, 343-344. 22. To be visible... an idea whose time," Le Farog Forum, December 4, 12, 1984. 23. Claire Quintal,"Le Quebec et les Franco-Ameiicains; les limites d'une certaine presence apres une longue absence" (Quebec and the Franco-Americans; the limits on a certain presence after so long an absence), BFFFA, XXVIII, 3—4, Summer/Autumn 1980,12.

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one generation.24 However, for the proud militants of Orono, there could never be any question of showing up like beggars, hat in hand and dancing the let me polish your boots reel. "If Quebec is serious about separating from the rest of Canada it is in their best interest to have a three million persons franco-american lobby here in New England who as American citizens support and identify with their cause rather than being totally ambivalent"25 (sic). Claire Quintal, who is more realistic and possessed of a keener appreciation of the sentiments of Quebecers, showed greater diplomacy. She availed herself of the Rencontre des peuples francophones at Quebec City, in 1980, to plead for her own constituency. "We have much greater need of you than you do of us," she stated without hesitation. Simply by existing, Quebec helps us. "In virtue of her renascent culture and her revitalized creative energies, Quebec is our beacon. That same country which for us, the Franco-Americans, was once synonymous with the past—a peaceful past to be sure, but all the same poor and humiliating—has suddenly become the here and now, a vibrant and dynamic actuality." The people of Quebec have become "the begetters of new men [...]. As of today, our descendants will be able to hold their head high, no matter where they may be, because the face of Quebec has radically changed." Quintal concluded her remarks by noting that FrancoAmericans needed to believe that they really counted for the people of Quebec. "It is urgent that somewhere in Quebec an office be set up without delay to look after the Franco-Americans."26 That strategy bore fruit. In October 1981, the government of Quebec inaugurated the Secretariat permanent des peuples francophones (Permanent Secretariat of the Francophone Peoples). "This center," declared Rene Levesque at the inauguration, "shall be an instrument for better preparing your annual meetings and, henceforth, will also provide a place for gatherings, study and colloquiums, as well as being an exhibition and distribution center for all information about the French-speaking world that can be or may have been gathered."27 Moreover, the Secretariat offered Franco24. Armand Chartier, "Franco-Americans and Quebec: Linkages and Potentials in the Northeast," in Alfred J. Hero and Marcel Daneau (ed.), Problems and Opportunities in U.S.Quebec Relations, Boulder (Colo.). Westview Press, 1984, 163. 25. Raymond Gagnon, "Call Me Franco-American," Le Farog Forum, October 2, 11, 1983, 18. 26. Claire Quintal, loc. cit, note 23, 12-13. 27. Quoted in Armand Chartier, op. cit., note 17, 368. The Secretariat plays its role to perfection. See Louis Dupont, "Un secretariat a Quebec" (A Secretariat at Quebec), Le Farog Forum, October 1, 14, 1986, 8.

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THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Americans the possibility of doing business with Quebec without going through the bureaucratic labyrinth at the ministere des Affaires intergouvernementales (Department of Intergovernmental Affairs).28 Quebec did more. In 1980, "no doubt 'fed up' with receiving applications for assistance from dozens of different associations,"29 Intergovernmental Affairs invited to Quebec ten or so of the most influencial Franco-American militants and suggested to them that they set up an umbrella organization that might be modeled on the Federation des Francophones hors Quebec (FFHQ) [Federation of French-speaking peoples outside Quebec]. That organization was to function as liaison bureau for the various groups dispersed throughout New England and the State of New York; it would coordinate their activities and act as their interlocutor with the governments of Quebec and of the northwestern states. Those procedures led in 1981 to the creation of the ActFANE group and the establishing of a small secretariat financed by Quebec, under the direction of Paul Pare. Slowly but surely, the ActFANE group worked to replace the Comite" de vie franco-americaine, which was no longer able to play the role assigned to it by Father Landry at Bedford. In view of the limited resources placed at their disposal, the ActFANE group nonetheless worked wonders. Paul Pare", in his capacity as secretary, responded to all of the many requests for information which reached him from every sector; he regularly visited the various Franco-American centers; he identified the 600 to 800 associations represented by his group; he assured the publication of InformAction and organized the groundwork for a major congress "Rendez-vous '83." The ActFANE group also made special efforts to keep in regular touch with the grass roots, to improve relations between the various Franco-American organizations and to keep alive existing ties to the Francophone community outside the northeastern United States. However, as time passed, it became obvious that the group was running out of steam and could no longer infuse new life into the local associations. Then too, Quebec's growing disinterest in things Franco-American clearly made the situation all the more uncertain.30 28. Dean Louder, La Franco-Americanie, 1968-1984 (The Franco-American World, 1968-1984), Quebec, Ministere des Relations intergouvernementales, United States Branch, 1984, 56. 29. Ibid. 30. Yvon Labbe of FAROG stated that a member of the Quebec delegation at Boston once told him: "There is no future for the Franco-Americans here; all we can do for you is soften the inevitable deathblow." Quoted in Jean Blouin and Jean-Pierre Myette, op. cit, note 12, 54.

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The time has come to pose the following question: does the portrait which this work traces offer readers conclusive proof that the FrancoAmericans were finally about to fulfill Father Landry's dream? Some ten years after the Bedford colloquium, could it have been said that the Franco-American collectivity was on the verge of a renaissance? What did the actors themselves believe? "Survivance is dead in the Little Canadas" Is the Franco-American world in the throes of a renaissance? Had that question been posed to the participants of the 1976 colloquium, the majority would have answered yes, the rest, that it was possible. Less than ten years later, there were no true believers left. For even if, on paper, the achievements may seem impressive, there has been no renaissance, according to Andre Senecal of the University of Vermont. "Of course, there is always a tiny group of learned people who take a real interest in the Franco-American fact. I refer, among others, to the members of the Institut francais at Assumption College at Worcester, or to Yvon Labbe's group in Maine; I am also thinking about another important group at Manchester, in New Hampshire, or at Lowell, with Richard Santerre, Bob Perreault [...]. But for me—and here is where I become pessimistic—I see those people as isolated people."31 "What might have appeared to be a 'renaissance' during the 1970s has turned out to be little more than a collection of short-lived projects incapable of convincing the working classes to shake off their apathy," maintained for his part Armand Chartier.32 "The survivance is dead in the Little Canadas," Claire Quintal acknowledged ruefully.33 Up until the 1950s, a Franco-American, wrote Gregoire Chabot, was a French-speaking Catholic whose parents were natives of Quebec. "If we were to use the old definition," he ironized, "today we would find about ten or so 'real' Francos: a couple at SainteAgathe, one at Lewiston, two at Lowell, three more in the Woonsocket area, and perhaps two others, forgotten at Wellesley."34 "The battle for the 31. Quoted in Jean Blouin and Jean-Pierre Myette, op. cit., note 12, 62. 32. Armand Chartier, op. cit., note 17, ip. 384. 33. Claire Quintal (ed.), The Little Canadas of New England, Worcester, French Institute/Assumption College, 1983, x. 34. Gregoire Chabot, "Entre la manie et la phobic" (Between the mania and the phobia), Le Forum, 3, 22 etc/summer, 1994, 6.

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French language is lost."35 "Without mincing words», wrote Gerard-J. Brault, "the French language here [in New England] is on the verge of disappearing."36 The very children of the Secretary of ActFANE Paul Pare" are unable to converse with him in his mother tongue; those of the poet, Normand Dube, are unable to read him.37 In one or two generations, concluded Andre Senecal, "there will still be individuals who speak French, but no doubt they will also be professors of French just like me."38 The institutional structures, the very same in which the FrancoAmericans had invested so heavily and which had inspired in them such great pride, were about to collapse. One after the other, the national parishes were becoming mixed or territorial parishes or were disappearing, quite simply. "In our splendid churches, French is hardly ever spoken; as for our parochial schools, they have either been closed or they have become regional Catholic schools where every class is given in English."39 The last Franco-American weekly, Le Travailleur of Worcester, closed its doors in September 1978; the large mutual societies were losing their members like a tree loses its leaves come October. Worse still, during a special congress held at Boxborough (Mass.) in 1991, a handful of delegates voted in favor of selling the USJBA to the Catholic Family Life Insurance, a fraternal "Germanic" society of the Midwest.40 Many old and prestigious institutions were disappearing or on the verge of folding, for example, the Comite de vie franco-americaine faded away with nary a whimper after a fruitless attempt to merge with the ActFANE group, in 1983, and the Socie"te historique franco-americaine had considerable difficulty holding its annual meetings. At the Fede, once so dynamic,

35. Claire Quintal, "La Federation feminine franco-americaine ou comment les Franco-americaines sont entrees de plain-pied dans le mouvement de la survivance" (The Federation feminine franco-americaine or how Franco-American women seized their rightful place in the survivance movement), Francophonies d'Amerique, 7, 1997, 186. 36. Gerard-J. Brault, "Les Franco-Americains, la langue fran9aise et la construction de 1'identite nationale" (The Franco-Americans, the French language and the construction of the national identity), in Simon Langlois (ed.), Identite et cultures nationales. L'Amerique franfaise en mutation (National identity and cultures. A changing French America), Quebec, PUL, 1995, 279. 37. Jean Blouin and Jean-Pierre Myette, op. cit.., note 12, 34. 38. Id., 33. 39. Claire Quintal, loc. cit., note 23, 10. 40. Stephane Gendron, "L'UNSBA devient CFLI" (The USJBA becomes the CFLI), Le Farog Forum, October-November-December 1, 19, 1991, 24.

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"recruits are hard to find";41 and, according to one 70-year-old member, "the Federation is dying."42 In 1991, the members discontinued publishing their bulletin and transformed their annual meeting into a manner of alumni gathering. More recent organizations, which had sparked so much hope, met with the same fate. In 1992, at Quebec, the Secretariat permanent des peuples francophones closed its doors amid virtually total indifference. The Assemblee des Franco-Americains (Franco-American Assembly), founded in 1980, and which had once entertained the dream of becoming the mouthpiece of all Franco-Americans throughout the United States, gave up the ghost in 1987. In all the states, the cultural exchange commissions were rapidly losing ground, to say the very least. Finally, virtually everywhere, the Little Canadas had disappeared, which meant that the cultural ties which had once united the population of FrenchCanadian origin were, for all practical purposes, severed. "All those urban districts, where the Franco-American churches had been erected, are often no longer inhabited by Franco-Americans. At New Bedford and at Fall River, the Portuguese are now ensconced in the very setting where the Franco-American natives of those cities once spent their childhood. At Holyoke and Springfield, the Puerto Ricans are living in the houses of Franco workers of an earlier era. And, at Lowell, the Cambodians are now settled in a once Franco-American district."43 The ethnologist, Brigitte Lane, maintains that here and there in New England there are "invisible Franco-American villages still extant"44 where can be found individuals who are united in sharing their love of the French language and culture. And yet, asks Louise Peloquin-Fare, when people congregate from time to time to take part in folkloric activities such as ethnic meals and dances, can one conclude therefrom that theirs is a viable community?45 Has there not always been a tendency to exaggerate the importance of certain activities like festivals or genealogy? 41. "De la redaction" ( A few notes), BFFFA, XXXVII, 1-2, Winter-Spring, 1989, 2. 42. Claire Quintal (ed.), loc. cit, note 35, 186. 43. Claire Quintal (ed.), Religion catholique et appartenancefranco-americaine/FrancoAmericans and Religion: Impact and Influence, Worcester, Institut francais, Assumption College, 1993, IV. 44. Brigitte Lane, Franco-American Folk Traditions and Popular Culture in a Former Milltown: Aspects of Ethnic Urban Folklore and the Dynamics of Folklore Change in Lowell, Massachusetts, New York, Garland Publishing, 1990, XIII. 45. Louise Peloquin-Fare, L'identite culturelle. Les Franco-Americains de la NouvelleAngleterre (A cultural identity. The Franco-Americans of New England), Paris, Credif, 1983, 144.

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Of course, there is no question of minimizing Franco-American relish for those activities. Every year, thousands of people attend one or any number of the festivals that take place over the summer months. Moreover, the abiding passion of Franco-Americans for genealogy is well known. "People who fret over the loss of the Brazilian rain forests should talk to the Francos," notes Gregoire Chabot, tongue in cheek. "Here at home, we have enough family trees to plant a forest that would cover all of South America as well as a good part of the Sahara Desert."46 For many individuals, queried the historian Yves Frenette, might not this appetite for cultural and so many other activities derive from their rediscovered sense of identity? How else could the drop in native Francophones (-13 %), coupled with a simultaneous increase in the number of persons declaring themselves of French extraction, between 1980 and 1990, be explained? Indeed, Francophone immigration to New England was then and is today virtually inexistent and the natural growth of the Francophone population, negligible."47 Some authors see in those cultural manifestations the expression of a symbolic ethnicity—once perceived as a last resort—which they explain as follows. When individuals have become assimilated and although they no longer have anything but very tenuous links to their group of origin, nonetheless, they seem reluctant to renounce totally their ethnic identity. And so, they become attached to various symbolic elements such as "food, music and celebrations" which in no way encumber their ordinary social relations and which allow them "to feel" rather than just "to be" ethnic.48 Herbert Cans, for his part, maintains that such behavior reveals no more than a "nostalgic fidelity" to one's own group of origin, "a love for and a pride in a tradition that can be felt without having to be incorporated in every day behavior."49 He claims that the new ethnicity has not affected the processes of acculturation and assimilation, instead, it has 46. Gregoire Chabot, loc. cit., note 34, 6. 47. Yves Frenette, Francophonies d'Amerique. Les francophones de la NouvelleAngleterre, 1524-2000 (The American-French idiom. The French-speaking peoples of New England, 1524-2000), Quebec, Institut de la recherche scientifique, forthcoming. Quoted with permission of the author. The entire text is a must read. 48. Richard Alba, Ethnic Identity. The Transformation of White America, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1990, 29-30. 49. Herbert Cans, "Symbolic Ethnicity [1979]," in John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith (eds), Oxford Readers. Ethnicity, New York, Oxford University Press, 1996, 146.

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aroused a fresh interest in the question of "roots" within most ethnic groups. And, although unlikely to inspire a renaissance,50 or even to rekindle strong feelings of solidarity, that interest does explain the appearance of many tiny militant groups, all of an ultradynamic neotraditionalist persuasion. But, does such an ethnicity have a future? Here, the authors diverge.51 The last handful It is common knowledge that at the end of the 1980s, there were still dynamic pockets of Franco-American life at Manchester, at Orono and at Woonsocket. However, the handful of militants leading them was clearly running out of steam. With no backup, they were disappearing from the scene, one after the other, without being replaced. For, if after 10, or even 20, years of concerted effort, the widely expected renaissance had failed to materialize, was the hope not futile that it was still on the horizon? The FAROG and ActFANE people refused to give up.52 To get young people to take an active interest in the Franco-American culture and to reappropriate the language of their parents, the FAROG tried to convince them to do just that, but on an individual basis. That approach proved greatly effective without, however, stirring up the mass movement indispensable to the Franco-American survivance. Until then, the FAROG people had attributed the docility, passivity and lack of ambition common to most young Francos to the culture inherited from the ancestors and to the stifling moral standards imposed by the elite in the Little Canadas; but the lion's share of blame belonged to the traditional institutions and to the gospel of survivance, as had been preached by the elite for better than a century. At a time when the Little 50. John Edwards, "Symbolic Ethnicity and Language [1985]," In John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith (eds), op. cit, note 49, 228. 51. Herbert Cans, loc cit., note 49, 154-155. "What is the import of that recognition? asks Yves Frenette. "Can issues that bear on the familial, the individual or that which is private, be let slide? And even allowing that an individualized ethnocultural identity might give birth to some sort of collective action, how long could such phenomenon last, in view of the fact that the oldest Francos are the ones most likely to be affected by it?" 52. The author does not claim that the others did so. Leaders like Claire Quintal will never admit defeat. However to the best of his knowledge, only the FAROG and ActFANE people publicized their reflections and their program on how best to help young people shake off their apathy.

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Canadas were well on the way to extinction, when the elite had departed the scene, a fresh debate took hold, one to which Yvon Labbe devoted his finest editorials. He argued that a complex system of discrimination, coupled with a policy of disinformation, was instigated at the beginning of the twentieth century to preserve the status quo, to alienate Franco-Americans from their culture and their language and to divest them of their identity.53 Thousands of pupils across the State of Maine claim they were punished because they dared to speak French outside the classroom and ridiculed because of their less-than-perfect command of English. If one had thought that all that was a thing of the past, one would have been quite mistaken. Over the last 20 years, "an anti-Maine-French-identity climate remains in place, slowly erasing our collective memory"™ Teachers continue to poke fun at the culture of their Franco-American pupils; researchers and the media continue to ignore that culture. In many homes for the elderly, in hospitals and in the public services overall, seniors, especially those who have a poor command of English, are systematically deprived of appropriate services. A multitude of distressing consequences stemmed from that conspicuous discrimination. In particular, it drove a great many young people to renounce their language, desert their collectivity and even change their name.55 In order to survive as an ethnic group, the Franco-Americans took refuge in the Little Canadas where they made every effort to go unnoticed.56 It is time, more than time, concluded Yvon Labb£, for the Franco-Americans to reappropriate "their history and their language" and to assert their rights forcefully. Merely to survive is not enough. They must live life to the full and occupy the place that is rightfully theirs as vital components of the American social fabric. "I cry out for a revolution," for an all-encompassing renaissance.57 The ActFANE group, represented by 53. Yvon Labbe', "Yvongelisations. Restore our History, our Culture and our Language: a Question of Institutionalized Prejudice," Le Farog Forum, October 1,17, 1989,14. 54. Yvon Labbe", "Yvongelisations. Bonsoir mes amis, bonsoir" (Good evening my friends, good evening), Le Farog Forum, October-November 1, 18, 1990, 11. 55. Yvon Labbe", "Yvongelisations," Le Farog Forum, January-February 2, 20, 1993, 3. 56. Yvon Labbe, "Yvongelisations," Le Farog Forum, November 2, 17, 1989, 5. Henceforth, that which sustains the existence of the Little Canadas is no longer the elite, but the fact of discrimination. Gregoire Chabot, alone, continued to affirm the contrary. Gregoire Chabot, "Entre la manie et la phobic II" (Between the mania and the phobia II), Le Forum, 24, 1, 1996, 36-37. 57. Yvon Labbe, "Yvongelisations," Le Farog Forum, November 2, 17, 1989, 5.

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their President, Paul Laflamme, joined the movement, calling on the Franco-Americans of the Northeast to usher in a "quiet revolution."58 The place accorded to the French language in the joint program of the FAROG and of ActFANE was to some extent ambiguous, witness the resumption of the debate "a culture without a language" in the pages of Le Farog Forum. One cannot be a real Franco-American without speaking French, insists Bernard Ouimet with a passion not unlike that of Claire Quintal during the 1970s. One can, he concedes, make tourtieres (meat pies) without speaking French; it is possible to know Franco-American history without a command of the language; one can even write FrancoAmerican novels in English. But, is that what signifies being a FrancoAmerican? To those who claim that it does, he says, I would submit that a vital element is lacking: the Franco-American soul. The language is the one ingredient which makes us what we are; it is the soul, the very spirit which distinguishes one ethnic group from all the others.59 And yet, such flights of oratory offended all those "and they are the majority" who have no language other than English. I want to be accepted just as I am, declared Lanette Landry Petrie, without the language, "but with the heart and soul of the French."60 Such an attitude is harmful even to the best interests of the collectivity, repeated Gregoire Chabot. "By refusing to heed all that is not said in French, they, "the Languestapo or the language police," take away the language, the speech, the participation and, ultimately, the power from a vast majority of Francos who are no longer Francophones."61 However, according to Paul Pare, "The Franco-American cultural identity in New England appears to be strong enough to survive without any knowledge of French."62 But, the partisans of the culture without the language were not satisfied with protests alone, they took action. In New Hamp58. "Bravo-Thumbs Up," Le Farog Forum, December 3, 17, 1989, 20. 59. Bernard Ouimet, "Unreconstructed. To be Franco or not to be Franco," Le Farog Forum, April 7,14,1987,15. In his last interventions, Yvon Labbe" himself indicates that he no longer believes that the culture can survive without the language. Yves Frenette, op. cit, note 47. 60. Lanette Landry Petrie, "Back to the beginning," Le Forum, 22,2, printemps/spring 1991, 6. 61. Gregoire Chabot, loc. cit., note 56, 37. 62. Quoted in J.-P. Peroncel-Hugoz, "Des Americains doublement immigres: les Francos de la Nouvelle-Angleterre" (Americans who are immigrants twice over: the Francos of New England), Le Farog Forum, December 3, 15, 1987, 17. Reprinted in Le Monde, September 2, 1987.

516

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

shire, the Association canado-ame'ricaine and the ActFANE group endorsed Bill 1201 which authorized the school commissions to teach the history and the culture of various ethnic groups, but without the language. They were indicating that which, henceforth, would constitute their real priority.63 The necessary tools and information were unavailable to the author for properly assessing the impact of that new watershed in the attitude of the FAROG. What can be affirmed is that there never was any real renaissance in the State of Maine at that time, no more than there had been over the previous years. Elsewhere, except for New Hampshire, and even there, Labbe's appeal for a revolution, with its underlying arguments, ultimately came to naught. In the other states, no cause seemed equal to rallying the entire Franco-American collectivity.64 Now is the time to conclude this work. Out of the some three million Americans of French-Canadian origin to be found in the northeastern United States, many tens of thousands still understand and speak the French language. Among the rest, as many, if not more, know that they belong to a distinct ethnic group; moreover, they take pride in that knowledge. Those same people, who for the most part are aged 50 or over and who are fully integrated into the American social fabric, continue—and will no doubt will continue—to participate in the various cultural activities, such as "festivals, colloquiums, commemorative holidays, genealogical research and cultural tourism" that are organized especially for them. The more perceptive Francos want to know and make known the actual contribution of their people to American life. However, it cannot be said that they still form a real community, and thus are able to assure the promotion and the defense of common interests. In other words, there are still many Franco-Americans, but there is no longer a Franco-America. The amazing thing is that after half a century, the age-old question "isolationism or the open-door policy" is still being discussed among Franco-Americans. And yet, are the majority of Americans of FrenchCanadian descent, who no longer speak French or who show no interest in the Franco-American culture, still Franco-Americans? Have they not 63. "Eve"nements et opinions: la Francophonie nord-ame'ricaine" (Events and opinion: the Franco-American French-speaking collectivity), Le Farog Forum, February 5, 16, 1989, 16. 64. Ge"rard-J. Brault, "Three Views of the French-Canadian Experience in New England," L'Union, 87, 4, Winter 1987, 7.

EPILOGUE

517

renounced their identity to become assimilated in the American social fabric? Many believe just that. Others, however, feel that the FrancoAmericans would grow even more fragile as an ethnic group if such people were excluded. For, as Paul Laflamme wrote in 1990: "A Franco-American is any person who is actively interested in the French language and the French culture; who can speak, read or understand French; who has a French surname or is of partially French descent, whatever his surname."65 The following reflection penned by Gerard-J. Brault provides a fitting conclusion: With regard to the rencontre of two civilizations, I consider that in the past we were perhaps mistaken to stress the negative aspects of that experience, or to imagine that the decision taken by a very large number of our compatriots, "including my own parents in 1921," to leave one community for another had anything but disastrous consequences. After all, in this era, do we not fan the hope that the immigrants who come to settle in Quebec will, over time, integrate within the local population, and that this will be positive for everyone?66

According to Paul Laflamme, the term Franco-American includes the descendants of French Canadians who have become assimilated in the American social fabric; Gerard-J. Brault hopes that the choice of FrancoAmericans will be considered with greater perceptivity. Accepting that well-intentioned proposal would have a significant impact on the writing of Franco-American history. For, indeed, thus far, many historians have restricted their efforts to writing the history of those who fought for the integral or partial survivance of the Franco-American ethnic group. Those same historians delivered a captivating story, in many ways admirable, at times sad, but, ultimately, incomplete. To actively pursue the wish of Laflamme and of Brault, the Franco-American epic shall one day include a chapter on those emigrants and their children who, quite deliberately, elected to melt into the American social fabric, seeing in this not failure, but success. Therein lies a weighty challenge for the historian of tomorrow, for it will be no easy task to make the likes of Elphege-J. Daignault, Hormidas Hamelin and their many disciples, coexist harmoniously.

65. Paul Laflamme, loc. cit, note 2. 66. G6rard-J. Brault, loc. cit., note 36, 287.

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BIBLIOGRAPHIC GUIDELINES

F

OR THE READER who wants to amplify his knowledge of FrancoAmerican history, the author provides here in the essential tools of his work and the few sources that he has singled out. The footnotes may be consulted for references to more specialized source works: articles in scientific journals, memoirs, theses and monographs. Listing the hundreds of titles mentioned in the references would be redundant. This section of the book was inspired by Yves Frenette and Yves Roby, "Guide du chercheur en etudes franco-americaines: un projet" (Handbook for the researcher in Franco-American studies: a project), in Dean Louder (ed.), Le Quebec et les francophones de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (Quebec and the French-speaking peoples of New England), Quebec, PUL, 1991, 129-164. Essential tools The author has designated as essential a number of bibliographies, dictionaries, manuals, works of reference and major summaries, all of which provide rapid access to such pertinent information as a short answer to a specific question, a bibliographic reference, and knowledge of a particular event or of the context in which that event occurred. Bibliographies Anctil, Pierre, A Franco-American Bibliography: New England, Bedford, N. H., National Materials Development Center, 1979, 137 Chartier, Armand, The Franco-Americans of New England. A History, Manchester and Worcester, ACA Assurance and Institut fran^ais of Assumption College, 1999, 431-514.

52O

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Roby, Yves, "Un Quebec Emigre aux £tats-Unis. Bilan historiographique," dans Claude Savary (ed.), Les rapports culturels entre le Quebec et les £tats-Unis, Quebec, IQRC, 1984, 103-130. Roby, Yves, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle Angleterre, 1776-1930, Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 393^21. Senecal, Andre, Inventaire franco-americain (INFA), ongoing compilation of the Franco-American Bibliographic File of Newspapers, Monographs, and Periodicals (1609-1989), Burlington, University of Vermont. Available on CD-ROM at the Canadian Studies Program, University of Vermont. Biographies Researchers in a hurry to find specific information about a FrancoAmerican personage may not always know where to look. There are no instruments like the Dictionary of American Biography or the Dictionnaire biographique du Canada dealing with the Franco-American fact. However, such persons are not entirely without resources and are free to consult any or all of the following works: Allaire, Jean-Baptiste-Arthur, Dictionnaire biographique du clerge canadienfran$ais, Saint-Hyacinthe, La Tribune/ Montreal, Imp. des sourds-muets, 1910-1934, 6 volumes, 3497 pages. Belanger, Albert, Guide officiel des Franco-Americains, Fall River, s. e., 1922-1940, 9 volumes. Belisle, Alexandre, Histoire de la presse franco-americaine et des Canadiens-Fran$ais aux £tats-Unis, Worcester, L'Opinion publique, 1911, 434 pages. Dion-Levesque, Rosaire, Silhouettes franco-americaines, Manchester, Publications de 1'ACA, 1957, 933 pages. Vezina, filie, Le Bureau general de VUnion Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique. Notes historiques et biographiques, Woonsocket, s. e., 1937, 213 pages. Dictionaries, manuals Researchers often need information straightway about various locations like North Brookfield or Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes of Fall River, about establishments like the Association canado-am£ricaine, the Ordre des Chevaliers de Jacques-Cartier or Assumption College, or again, about one or another of the hundreds of periodicals that were published in New England. They can find the information they need thanks to sources like:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

521

Belanger, Albert, Guide officiel des Franco-Americains, Fall River, s. e., 1922-1940. 9 volumes. Dufresne, Charles et al., Dictionnaire de I'Amerique francaise. Francophonie nordamericaine hors Quebec, Ottawa, Les Presses de 1'Universite d'Ottawa, 1988, 386 pages. Belisle, Alexandre, Histoire de la presse franco-americaine et des Canadiens-Francais aux Etats-Unis, Worcester, L'Opinion publique, 1911, 434 pages. Senecal, Joseph-Andre, Newspapers and Periodicals. A Preliminary Checklist, Burlington, Crefane, 1995, 467 pages. Summaries Anyone who wants to learn about the history of the Franco-Americans will find everything he needs to satisfy his curiosity in the following works: Brault, Gerard-J., The French-Canadian Heritage in New England, Hanover, University Press of New England, 1986, 282 pages. Chartier, Armand, Histoire des Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 17751990, Sillery, Septentrion, 1991, 436 pages. An English version was published in 1999, under the title, The Franco-Americans of New England. A History, Manchester and Worcester, ACA Assurance and Institut francais of Assumption College, 1999, 537 pages. Roby, Yves, Les Franco-Americains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1776—1930, Sillery, Septentrion, 1990, 434 pages. Rumilly, Robert, Histoire des Franco-Americains, Montreal, USJBA, 1958,552 pages. Weil, Fran9ois, Les Franco-Americains, Paris, Belin, 1989, 251 pages. Sources A rapid inventory of the many sources consulted by specialists actively concerned with the Franco-American fact as part of their ongoing research work, and which have led to the publication of theses or monographs, would astonish many because of their abundance and their diversity. And yet those sources represent but the tip of the iceberg. There is no question of providing an exhaustive inventory here; the author will enumerate only those sources which he has consulted most often.

522

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Handwritten sources. Vatican archives It has been seen that the relations of many Catholic Franco-Americans with the New England Episcopate gave rise to a number of controversies and violent conflicts, all of which had one thing in common: they reached their conclusion at Rome. Owing to this, the Roman authorities accumulated voluminous files on those contentious issues, and these are preserved in the Vatican archives; in fact, a veritable treasure of information is stored away in four collections: — Scritture Riferite nei Congressi America Settentrionale, Canada (APFR, SRCASC).

— Scritture Originali: Riferite nelle Congregazione Generali (APFR-SOCG) — Nuova Serie [APFR-NS]). These three collections are preserved in the archives of Propaganda Fide, — The Collection of the Apostolic Delegation to the United States is preserved in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano [ASV-DAUS]).

The above collections provide a means to reinterprete the many conflicts that played out between the Franco-Americans and their bishops. For more details about these collections, see Luca Codignola, Matteo Sanfilippo and Giovanni Pizzorusso, "Description des fonds," in Pierre Hurtubise, Luca Codignola, Fernand Harvey (eds), L'Amerique du Nord fran$aise dans les archives religieuses de Rome, 1600-1922 , Quebec, IQRC, 1999, 53-95. Sources in print The documents left to posterity by the many actors, eyewitnesses and observers of the Franco-American reality are manifold; for example the numerous speeches, comments and writings of the Quebec, FrancoAmerican and American elites; or, of another order, the expressions of intolerance on the part of American nativists; or again, the innumerable documents produced by the militants of survivance for various colloquiums, organized here and there, as well as for the major national conventions and for patriotic holidays. To those sources should be added the countless works by so many indefatigable compilers, census takers and chroniclers; the author has consulted the following:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

523

Journals L'Action fran^aise (Montreal), 1917-1928. L'Action nationale (Montreal), 1933- . Le Bulletin de la Federation feminine franco-americaine (Westford, Mass.), 19531991. Le Bulletin de la Societe historique franco-americaine (Boston), 1936—1973. Le Canado-Americain (Manchester), 1958- . Les Garnets viatoriens (Joliette), 1936-1955. L'Echo du cabinet de lecture paroissial (Montreal), 1859-1875. Le Phare (Woonsocket), 1948-1952. La Revue canadienne (Montreal), 1864-1922. La Revue franco-americaine (Quebec), 1908-1910; (Montreal), 1911-1913. L'Union* (Woonsocket), 1902-1987. La Vie franco-americaine (Manchester), 1939-1952. Relations* (Montreal), 1941- .

Newspapers L'Avenir national of Manchester, 1895-1949. L'ljtoife* of LoweU, 1886-1957. Le Farog Forum of Orono, 1973-1994. Published later under the title Le Forum. L'Independant of Fall River, 1885-1962. Depouillement partiel de 1885 a 1931 (Selective perusal from 1885 to 1931). La Justice* of Holyoke, 1904-1964. Le Messaged of Lewiston, 1880-1968. Le National of Manchester, 1891-1895. L'Opinion publique of Monreal, 1870-1883. Le Philanthrope of Providence, 1892. La Sentinelle of Woonsocket, 1924-1928. Le Travailleur* of Worcester, 1874-1892. Le Travailleur of Worcester, 1931-1978.

524

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

La Tribune* of Woonsocket, 1895-1934. *Selective perusal Books Association canado-ame"ricaine (ed.), Les Franco-Americains peints par euxmemes, Montreal, Editions Albert LeVesque, 1936, 284 pages. Avenir national (ed.), La Saint-Jean-Baptiste, New Hampshire. Historique 18681938, Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1938, 203 pages. Baribault, Arthur (ed.), Histoires et statistiques des Canadiens-Americains du Connecticut, 1885-1898, Worcester, Imprimerie de L'Opinion publique, 1899, 357 pages. Beaumont, R.-C. (ed.), Souvenir du banquet Laurier a Boston, Mass., mardi le 17 novembre 1891, Lowell, s. e., 1891, 184 pages. Bellerive, Georges (ed.), Orateurs canadiens-franfais aux £tats-Unis. Conferences et discours, Quebec, Imprimerie H. Chasse, 1908, 230 pages. Carriere, Gaston (ed.), Histoire documentaire de la Congregation des missionnaires oblats de Marie-Immaculee dans I'Est du Canada. 2e partie. Dans la seconde moitie du xix* siecle (1861-1900), vol. X, Ottawa, Editions de 1'Universite d'Ottawa, 1972, 401 pages. Charette, Pierre-Philippe (ed.), Noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Compte rendu officiel des fetes de 1884 a Montreal, Montreal, Le Monde, 1884, 510 pages. Chouinard, H.-J.-J.-B. (ed.), Fete nationale des Canadiens-Franfais celebree a Quebec en 1880, Quebec, Imp. A, Cote", 1881, 650 pages. Chouinard, H.-J.-J.-B. (ed.), Annales de la Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Quebec, vol. 4, Quebec, Imprimerie du Soleil, 1902, 586 pages. Clement, Antoine (ed.), Les quarante ans de la Societe historique franco-americaine (1899-1939), Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1940, 878 pages. Clement, Antoine (ed.), L'AHiance francaise de Lowell, 1937-1947, Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1948, 294 pages. Comite permanent de la langue franchise au Canada (ed.), Premier congres de la langue franfaise au Canada, juin 1912, Memoires, Quebec, Imprimerie L'Action sociale lte"e, 1914, 636 pages. Comite d'orientation franco-americaine (ed.), Le centenaire franco-americain, 1849-1949, s. L, Le Comite" d'orientation franco-americaine, 1951,274 pages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

525

Comite de vie franco-americaine (ed.)> Le Franco-Americain an xx6 siecle, s. 1., s. e., 1976, 73 pages. Gatineau, Felix (ed.)> Historique des conventions generates des Canadiens-Francais aux Etats-Unis, 1865-1901, Woonsocket, L'Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, 1927, 500 pages. NMDC (ed.), Les Franco-Americains. La promesse du passe, les realties du present, Bedford, N.H., National Materials Development Center for French and Portuguese, 1976, 177 pages. Plourde, Jules-Antonin (ed.), Dominicains au Canada. Livre des documents, vol. 2. Les cinq fondations avant I'autonomie, 1881-1911, s. 1. s. e., 1975, 358 pages. Robert, Adolphe, Memorial des actes de I'Association canado-americaine, Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1946, 485 pages. Robert, Gerard, Memorial II des actes de I'Association canado-americaine, 1946— 1971, Manchester, Ballard Bros. Inc., 1975, 498 pages. Roche, Francois (ed.), Les Francos de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Anthologie francoamericaine (xix* et XXs siecles), Paris, Larc-Centre d'action culturelle, 1981, 217 pages. Santerre, Richard (ed.), Litterature franco-americaine de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Anthologie, 9 vol., Manchester, National Materials Development Center for French and Creole, 1980-1981. Verrette, Adrien (ed.), La croisade franco-americaine. Compte-rendu de la participation des Franco-Americains (2e congres de la langue fran9aise tenu a Quebec du 27 juin au ler juillet 1937), Manchester, L'Avenir national, 1938, 500 pages. Wright, Carroll D., The Canadian French in New England, Boston, 1882, 92 pages.

This documentary complement also includes more exhaustive studies of inestimable worth about individuals, establishments, organizations and parishes, which, for the most, part, are based on direct observations or extensive oral surveys. As a matter of interest, here is what Thomas-Aime Chandonnet, author of the monograph Notre-Dame-des-Canadiens et les Canadiens aux Etats-Unis, published in 1972, has to say about his method of inquiry (pp. VII-VIII): Each respondent is asked to give his name, place of birth, in which localities he has lived and the number of years that have passed since he bade farewell to his homeland; respondents are also questioned about the nature and value of their work. The number of families are counted; the overall conditions as concerns prosperity or indigence are carefully gauged, as are the intellectual

526

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND levels, be they high or low, to which Franco colonies may have risen or fallen. The researcher discovers virtually everything in very short order.

On the whole, those sources are inestimable for recounting and explaining the early years of the Franco-American collectivity; a detailed list of those studies is to be found in Yves Roby, "Un Quebec emigr6 aux fitatsUnis. Bilan historiographique," in Claude Savary (ed.), Les rapports culturels entre le Quebec et les £tats-Unis, Quebec IQRC, 1984, 103-130. Oral surveys The present-day researcher is able to create a good part of the documentation which he needs (statistics and oral surveys). It is clear that the work of Tamara Hareven on the role of both the family and the networks of relatives and friends in helping emigrants adapt to the industrial world would have been much less meticulous if the author had not beforehand conducted a great number of oral interviews with former employees of the Amoskeag. Many of those were subsequently collated and published. Blouin, Jean, et Jean-Pierre Myette, Les Franco-Americains. Emissions Actuelles, Montreal, Radio-Canada, Service des transcriptions et des derives de la radio, Janvier 1983. Doty, C. Stewart, The First Franco-Americans. New England Life Histories from the Federal Writers' Project, 1938-1939, Orono, University of Maine at Orono Press, 1985, 163 pages. Hareven, Tamara K. and Randolph Langenback (eds.), Amoskeag. Life and Work in an American Factory-City, New York, Pantheon Books, 1978, 395 pages. Hendrickson, Dyke, Quiet Presence: histoires de Franco-Americains en New England, Portland, Guy Gannett Publishing Co., 1980, 266 pages. Lafleur, Normand, Les "Chinois" de I'Est ou la vie quotidienne des Quebecois emigres aux Etats-Unis de 1840 a nos jours, Montreal, Lemeac, 1981, 111 pages. Rouillard, Jacques, Ah les Etatsl Les travailleurs canadiens-franc,ais dans Vindustrie textile de la Nouvelle-Angleterre d'apres le temoignage des derniers migrants, Montreal, Boreal Express, 1985, 155 pages.

ONOMASTIC INDEX

Albert, Renaud, 504 Amaron, Calvin E., 56, 57 Anctil, Pierre, 504 Archambault, Ged£on, 19, 47, 110, 111, 120, 201, 247 Arguin, Gerard-R., 420, 431 Ariel, France, 155 Aries, Henri d', v. Beaude, Henri Arnold, Benedict, 230 Aubin, Arthur-N., 353 Auclair, Elie-J., 198 Audet, Jean-Frederic, 119 Bachand, Eugene-}., 123 Bachand, Jean-Marie, 123 Bailly, Emmanuel, 199 Barbeau, Marius, 421 Baribault, Arthur, 99 Barrette, Armand, 426 Barrette, Reginald-M., 442 Beaude, Henri, 227, 228, 236, 240, 254 Beaudoin, Robert, 478 Beaudreau, Raoul, 407, 471 Beaugrand, Honore, 33 Beaulieu, Gerald-J., 476 Beaulieu, Wilfrid, 303, 328, 335, 341, 350, 355, 372, 373, 377, 395, 396, 397, 405, 406, 408, 409, 411, 417, 425, 427, 428, 461, 462, 476, 478, 479 Beaven, Thomas D., 137, 138, 149, 237 Bedard, Armand, 158, 189, 208 Bedard, Georges, 248, 249 Bedard, Pierre-Jean-Baptiste, 123 Begin, Louis-Nazaire, 137, 172 Beland, Joseph-H., 246, 327 Belanger, Albert, 229 Belisle, Alexandre, 31

Belisle, Hector, 109, 197 Bellavance, abbe, 131 Bellemare, Marcel, 486 Bellemare, Rose-Anna, 275 Belluscio, John, 410 Benedetti, Mgr, 261 Benoit, Josaphat, 260, 294, 313, 314, 315, 318, 319, 333, 343, 351, 353, 359, 368, 369, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 379, 380, 382, 386, 391, 392, 393, 396, 457 Berger, Jean, 138, 139 Bergeron, Antonia, 302 Bernier, Thomas-Alfred, 96 Binette, J.-Donat, 264 Biron, Mme Louis, 322 Blewett, Mary H., 301 Blois, Father, 131 Bocage, Laurent, 428 Boire, Aime, 201 Boisvert, Edmond, dit Edmond de Nevers, 48, 55, 59, 85, 135 Boisvert, Gerard, 419 Boivin, Alexandre, 275, 276 Boivin, Charles-Edouard, 155, 203 Boivin, J.-A., 181 Bolduc, Claire, 483, 490, 491 Bolduc, Henri, 443, 448, 48 Bolduc, la, v. Travers, Mary Bonier, Marie-Louise, 162 Bonneau, Alfred, 135, 186 Bossuet, 44 Botrel, Theodore, 360 Bouchard, Michael, 501 Boucher, Charles, 101 Boucher, Elmire, 191, 211, 213 Boucher, Henry, 274, 302, 303 Boucher, Philippe, 220, 327

528

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Boulay, A.-O., Ill Bouland, Leon, 124 Bourassa, Henri, 158, 160, 262, 263 Bourret, J.-Edouard, 134 Bouvier, Lion, 96 Bradley, Denis Mary, 169 Brady, Matthew E, 410, 471 Brault, Gerard-J., 449, 460, 469, 478, 482, 493, 497, 510, 517 Br£beuf, Jean de, 83 Briggs, John, 105 Briscoe, Thomas, 123, 129, 130 Brodeur, Louis-J., 209 Brosseau, Joseph-Adelard-Marie, 166, 167 Brouillard, Lucien (Lou), 320 Brouillette, Horace, 311 Brouillette, Joseph, 198 Brousseau, Yves, 500 Bruchesi, Paul, 172 Brulard, Pierre, 193 Brunelle, David-Barthele"my, 327 Bruycker, M. de, 26 Buckley, Cornelius P., 410 Buffurn, M., 194 Bukowczyk, John J., 398, 442 Cahensly, Pierre-Paul, 136, 147 Caron, Ivanhoe, 162 Carnere, Florian, 480 Cartier, Jacques, 83, 117 Cartier, sir George-Etienne, 31 Carton, Mr., 451 Cassidy, James E., 127, 170, 308, 309, 376 Cavelier de la Salle, Ren£-Robert, 62 Chabot, Gregoire, 482, 509, 512, 514, 515 Chagnon, Alphonse, 144 Chagnon, Fran^ois-Xavier, 97 Chamberlain, George, 237 Champlain, Samuel de, 83, 117, 359 Chandonnet, Thomas-Aim^, 21, 25, 33, 35, 86 Chapleau, sir Joseph-Adolphe, 39, 47, 48 Chaplin, Charles, 208 Charrette, George, 287, 288 Charland, Narcisse, 168, 169, 170, 177, 178 Charlemagne, 44 Chartier, Armand, 482, 493, 505, 506, 509 Chartier, Jean-Baptiste, 11, 38 Chartier,Victor, 39 Chasse, Paul-P., 471, 480, 481, 482, 483, 492, 493, 497

Chauveau, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier, 43 Chevalier, Joseph-Augustin, 61 Chicoyne, Jer6me-Adolphe, 38 Churchill, Winston, 370, 394 Clarke, Owen, 125 Clement, Antoine, 405, 406, 408, 413 Clovis Ier, 44, 359 Collard, William, 427 Comtois, Joseph-Octave, 139 Cormier, Clarence, 353 Coolidge, Calvin, 234 Costello, Charles, 302 C6te, Albert, 482 Coughlin, Charles E., 299, 306 Courchesne, Georges, 287 Coursol, Joseph, 48 Coutu, Roger, 480 Couturier, Robert, 453, 454 Crevier, Gabriel, 423, 444, 482 Crockett, Davy, 459 Gushing, Richard, 410, 418 Dagneau, Georges-Henri, 462 Dagneau, L.-P, 132 Daignault, Elphege J., 239, 245, 246, 247, 249-263, 265, 266, 269, 283, 284, 285, 289, 295, 327, 328, 331, 332, 334, 336, 346, 349, 350, 351, 353, 418, 453, 474, 517 D'Amours, Ernest-R., 333, 357, 373, 379, 419, 429, 457, 464, 471 Dansereau, Arthur, 31 Daoust, Charles-Roger, 69, 287 Darlan, Jean, 391, 392 Dauray, Charles, 130, 247, 249, 251, 252, 327, 359 David, Laurent-Olivier, 30, 33, 35 Davignon, Isidore-H.-Cyrille, 181, 196 Delaney, Bernard, 170, 180 D'Entremont, Clarence, 445, 473 Desaulniers, Guillaume, 327 D£sautels, Armand, 323 Desbarats, Georges-Edouard, 33 Desjardins, Alphonse, 156 Deslauriers, Hormidas, 193 Despins, Fernand, 413 Desruisseaux, Evelyne, 213 Dionne, L.-E., 137 Dolan, Jay P., 23, 25, 86 Dolan, Michael, 172, 173

ONOMASTIC INDEX Dollard, Charles, 282, 285 Dollard des Ormeaux, Adam, 360, 389 Dorchester, Daniel, 57 Doty, C. Stewart, 326 Doucet, Joseph-A., 181 Doucet, L.-J.-Alphonse, 254 Douville, Joseph-Antoine-Irene'e, 131 Drouin, Francois, 416 Dube, Normand, 482, 510 Dubuque, Hugo, 61, 63, 65, 67, 85, 109, 112, 129, 135, 139, 140, 159 Ducharme, Jacques, 473 Duclos, De Celles, Alfred, 55 Dufault, Wilfrid, 323, 503 Dugas, Donald, 482 Dugas, Joseph-Alphonse, 112 Dugre, Adelard, 350 Dugre, Alexandre, 404 Duhamel, Thomas, 172 Dumont, Joseph, 327 Dumouchel, Antoine, 332, 345, 407, 425 Dunn, Oscar, 38 Duplessis, Adelard, Duplessis, Maurice, 458 Dupr£, Godfroy, 68, 186 Durand, Casimir, 262 Durocher, Leo, 320 Durocher, Rene, 162 Dusablon, Louis-Arthur-Levesque, 133, 134 Eichman, Adolf, 455 Eisenhower, Dwight D., 391, 393 fino, Arthur-Louis, 471 Erskine, Virginia, 303 Fafard, Ambroise, 141, 146 Falconio, Diomede, 171, 172, 173, 175, 177, 178, 181, 183 Faucher, Albert, 1 Fauteux, Joseph-Anselme, 350 Favreau, J.-Arthur, 228 Feehan, Daniel F., 181, 237 Feron, abbe, 128 Filteau, Georges, 286 Fishman, Joshua A., 467 Flint, John D., 123 Foisy, Joseph-Albert, 266, 327 Fontaine, Claire, 429, 485 Fontaine, Joseph, 456 Forcier, Joseph-Albert, 327

529

Forget, Ulysse, 402 Fortier, Jean-Louis, 85, 121, 177, 178, 179, 180, 187 Fortier, Moyse, 21 Fortin, Joseph-S., 246 Foster, F. K., 60 Fox, abbe, 133 Franco Bahamonde, Francisco, 308, 372 Frenette, Yves, 23, 86, 504, 512, 513 Fumasoni-Biondi, Pietro, 247, 262 Gadbois, Charles-Emile, 360 Gagne, Louis-Philippe, 373, 423 Gagnon, Ferdinand, 33, 34, 39, 40, 42, 51, 61, 63, 66, 68, 80, 91, 131, 359, 453 Gagnon, Rene, 389, 390 Cans, Herbert, 512 Garand, Jean-C. (John), 320, 389 Garant, Philias, 422 Garin, Andre-Marie, 78 Garneau, Arthur, dit frere Wilfrid, 359, 471 Gatineau, Felix, 279 Gaulle, Charles de, 375, 378, 379, 380, 391, 392, 393, 394, 396, 491 Gaumont, Frederic-L., 410 Gelineau, Louis, 477 Gelinas, Gratien, 420 Gelinas, Isaac, 131 Gendreau, Pierre-Edmond, 38 Gendron, John F., 204 Gendron, Odore-J., 477 Geniesse, Jean-Baptiste, 177, 178 George, Lloyd, 241 Gerstel, Gary, 302 Gibbons, James, 148, 159 Gignac, Joseph-Narcisse, 246, 259 Giguere, Madeleine, 482, 484, 489, 504 Gilbert, R£al, 506 Girard, Roland, 428, 431, 454, 455, 460, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 469, 470, 474 Giraud, Henri, 391, 392, 393 Goesbriand, Louis de, 36, 37, 127 Gorman, James P., 132 Gosselin, Claudia, 160 Gosselin, Paul-£mile, 416 Gotti, Antonio Giovanni Benedetto, 179 Gravel, Elphege, 130, 134 Grimaldi, Jean, 341 Groulx, Lionel, 283, 285, 332 Guerin, Vital, 62

530

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Guertin, Georges-Albert, 159, 181, 208, 227, 228, 236, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 259, 264, 265, 280, 327, 337, 338, 461 Guillaume II, 224 Guillemette, Louis, 311 Guillet, Joseph-Henri, 149 Guimond, Olivier, 420 Haebler, Peter,105, 215 Haley, Alex, 480 Halle, Joseph, 247 Ham, Edward Billings, 122, 322, 325, 344 Hamelin, Hormidas, 120, 190, 219, 288, 289, 291, 295, 319, 321, 328, 348, 349, 356, 362, 401, 408, 418, 425, 430, 433, 517 Hamon, Edouard, 20, 50, 55, 120, 121, 131, 168 Hareven, Tamara, 526 Harkins, Matthew, 130, 149, 245 Healy, James, 132 Hebert, Felix, 320 Hemond, Phydime, 251 Hendricken, Thomas Francis, 124, 125, 126, 129, 149, 150 Hennices, docteur, 235 Henry-Hay, Gaston, 375, 377 Heroux, Homer, 391 Hevey, Pierre, 359 Hickey, William, 244, 245, 246, 247, 249 252, 255, 258-262, 267, 327, 328, 335, 461 Hitchock, Edward, B., 390 Hitler, Adolf, 367, 368, 371, 374, 379, 392, 395 Hogue, Camille, 111,112 Holcomb, Marcus H., 226, 227 Hoar, Yvonne, 304 Hoover, Herbert Clark, 296, 297, 314 Houde, Frederic, 33 Howard, William, 159 Hull, Cordell, 377 Hurley, Edward, 168, 179 Ireland, John, 148, 149 Irumberry de Salaberry, Charles-Michel d', 389 Jackson, Charles S., 237 Jacobini, Domenico Maria, 147 Jacques, Mme Louis-U., 439 Jalbert, Adelard, 252, 331, 339, 340

Jalbert, Eugene, 239, 253, 254, 289, 350, 353, 356, 413,437, 471 Jalbert, Joseph, 220 Janelle, Adelard, 304 Janson-Lapalme, R.-G., 96 Jarret de Vercheres, Marie-Madeleine (Tarieu de La Perade), 360 Jeanne d'Arc, 44, 359 Jolliet, Louis, 62, 83 Juneau, Laurent-Salomon, 62 Keena, T. J., 174, 175 Kelly, father, 172 Kemmer-Laflamme, Jean-Leon, 180, 184, 188, 199, 201, 202, 247 Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 443 Kennedy, Robert, 443 Keough, Francis P., 411 Kerouac, Jack, 451, 502 King, Martin Luther, 443, 488 Labbe, Yvon, 483, 500, 508, 509, 514, 516 Labelle, Antoine, 46, 47, 49 Lacasse, Alice, 213 Lacerte, Roger, 442, 482, 497 La Fayette, marquis de, v. Motier Laflamme, Joseph, 128, 130 Laflamme, Paul, 515, 517 Lafleche, Louis-Francis, 32, 35, 40, 80 Lafontaine, sir Louis-Hippolyte, 359 Lagasse, Lucille, 506 Lajoie, J.-Edouard, 375 Lajoie, Napoleon "Larry", 160 Lajoie, Philippe-Armand, 309, 312, 338, 339, 343, 345, 373, 377, 388, 392, 393, 394, 396, 411, 425, 426, 428, 430, 431, 471, 488 Laliberte, Alfred, 327 Lalime, Charles, 33 Lamarche, Gustave, 429 Lamphere, Louise, 211 Lamothe Cadillac, v. Laumet Lamothe, Leon, 190 Lamy, Deny, 209 Landry, sir Pierre-Armand, 48 Landry, Thomas-Marie, 366, 397, 413, 415, 416, 421, 422, 423, 426, 431, 432, 433, 436, 444, 452, 453, 471, 472, 473, 474, 478, 479, 484, 485, 493-497, 499, 500, 501, 502, 508, 509 Landry Petrie, Lanette, 515

ONOMASTIC INDEX Lane, Brigitte, 511 Lane, Franklin D., 226 Lapalme, Georges-Emile, 462 Laporte, Pierre, 463 Larue, Omer, 142, 143, 144 La Salle, v. Cavelier Laumet, dit Lamothe Cadillac, Antoine, 62 Laval, Francois de, 44 Laval, Pierre, 392 Lavoie, Yolande, 19, 271 Lawrence, Roger, 506 Leblanc, Claudia, v. Gosselin Leblanc, Robert, 232 Leblond, Henri, 506 Leboeuf, Telesphore, 353 LeBoutillier, Jean-Georges, 198 Leclaire, Charles-J., 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 144 Ledochowski, Mieczyslaw Halka, 134, 137, 138, 148, 169 Ledochowski, W., 307 Ledoux, Clement, 288, 289 Ledoux, Henri, 154, 228, 264, 352 Ledoux, Urbain, 200, 205 Lemaire, Herve-B., 402 Le Maitre, Yvonne, 52, 360, 386 Lemelin, Emile, 378, 380, 393, 395, 471 Lemieux, Diane, 279 Leo XIII, 102, 126, 137, 147 Lepoutre, Auguste, 249 Lesage, Jean, 462, 464 Lessard, Anatole, 445 Lessard, Cyril, 488 Lessard, Eugene, 76 Levesque, Charles-Demetrius, 49 Levesque, Rene, 507 Levesque, Zephirin, 21 Levine, Lawrence, 225, 306 L'Heureux, Amable, 131 L'Heureux, Pierre, 194 L'Heureux, Robert, 373 Lincoln, Abraham, 107, 393 Lindberg, Charles, 371, 376 Linteau, Paul-Andre, 162 Little, v. Malcom X Loranger, Leon, 413 Louder, Dean, 482 Louis XIV, 44, 55 Lussier, Joseph, 388 Lussier, Laure-B., 431, 467, 471

531

Macdonald, abbe, 410 Magnan, Denis-Michel-Aristide, 141, 155, 161, 167, 236 Magnan, Joseph-Roch, 101 Malcolm X, 491 Mallet, Edmond, 62 Mandeville, Beatrice, 271 Marchand, Felix-Gabriel, 30 Marsile, Moise-Joseph, 121 Martel, Father, 135 Martel, Marcelle, 482 Martin, Albertus, 455 Martin, Theophile, 447 Martineau, Narcisse-Rodolphe, 126 Massicotte, Edouard-Zotique, 11, 19, 20 Mathieu, Wilfrid, 327, 350 Maurras, Charles, 457 McCarthy, Joseph E., 338 McDonough, M. C, 179 McFarland, Frances P., 135 McGee, Samuel P., 123, 124, 125, 150 McMahon, Lawrence Stephen, 133, 135 McVinney, Russell, 446 Mercier, Honore, 47, 49, 53, 109, 147, 148, 149 Messieres, Rene de, 394, 395 Metalious, Grace, 502 Michaud, Joseph-R., 47 Michaud, John Stephen, 149 Mignault, Napoleon, 21 Mignault, Pierre-Marie, 21 Milot, Arthur, 373 Monette, Joseph, 206 Montaubricq, Paul de, 123 Montcalm, Louis-Joseph de, marquis de Montcalm, 83, 359 Montmarquet, Joseph, 41 Moquin, Henri-J., 413 Morasse, L,-Ovide, 143 Moreau, Alfred-O., 423 Moreau, Arthur-E., 320 Moreau, Nathalie, 437 Morin, Jos., 18 Morin, Mrs Ovide, 82 Mothon, Louis-Alexandre, 27, 130, 177 Motier, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yvon-Gilbert, Marquis de La Fayette, 62, 230, 231, 287, 288 Mousseau, Joseph-Alfred, 33, 37 Moussette, Antoine, 33

532

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Murray, Mgr, 267, 337, 338 Mussolini, Benito, 306 Nemo, v. Lussier, Joseph Nevers, Edmond de, v. Boisvert, Edmond Nicolet, Jean, 62 Nobert, Edouard-Ephrem, 123 Noiseux, Isidore-Hermenegilde, 21, 132 Nouailhat, Yves-Henri, 233 Noury, Mrs Bruno, 271 Nye, Gerald P., 367 O'Connel, William, H., 169, 170, 173, 176, 178, 179, 180, 187, 237, 308, 317, 338, 376 O'Leary, Thomas, 132, 355, 356 Olivier, Julien, 482 O'Reilly, Patrick Thomas, 131, 132 Ouellette, Andre, 455 Ouimet, Bernard, 515 Ouimet, Francis, 160 Owsley, Alvin, 237 Paquet, Gilles, 162 Paquet, Louis-Adolphe, 43 Paradis, Roger, 482 Pare, Paul, 479, 505, 508, 510, 515 Parent, Albert, 304 Parent, Jean-Baptiste, 196, 209 Payer, George, 45 Peck, Frederick, 238 Pdoquin-Far6, Louise, 438, 511 Pepin, Rodolphe, 323, 329, 359 Perdriau, Henri, 251, 262 P6rin, Charles, 41 Perreault, Joseph-Philippe, 174 Perreault, Robert, 482, 489, 509 Petain, Philippe, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 380, 392, 395, 396 Peterson, John Bertram, 335, 338, 352 Pickford, Mary, 208 Pius X, 78, 177 Pius XI, 258, 307 Plamondon, William-A., 182 Poirier, Antoine-Ovila, 280 Poirier, Joseph, 311 Pothier, Aram-Jules, 63, 105, 113, 114, 159, 219, 220, 221 Poulin, Robert-P, 454 Preston, Thomas J., 133

Prevost, Joseph-Alfred, 130, 198, 359 Primeau, Ernest-J., 456, 470 Prince, Achille, 246, 260, 327 Proulx, Am£d6e, 477 Proulx, Jean-Baptiste, 136, 148 Proulx, Moi'se-Georges, 131 Proulx, St£phane, 136 Provost, Joseph-Alfred, 170 Provencal, Joseph-Andre-Laurin, 131 Pulaski, Casimir, 230 Quintal, Claire, 479, 481, 483, 485, 492, 493, 497, 502, 503, 504, 505, 507, 509, 513, 515 Quintin, Robert, 506 Racine, Antoine, 40, 41, 136, 147, 148 Racine, Dominique, 141, 146 Rameau de Saint-Pere, Fran^ois-Edm^, 45, 46,47 Ramirez, Bruno, 18, 213, 272 Raymond-de-J£sus, Sister, 479 Renaud, Henri, 160 Reynaud, Paul, 374 Rice, Joseph R., 183 Richard, Julien, 181 Richard, Marcel-Francois, 48 Rigaud, de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Pierre de, marquis de Vaudreuil, 83 Riviere, Horace, 311 Roberge, Celeste, 483 Robert, Adolphe, 4, 201, 247, 326, 333, 338, 339, 346, 351, 352, 353, 406, 408, 410, 413, 419, 429, 431, 467, 471 Robert, Jean-Claude, 162 Robillard, Emilien-L., 345, Rochambeau, comte de, v. Vimeur, Roosevelt, Franklin D., 297, 298, 299, 300, 305, 306, 307, 310, 311, 367, 369, 370, 371, 373 376, 379, 382, 394, 395, 396 Roosevelt, Theodore, 225 Rossi, cardinal, 356 Rossi, Tino, 420 Rossignol, Mark, 501 Rouillard, Jacques, 18 Routhier, Adolphe-Basile, 43 Roy, Camille, 352 Roy, Edouard, 52 Roy, Elphege, 479 Roy, Francine, 277, 318

ONOMASTIC INDEX Roy, H.-R, 212 Roy, Joseph, 327 Roy, Maurice, 418 Roy, Paul, 52 Rumilly, Robert, 4, 263, 396, 457 Rummel, Joseph, 488

Sacco, Nicola, 260 Saint-Germain, M., 18 Saint-Pierre, Telesphore, 49 Salaberry, v. Irumberry Sansouci, Emery, 238 Santerre, Richard, 306, 482, 493, 497, 504, 509 SatoUi, Francesco, 134, 135, 172 Savarin, Jules, 373 Senecal, Andre, 509, 51 Senesac, Joseph-Edmond, 43 Sepenuk, Norman, 487 Sheehan, John T., 130, 131, 132 Simeoni, Giovanni,126, 128, 132, 146 Slacer, John W., 237 Smith, Anthony D., 51 Socquet, Clovis, 134, 135 Sorrell, Richard S., 313 Soucy, Adelard, 249, 251, 327 Staline, Joseph, 379 Stang, Guillaume, 170, 182, 209, 213 Taft, William Howard, 159 Talbot, Edmond, 388 Tanner, juge, 261 Tardivel, Jules-Paul, 32, 50 Taschereau, Elzear-Alexandre, 40, 41 Tasse, Joseph, 52, 53, 64 Theroux, Bernard, 448, 482, 483, 493, 494 Thibault, Charles, 43 Tierney, Michael, 133, 135, 174, 175 Tizoune, v. Guimond, Olivier Tonnancour, Godfroy de, 68, 70 Townsend, Francis E., 299, 306 Travers, Mary, dite la Bolduc, 341 Tremblay, Jean-Maurice, 493 Tremblay, Jean-Noel, 477 Triganne, Louis-Onesime, 102 Trudel, Francois-Xavier-Anselme, 49, 112 Truesdell, Leon, 89, 165, 166

533

Truman, Harry S., 382 Tuite, J. P., 137 Turgeon, Adelard, 50 Vachon, J.-E., 264, 327 Valera, Eamon de, 242 Vallieres, Marc, 270 Vandry, Ferdinand, 418 Vanzetti, Bartolomeo, 260 Vaudreuil, v. Rigaud, 83 Veltman, Calvin J., 91, 92, 93, 189, 279, 315, 439, 440 Vercheres, v. Jarret Verrette, Adrien, 264, 327, 350, 353, 396, 397, 403, 413, 417, 433, 436, 461, 471, 476, 379 Vezina, Elie, 228, 237, 239, 246, 258, 261, 262, 289, 327, 330, 350, 353 Vicero, Ralph D., 8, 18, 162, 166 Vigeant, Pierre, 387 Villeneuve, Gedeon-Vitalien, 131 Villiard, Camille, 245 Vimeur, Jean-Baptiste de, comte de Rochambeau, 62, 230, 231, 287 Vincent de Paul, 44 Violette, Maurice, 484 Voisine, Nive, 82 Wade, Mason, 1, 21 Wallace, Thomas, 168, 179 Walsh, Louis S., 178, 179 Walsh, Michael, 168, 183, 184, 186, 187, 267 Washington, George, 107 Watelle, Henri-C., 193 Weil, Fra^ois, 504 Wessel, Blessie Bloom, 279 Whist, Richard Grand, 103 White, William Allen, 370 Wilfrid, frere, v. Garneau, Arthur, William II, 224 Williams, John, J., 126, 127, 128, 130, 133, 168, 171, 173 Wilson, Thomas Woodrow, 224, 229, 241, 242 Wright, Caroll D., 60, 65, 66 Wright, John G., 407, 454

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TOPONIMIC INDEX

Acadia, 165, 198 Adams, 220 Alaska, 437 Albany (N.Y.), 97, 112 Aldenville (Mass.), 449 Algeria, 391, 392 Arizona, 382 Aroostook, valley of, 10, 16, 22 Auburn (Me), 493 Augusta (Me), 111 Austria, 367 Baltic (Conn.), 170 Baltimore (Md), 101, 209, 244, 335 Bare (Vt), 276 Bas Saint-Laurent, region, 13 Bataan (Philippines), 389 Bedford (N.H.), 23, 494, 499, 508, 509 Belgium, 199, 370, 373 Berlin (Germany), 230, 377 Berlin (N.H.), 24, 159, 209 Berthier, county, 20 Beverley (Mass.), 159 Biddeford (Me), 16, 38, 85, 159, 186, 187, 321, 450, 505 Biddeford-Saco (Me), 21, 24, 68, Bombay (India), 437 Boston (Mass.), archdiocese, city, ecclesiastical province, 10, 16, 23, 58, 62, 126, 127, 129, 130, 155, 168, 169, 171, 176, 181, 187, 228, 232, 237, 264, 267, 308, 317, 376, 385, 397, 405, 407, 410, 413, 417, 418, 424, 493, 508 Bourbonnais (111.), 121 Boxborough (Mass.), 510 Bristol (Conn.), 175 British Guiana, 370

Brunswick (Me), 132, 139, 145, 151, 185, 186, 405, 469 Brooklin (N.Y.), 320 Buffalo (N.Y.), 204, 237 Burlington, (Vt), diocese, city, 21, 22, 23, 24, 37, 127, 149, 182, 183, 505 California, 436, 466 Caribou (Me), 184, 481 Central Falls (R.I.), 24, 157, 159, 247, 250, 359 Champlain, county, 11, 21, Champlain, lake, 10 Champlain (N.Y.), 97 Chatham (N.-B.), diocese, 183 Chelsea (Mass.), 305, 405 Chicago (111.), 297 Chicopee (Mass.), 24, 159, 305 Chicoutimi, diocese, city, 141, 163 China, 27, 368 Claremont (N.H.), 140 Clinton (N.Y.), 244 Coaticook, 38 Cochituate (Mass.), 264 Cohoes (N.Y.), 91, 112 Concord (N.H.), 10 Connecticut, 1, 10, 11, 16, 24, 26, 88, 104, 136, 189, 226, 228, 236, 246, 252, 271, 281, 318, 321, 332, 336, 340, 404 Coos (N.H.), 140 Corregidor (Philippines), 389 Czechoslovakia, 367 Dakar (Morocco), 391 Danielson (Danielsonville) (Conn.), 118, 134, 135, 139, 145, 151, 169, 170, 264, 311 Denmark, 370

536

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Derby (Vt), 481 Derry (N.H.), 140 Dexter (Me), 184 Dumbarton Oaks, 394 East Brantree (Mass.), 383 Eastern Townships, 13, 48, 163 Egypt, 368 England, 230, 241, 295, 369, 370, 373, 374 Exeter (N.H.), 140 Fall River (Mass.), diocese, city, 1, 4, 20, 23, 24, 27, 59, 73, 109, 123, 124, 129, 131, 139, 155, 158, 164, 165, 169, 170, 182, 197, 209, 213, 237, 293, 301, 308, 309, 321, 338, 342, 375, 376, 379, 388, 398, 400,402,407,505,511 Fairbanks (Alaska), 437 Farmington (Me), 184 Fitchburg (Mass.), 24, 155 Florida, 436, 437, 466 France, 44, 45, 62, 63, 94, 199, 231, 348, 349, 367, 369, 370, 373, 374, 375, 377, 378, 380, 386, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 397 Franklin (N.H.), 201 Franklin Falls (N.H.), 169, 170 Gardner (Mass.), 155, 345 Georgia, 164 Germany, 170, 224, 367, 370, 372, 374, 377, 378, 380, 382, 393, 395 Gloucester (Mass.), 16 Gorham (N.H.), 140 Great Britain, 9, 14, 230, 367, 368, 370, 371, 376, 377, 393 Greenville (N.H.), 481 Grenoble (France), 134 Grosvernordale (Conn.), 171 Hartford (Conn.), diocese, city, 130, 133, 135 170, 171, 175, 182, 423 Haverhill (Mass.), 24, 58, 378, 405 Hearst (Ontario), 247 Highland Mills (N.Y.), 437 Hinsdale (N.H.), 140 Hiroshima (Japan), 380, 382 Holland, 370 Holy Cross, parish of Lewiston (Me), 264 Holyoke (Mass.), 1, 23, 24, 56, 58, 63, 105, 197, 215, 220, 310, 321, 398, 461, 511

Honier Path (S.C.), 310 Hudson (N.H.), 324 Hull, city, 163 Iceland, 371 India, 368 Ireland, 232, 241, 242, 368 Italy, 380, 382 Iwo Jima (Japan), 382, 390 Jaffrey (N.H.), 140 Japan, 27, 371, 380, 381, 382 Jewett City (Conn.), 144, 170 Joliette, county, city, 20, 220 Kamouraska, county, 10 Kansas, 370 Keegan (Me), 405 Lac-Saint-Jean, region, 13 La Patrie, 39 Lawrence (Mass.), 1, 24, 206, 212, 277, 281, 346, 398, 405 Lee (Mass.), 383 Leominster (Mass.), 322 Lewiston (Me), 1, 16, 20, 27, 73, 76, 87, 155, 176, 212, 264, 293, 311, 321, 357, 360, 374, 416, 481, 509 Lewiston-Auburn (Me), 24, 479 L'Islet, county, 10 Littleton (N.H.), 140 London (Ontario), diocese, 183 London (Great Britain), 9 Lotbiniere, county, 20 Louisiana, 471, 504 Louvain (Belgium), 41, 135, 335 Lowell (Mass.), 1, 21, 23, 24, 55, 56, 87, 105, 293, 301, 302, 305, 321, 346, 357, 407, 437,448,479,509,511 Ludlow (Mass.), 311 Luxemburg, 370 Lynn (Mass.), 16, 155, 157, 237 Madawaska, valley of, 10, 16 Maine, 1, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 68, 111, 169, 170, 176, 180, 181, 185, 187, 188, 189, 218, 232, 246, 255, 264, 265, 275, 276, 310, 311, 320, 322, 331, 405, 432, 450, 459, 481, 490, 509, 514, 516 Malboro (Mass.), 457

TOPONIMIC INDEX

537

Manchester (N.H.), diocese, city, 1, 10, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 73, 91, 108, 149, 155, 159, 169, 170, 180, 181, 182, 183, 197, 213, 215, 224, 227, 247, 254, 257, 258, 265, 275, 276, 277, 285, 301, 306, 316, 320, 321, 327, 335, 337, 338, 342, 346, 347, 357, 366, 374, 385, 389, 390, 393, 397, 407, 410, 420, 424, 437, 450, 456, 461, 472, 477, 504, 505, 506, 509, 513 Manitoba, 37, 39, 40, 46 Marseille (France), 159 Maskinonge, county, 20 Massachusetts, 1, 10,11, 16, 17, 21, 24, 39, 48, 54, 58, 59, 88, 104, 105, 112, 129, 158,159, 164, 189, 228, 237, 240, 246, 264, 271, 275, 276, 281, 312, 320, 332, 402, 405, 407, 432, 449 Mauricie, region, 13, 163 McGregorville (N.H.), 84 Meriden (Conn.), 21, 170, 189 Methuen (Mass.), 405 Midway Island, 382 Mississipi, 310 Mont-Laurier, 455 Montreal, district, region, plain, 13, 163 Montreal, city, 10, 14, 19, 20, 38, 48, 64, 73, 113, 156, 163, 220, 335, 341, 347, 348 Montreal-Est, constituency, 48 Moosup (Conn.), 170 Morocco, 391, 392 Moscow (Russia), 308 Munich (Germany), 367, 395

New York, city, 111, 112 Nicolet, county, diocese, 20, 130, 455 Normandy (France), 382, 384 North Adams (Mass.), 24, 332 Northbridge (Mass.), 182 North Brookfield (Mass.), 4, 118, 136, 138, 139, 145, 151, 169, 264, 520 North Carolina, 164 North Dakota, 367 Norway, 370 Notre Dame, parish of Newton (Mass.), 171, 173, 176 Notre-Dame, parish of Pittsfield (Mass.)> 357 Notre-Dame-de-PAssomption, parish of Chelsea (Mass.),426 Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, parish of Fall River (Mass.), 118, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 150, 170, 198, 264, 427, 520 Notre-Dame-de-Pitie, parish of Cambridge (Mass.), 402, 405, 406, 407, 409, 425, 426, 444 Notre-Dame-des-Canadiens, parish of Worcester (Mass.), 82, 426 Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, parish of Adams (Mass.), 102 Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, parish of Methuen (Mass.), 426 Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, parish of Ware (Mass.), 136 Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Cceur, parish of Central Falls (R.I.), 124, 150, 246, 327 Nova Scotia, 16

Nagasaki (Japan), 382 Nashua (N.H.), 1, 23, 24, 27, 56, 247, 321, 400, 410, 427 Nevada, 382 New Bedford (Mass.), 1, 23, 24, 45, 95, 266, 301,321,342,511 New Brunswick, 15 Newfoundland, 370 New Hampshire,!, 10, 11, 16, 21, 24, 107, 140, 189, 194, 227, 228, 236, 246, 256, 264, 271, 275, 311, 320, 322, 331, 352, 432, 459, 462, 481, 515, 516 New Haven (Conn.), 144 New Market (N.H.), 140 New Orleans (La), 488 Newton (Mass.), 171 New York, state, 85, 187, 188, 237

Occum (Conn.), 170 Ogdensburg (N.Y.), 149 Oka, 81 Okinawa (Japan), 382 Old Town (Me), 24, 82, 155 Ontario, 47, 51 Orono (Me), 184, 500, 501, 502, 505, 513 Ottawa, valley of the, 46 Ottawa, city, 31, 251 Outaouais, region, 13 Palestine, 368 Paris (France), 125, 335 Pawtucket (R.I.), 24, 506 Pawtucket, valley of, 275 Pearl Harbor (Hawai), 380, 387, 388, 391 Penacook (N.H.), 140

538

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Pennsylvania, 375 Peterboro (N.H.), 140 Pittsfield (Mass.), 311 Plattsburg (N.Y.), 97 Poland, 367, 373 Portland (Me), diocese, city, 16, 130, 132, 149, 168, 170, 171, 177, 178, 182, 183, 267, 337, 338, 477 Puerto Rico, 455 Prague, Tchek Republic, 159, 200 Precieux-Sang, parish of Holyoke (Mass.), 102 Pre"cieux-Sang, parish of Woonsocket (R.I.), 247, 248, 252, 327 Prince Edward Island, 16 Providence, (R.I.), diocese, city, 24, 123, 124, 127, 129, 169, 224, 244, 249, 250, 252, 258, 259, 260, 261, 263, 285, 327, 335, 338, 357, 360, 399, 405, 411, 446, 461, 477 Putnam (Conn.), 170 Quebec, diocese, region, city, 10, 13, 14, 37, 40, 42, 44, 73, 113, 136, 137, 154, 155, 165, 352, 353, 354, 366, 396, 412, 418, 424,453,460,462,500,511 Revere (Mass.), 305 Rhode Island, 1, 10,11, 16, 17, 24, 64, 88, 105, 146, 159, 189, 220, 228, 236, 238, 240, 246, 261, 263, 264, 271, 275, 301, 320, 331, 335, 405, 432, 436 Rhodesia, 489 Richelieu, river, valley, 10, 13, 20, 163 Rimouski, county, city, 10, 11, 20 Rome, 57, 101, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132, 135, 136, 145, 147, 169, 170, 175, 177, 178, 179, 181, 185, 187, 188, 235, 247, 251, 259, 261, 262, 265, 268, 307, 327, 335, 338, 339, 409, 455 Russia, 307, 374 Rutland (Vt), 103 Sacre-Coeur, parish of South Lawrence (Mass.), 425 Sacred Hearth, parish of Waterville (Me), 184 Saguenay, region, valley of, 46 Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, 163 Saint Albans (Vt), 10

Saint-Alphonse, parish of Beverley (Mass.), 426 Saint-Antoine, parish of Bridgeport (Conn.), 331, 339 Saint-Antoine, parish of Burlington (Vt), 182 Saint-Antoine, parish of New Bedford (Mass.), 193, 419 Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue, parish of Manchester (N.H.), 159, 181 Saint-Augustin, parish of Manchester (N.H.) 61, 475, 476 Saint-Barnabe, 220 Saint-Benoit, parish of Cascade (N.H.), 410 Saint-C£saire, 131 Sainte-Agathe, 509 Sainte-Anne, parish of Bristol (Conn.), 171, 173, 174, 175, 176 Sainte-Anne, parish of Fall-River (Mass.), 123, 125, 129, 130, 150, 366, 426, 444 Sainte-Anne, parish of Hartford (Conn.), 445 Sainte-Anne, parish of Lawrence (Mass.), 425, 426, 476 Sainte-Anne, parish of North Brookfield (Mass.), 138 Sainte-Anne, parish of Salem (Mass.), 426 Sainte-Anne, parish of Woonsocket (R.I.), 245, 327 Sainte-FamiUe, parish of Woonsocket (R.I.), 246 Sainte-Flavie, 20 Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc, parish of Cumberland (R.I.), 327 Sainte-Marie, parish of Claremont (N.H.), 410 Sainte-Marie, parish of Manchester (N.H.), 156, 196, 450 Sainte-Therese, parish of Dracut (Mass.), 446 Sainte-Therese, parish of Methuen (Mass.), 426 Sainte-Trinite", parish of Gilbertville (Mass.), 244 Saint-Francois-de-Sales, parish of Waterville (Me), 184 Saint-Francois-Xavier, parish of Acushnet (Mass.), 317 Saint-Georges, parish of Manchester (N.H.), 210, 256 Saint-Hugues, 350 Saint-Hyacinthe, 15, 20

T O P O N I M I C INDEX

Saint-Jacques, parish of Danielson (Conn.), 405 Saint-Jacques, parish of Manville (R.I.)> 76 Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, parish of Island Point (Vt), 476 Saint James, parish of Danielson (Conn.), 133 Saint-Jean (N.-B.), diosese, 183 Saint-Jean, valley of, 450, 481 Saint-Jean-Baptiste, parish of Lynn (Mass.), 196, 400 Saint-Jean-Baptiste, parish and ViceProvince of the Oblates of Lowell (Mass.), 267, 384, 398, 443, 437, 438, 445, 448, 487 Saint-Jean-Baptiste, parish of Warren (R.I.), 401 Saint-Jean-l'£vangeliste, parish of Hudson (N.H.), 410 Saint-Jerome, 46 Saint Johnsbury (Vt), 22 Saint-Joseph, parish of Biddeford (Me), 184 Saint-Joseph, parish of Bristol (Conn.), 174, 418 Saint-Joseph, parish of Burlington (Vt), 22, 318 Saint-Joseph , parish of Cleghorn (Mass.), 426 Saint-Joseph, parish of Fitchburg (Mass.), 405, 426 Saint-Joseph, parish of Haverhill (Mass.), 426, 475 Saint-Joseph, parish of Lowell (Mass.), 78, 192 Saint Joseph, parish of North Brookfield (Mass.), 136, 137, 138 Saint-Joseph, parish of Worcester (Mass.), 476 Saint-Louis, parish of Woonsocket (R.I.), 246, 260, 327 Saint-Louis-de-France, parish of Lowell (Mass.), 317 Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, parish of Nashua (N.H.), 476 Saint-Martin, parish of Somersworth (N.H.), 264 Saint-Mathieu, parish of Central Falls (R.I.), 327 Saint-Mathieu, parish of Fall River (Mass.), 130 Saint-Mathieu, parish of Somersworth, 264 Saint-Maurice, valley of, 46

539

Saint-Ours, 10, 11,20 Saint Patrick, parish of Providence (R.I.)> 130 Saint-Pierre-et-Paul, parish of Lewiston (Me), 384 Saint-Paul (Minn.), city, diocese, 337 Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin, parish of Springfield (Mass.), 438, 446 Salem (Mass.), 11, 16, 20, 24, 109, 342, 346, 455 Sandford (Me), 184 Santillo (Mexico), 159 Spain, 65 Sault-Sainte-Marie (Ontario), diocese, 183 Sherbrooke, 40, 136, 163, 198, 220 Sicily, 382 Sorel, 20 South Bellingham (Mass.), 317 Southbridge (Mass.), 11, 20, 21, 24, 56, 321, 342, 455 South Berwick (Me), 184 South Brewer (Me), 184 South Carolina, 164 Spain, 372 Spencer (Mass.), 56, 209 Springfield (Mass.), city, diocese, 24, 130, 131, 137, 145, 149, 156, 198, 204, 205, 237, 279, 320, 355, 356, 385, 390, 511 Suncook (N.H.), 23, 56 Suribachi, Mount (Japan), 389 Swanton (Vt), 22 Taftville (Conn.), 26, 170 Temiscamingue, 13 Temiscouata, county, 10 Temiscouata, portage, 10 Transvaal, 368 Trois-Rivieres, 40, 41, 73, 200, 205 Troy (N.H.), 280 Tunisia, 392 USSR, 379, 393 Van Buren (Me), 405 Vermont, 1, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24, 37, 182, 189, 236, 246, 281, 311, 318, 321, 331, 336, 404 Versailles (France), 242 Vichy (France), 374, 375, 377, 378, 391, 392, 395

540

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Vienna (Austria), 367 Vietnam, 438, 443 Voisine, Nive, 82 Wake Island, 389 Waltham (Mass.), 16, 48 Ware (Mass.), 139, 145, 151 Warren (R.I.), 20 Warwick (R.I.), 24 Washington, 134, 170, 181, 225, 226, 237, 238, 240, 335, 374, 382, 462 Waterbury (Conn.), 21, 24, 134 Waterville (Me), parish of, city, 24, 169, 170, 184, 185 Wellesley, 509 Westerly (R.I.), 405 West Manchester (N. H.), 93 Westville (N.H.), 140 Willimansett (Mass.), 220

Willimantic (Conn.), 136, 170, 252, 254, 352 Wilton (N.H.), 140 Winooski (Vt), 10, 23, 24, 76, 119, 277 Woonsocket (R.I.), 1, 10, 11, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 47, 73, 105, 110, 120, 130, 155, 157, 159, 180, 204, 205, 229, 245, 246, 248, 249, 252, 260, 263, 274, 279, 293, 302, 305, 310, 311, 321, 346, 347, 374, 385, 398, 402, 464, 486,509,513 Worcester (Mass.), 1, 10, 20, 23, 24, 39, 44, 82, 91, 94, 112, 155, 156, 160, 198, 199, 204, 210, 220, 237, 252, 317, 320, 321, 324, 342, 350, 357, 374, 413, 418, 426, 436, 502, 504, 506, 509 Wyoming, 382 Yalta (USSR), 394 Yamaska, county, 20 Yorktown (Va), 114

SUBJECT INDEX

Associations and Benefit Societies Action pour les Franco-Americains du NordEst (ActFANE), 505, 506, 508, 510, 513, 514,515 America First Committee, 371, 376 American and Canadian French Cultural Exchange Commission of Massachusetts, 477 American Canadian Genealogical Society, 506 Ameircan Federation of Catholic Associations, 253 American French Geneological Society, 506 American Legion, 243 American Protective Association, 58 American Red Cross Society, 230 Ancient Order of Foresters, 109 Ancient Order of United Workmen, 202 Artisans, 476 Assemblee des Franco-Americains, 511 Association catholique de la jeunesse francoamericaine (ACJFA), 209 Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-francaise (ACJC), 209 Association de 1'education canadiennefran9aise de 1'Ontario, 339 Association dentaire franco-americaine, 470 Association of Franco-American Youth, 432 Association of Saint Raphael, 147 Association des professeurs francoamericains, 341, 469, 479 Association francophone de Fall River, 505 Association medicale franco-americaine, 341, 470 Association Saint-Dominique, 76 Assumption College, 112, 156, 199

Boston Athletic Association, 160 Boy Scouts, 341 Brigade of Franco-American Volunteers, The, 209,229 Canadian Foresters, 202 Canado-American Association (CAA), 76, 156, 205, 206, 227, 228, 245, 252, 253, 254, 258, 262, 264, 327, 346, 347, 349, 351, 353, 355, 356, 366, 374, 386, 389, 390, 397, 429, 430, 433, 451, 452, 460, 477, 520 Catholic Family Life Insurance, 510 Catholic Laymen's Committee for Peace, 380 Catholic Order of Foresters, 109, 202 Cercle d'Youville, 452 Cercle Montcalm, 210 Chevaliers de Jacques-Cartier, 205 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 297 Civil Works Administration (CWA), 297, 305 Club Saint-Joseph, 210 Comite de vie franco-americaine, 460, 461, 463, 472, 476, 477, 478, 480, 496, 497, 503, 506, 508, 510 Comite d'orientation franco-americaine, 397, 405, 413, 416, 417, 418, 423, 424, 427, 429, 436, 460 Comite France-Amerique, 348 Comite permanent de la survivance fran^aise en Amerique, Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, 370 Compagnie des Cent-Associes, 502 Conseil Franco-americain du New Hampshire, 505 Conseil de la vie fran9aise en Amerique, 465 Dames de charite, 75 Dames de Sainte-Anne, 75, 425, 443

542

THE FRANCO-AMERICANS OF NEW ENGLAND

Defend America Committee, 376 Eagles, 202, 341 Elks, 341 Enfants de Marie, 75, 97, 425, 443 Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), 297 Federation des francophones hors Quebec (FFHQ), 508 Federation des society's franco-ame'ricaines, 342 Federation feminine franco-ame'ricaine (FFFA), 416, 424, 432, 459, 476, 479, 502, 503, 505, 510 Federation franco-ame'ricaine, 505 France Forever, 375, 392, 393, 396 Franco-American Catholic Federation, 228, 229, 245, 246, 248, 251, 252, 254, 279, 283, 350 Franco-American Foresters, 353 Franco-American Legion, 378 Franco-American Ressource and Opportunity Group (FAROG), 483, 502, 508, 513, 515 Franco American Union, 105 French-Canadian Union for Mutual Assistance, 36 Improved Order of Heptasophs, 10 Independent Foresters, 202 Industrial Workers of the World, 217 Institut Jacques-Cartier, 452 Knights of Columbus, 202, 204, 246, 325, 329 Knights of Pythias, 109 Knights of the Mystic Chain, 109 Ku Klux Klan, 233, 238 Ligue des presidents des socie"te"s francoame'ricaines de New Bedford, 459 Ligue des soci£te"s de Lewiston-Auburn, 459 Ligue du ralliement francais en Am£rique, 228, 236, 245 Ligue du Sacr£-Cceur, 75 Ligue du Saint-Nom, 443 Mooses, 341 Mouvement Richelieu, 505 National Catholic Welfare Council, 242, 243, 253 National Materials Development Center (NMDC), 482, 486, 494, 500, 504 Order of Foresters of America, 204 Ordre des chevaliers de Jacques-Cartier, 156, 520

Ordre des Croises, 245 Ordre des forestiers franco-americains, 156, 204, 206, 258, 266, 327 Public Works Administration (PWA), 297, 305 Secretariat des peuples francophones, 507, 511 Socie'te' acadienne of America, 353 Socie'te" de couture, 75 Socie'te" de I'Assomption, 156, 205 Societe" des concours de fran9ais of Fall River, 459, 476 Socie"te"s des deux mondes, 506 Societe" du parler fransais de Quebec, 352 Societe historique franco-ame'ricaine, 477, 505, 510 Societe" Jacques-Cartier, 253, 258, 264, 327, 353, 390, 452 Socie'te Saint-Jean-Baptiste 34, 76, 346, 347, 349 Societe" Saint-Joseph (Salem), 109 Societe" Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, 75, 304, 443 Standing Commitee for French Survivance of America, 396 Union des Franco-Ame"ricains du Connecticut, 226, 503, 506 Union Fraternal League, 202 Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Ame>ique, 156, 160, 179, 182, 205, 206, 228, 229, 230, 238, 245, 251, 258, 264, 266, 325, 327, 330, 348, 349, 352, 353, 355, 356, 374, 386, 389, 390, 408, 417, 418, 447, 450, 452, 459, 477 Union Saint-Joseph, 44 Unitarian Mission Society, 55 Unit6 franco-ame'ricaine, 505 United Textile Workers of America, 310 Woodmen of the World, 202 Work Progress Administration (WPA), 297, 299 Young Men Christian Association, 341 Newspapers and periodicals Action (Manchester), L\ 417,452, 461, 475, 488 Action catholique (Quebec), L', 251, 266 Avenir national (Manchester), L', 12, 80, 107, 111, 114, 140, 167, 168, 169, 171, 180, 193, 195, 197, 208, 210, 217, 220, 230,

SUBJECT INDEX

234, 254, 255, 256, 258, 266, 271, 281, 359, 368, 372, 373, 385 Bataille (Woonsocket), La, 262 Boston American, 276 Boston Herald, 57, 63 Boston Post, 232 Boston Sunday Globe, 155 British-American Citizen, (Boston), 57 Canado-Americain (Manchester), 256, 409 Courrier (Lawrence), 258, 266, 325, 407 Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe, Le, 32 Courrier national (Lawrence), Le, 139 Defense (Woonsocket), La, 262 Devoir (Montreal), Le, 262, 387, 391, 396 Droit (Ottawa), Le, 251, 266 Etoile de Lowell, L', 111, 138, 229, 385, 405 FAROG-Forum, 483, 500, 501, 502, 515 Franco-Americain (Waterville), Le, 373 Gazette (Fall River), La, 197 Impartial (Nashua), L', 258, 264, 327, 386, 451 Independant (Fall River), L', 26, 156, 195, 238, 258, 264, 281, 309, 317, 323, 327, 338, 355, 359, 376, 385, 391, 411, 412, 451, 453, 463, 488 Independant (Woonsocket), L', 327, 373 Journal (Haverhill), Le, 351, 407 Journal de Berlin (N.H.), Le, 451 Journal de Lowell, Le, 482 Justice (Biddeford), La, 135, 186, 189, 277 Justice (Holyoke), La, 266, 388, 407, 451 Lewiston Evening Journal, 82 Liberte (Fitchburg), La, 407, 451 Lynnois (Lynn), Le, 207 Manchester Union, 232 Manufactures Record (Baltimore), 235 Messager (Lewiston), Le, 41, 176, 179, 184, 186, 264, 286, 373, 407, 423, 451. 475 Minerve (Montreal), La, 31

543

Mirror (Baltimore), 148 Moniteur acadien, Le, 160 National (Manchester), Le, 93, 107 New Observer (Lowell), The, 480 New York Herald, 148 New York Times, 57 Nord (Saint-Jerome), Le, 41 North American Review, 103 Observations (Lewiston-Auburn), 479 Osservatore Romano (Rome), 261 Opinion publique (Montreal), L', 33 Opinion publique (Worcester), L\ 111, 135, 187, 210, 264, 324 Philanthrope (Providence), Le, 95 Presse (Montreal), La, 31 Protecteur canadien (Saint Albans), Le, 37 Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Pawtucket), Le, 238 Semeur franco-americain, 56 Sentinelle (Woonsocket), La, 250, 251, 253, 255, 256, 257, 258, 260, 261, 264, 266, 285 Travailleur (Worcester), Le, 39, 91, 131, 327, 329, 337, 340, 345, 350, 355, 375, 376, 378, 379, 389, 417, 426, 427, 451, 452, 453, 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 467, 475, 479, 488, 510 Tribune (Woonsocket), La, 135, 180, 186, 195, 197, 199, 200, 220, 229, 238, 249, 251, 258, 260, 263, 266, 267, 269, 286, 324,327 Union (Woonsocket), L', 189, 238 Union Leader (Manchester), 482 Unite (Lewiston), L', 482 Verite (Woonsocket), La, 262 Vie franco-americaine, La, 383, 386, 396, 404, 416 Visitor (Providence), 235 Washington Post, 55 Worcester Telegram, 94

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AGMV Marquis Quebec, Canada 2004