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Sample Student final exam answers 2016 (2016 final exam assignment) Part 3: Model Research Reports |
LITR 4340
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Alexander Leleux
Stars and Stripes and Fluer-de-lis
For
many Americans, family tradition stands as the pillar of their upbringing. It is
the foundation of their culture and the method by which they are nurtured into
adulthood. It is this culture of origin that fascinates us and drives us with
curiosity to learn more about our past. With this knowledge, we may have some
small insight into better understanding our family, our philosophy, and
ourselves. This is a characteristic of seeking lost identity that stands almost
uniquely to those born in America, for few can claim to lineage that did not
come from beyond the seas and cut off their ancient origins.
As a
child born in Louisiana, steeped in the culture of my Cajun family and our Roman
Catholic roots, I have always been faintly aware of the close ties our line has
with France. I cannot say for certain how much French blood is in my veins, but
I have known it as a distant progenitor, the source of many facets to my
family’s lifestyle and ideals, no matter how faint. For this, I have chosen
France to be the focal point of my research, or rather those of that distant
country who journeyed to the New World in exile or search of fortune. Be it the
prospering opportunities of trade and resources, or the cold betrayal of an
intolerant King, it is my hope to discover the French-American narrative and see
what part they play in the melting pot of the dominating American culture.
French-American immigrants, or Franco-Americans, are a surprisingly wider
population base than I had originally anticipated. In my findings, I learned
that ‘Franco-American’ covers two focal points of origin. The first, of course,
drawn as a direct line from France, the native country. The alternative is those
of French Canadian lineage, a rather sizable percentage of the North American
population who draw their roots back to the French colonists from the 17th
century. These Franco-Americans remain situated mostly in Canada, consisting of
tight-knit clusters in Montreal and Quebec among other enclaves, maintaining
their heritage and language of origin while some immigrated to the United States
of America. I found this information to be somewhat surprising, as I had all but
completely forgotten about this narrative of the North American immigrant.
Additionally, “French migration to the United States can also be documented from
the French-speaking nations of Belgium, Switzerland, West Africa, and French
Polynesia, per Professor William A. Paquette. That being said, there is little
information I have presently gathered on these minor sources of French
migration.
In my initial research, I began with attempting to locate what
information I could on traditional French immigrants. According to William A.
Paquette, a professor of history at Tidewater Community College, “French
immigration to the United States has been episodic, generally paralleling
religious, political, and economic upheavals in France.” The origins of this
began amidst the age of exploration where, like England and Spain, France sought
land and opportunity of wealth in the New World. Two primary colonial regions
were established in both the southern domain known as Louisiana and the northern
domain of Quebec. It appears that,
during the initial phases of colonization, much of the population consisted of
military personnel, religious missionaries, and skilled workers to exploit the
new land’s resources such as trappers, hunters, and lumberjacks.
This, however, changed once the King of France in 1685, Louis XIV issued
a revocation of what was known as the Edict of Nantes, an act which revoked all
political rights to French Protestants known as Huguenots. To put this in
context, J.H. Robinson’s edition of historical text,
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
ascribes the origins of the Edict at the behest of King Henry IV ‘the Great’,
who so wished for “peace which he had procured for his subjects after the
grievous losses they had sustained in the course of domestic and foreign wars.”
The intent of this decree was to offer substantial rights and privileges within
a nation that was still lately Catholic. In order to promote civil unity
following the French Wars of Religion, King Henry IV opened the path for a more
tolerant nation, offering to the Huguenots many the same rights that Catholic
citizens were afforded. This was perhaps one of the first instances to treat
protestant faiths as more than simple heretics, creating a unity amongst the
nation where before they were offered only limited political tolerance and
sometimes outright violent treatment.
This
all changed when King Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, rescinding
all previously granted rights to the French protestants and forced many of them
to seek refuge elsewhere. Much like the ‘exile’ of the Puritans from England,
the Huguenots were forced to seek home elsewhere, finding a new home in North
America. Both Paquette and Claude Belanger of Marianopolis College confirm this
in their writings, explaining that many of those branded as Huguenots were
skilled artisans and were considered among the well-educated members of the
wealthy middle class. This seems to be a small contrast to the English Puritan
exodus, who retained a mix of low and middle class citizens, yet both had among
them professionals and craftsmen with both national exiles maintaining high
levels of literacy. Some settled in the French regions, but others opted to move
to the colonies that would later form the U.S., living in New York,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. It seems that up to
15,000 labeled Huguenots were registered in the U.S. Census by 1790.
While there was a steady flow of Franco-American immigrants over the
course of the following years, it appears that the next great immigration of
French would come from Canada this time. According to Claude Belanger, roughly
900,000 French Canadians left Canada to immigrate to the U.S between the years
of 1840 and 1930. According to the 1980 American census, over 13.6 million
Americans claimed to have some form of French ancestry, with as many as one
third of them originating from the French-Canadian enclaves. The primary cause
behind this particular exodus seems to be a matter of simple necessity, not
unlike the Irish or Mexican immigrants. Belanger states that the “fundamental
underlying cause of the French-Canadian emigration can be found in the unequal
levels of industrial development, and thus of standards of living.” In this
case, it appears that due to a slow adaptation to the new Industrial age, it
seems that Canada, Quebec in particular, was suffering from some economic
issues. With problems in agriculture and a lack in industrial structure,
thousands of French Canadians found themselves with little choice but to leave
their home in hopes to earn some form of living. It only makes sense that
American, a land of thriving industry and commerce just across the border, would
be a common choice. Many elected to living in states adjacent or within close
proximity to the Canadian borders, an obvious selection that offered them the
ability to visit home whenever possible.
In contrast, immigration to America from France itself kept a steady
decline with sharp dips during the conflicts of both World Wars. Few left their
native lands during these times, though some did to escape religious
persecution, but immigration was largely discouraged due to war and then the
economic recovery that followed. Many new immigrants might have likely be
sourced back to marriages between French citizens and American soldiers, a
common occurrence following war with many of the postwar immigrants coming to
the U.S displaying high levels of education and job skills.
French American immigrants stand as a quite unique facet of American
history, for few nations have ever been the source of so many varying
immigrants. Be it wealth and trade, religious freedom or simple and basic
necessity, many were forced or elected to leave their homes and immigrate to the
land of America, creating a foundation for which they established as their new
homeland and engrained themselves as an integral part of American culture in a
wholly unique way. Franco Americans offer almost every example of an immigration
archetype offered and solely root themselves as an anchor to one of the nation’s
most iconic cultures; the Cajun.
Works
Cited
Paquette, William A. "French Immigrants."
Immigration to the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
Bélanger, Claude. "French Canadian Emigration to the United States, 1840-1930 -
Readings - Quebec History." French Canadian Emigration to the United States,
1840-1930 - Readings - Quebec History. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
"Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (October 22, 1685)." Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes (October 22, 1685). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
Mousnier, Roland. The Assassination of Henry IV. New York: n.p., 1973. Edict
of Nantes. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
