Keywords: French Americans
Item 15935
French Row, Springvale, ca. 1905
Contributed by: Sanford-Springvale Historical Society Date: circa 1905 Location: Sanford Media: Print from Glass Negative
Item 18880
Jean-Baptiste Couture, Lewiston, ca. 1900
Contributed by: Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Date: circa 1900 Location: Lewiston Media: Photographic print
Exhibit
From French Canadians to Franco-Americans
French Canadians who emigrated to the Lewiston-Auburn area faced discrimination as children and adults -- such as living in "Little Canada" tenements and being ridiculed for speaking French -- but also adapted to their new lives and sustained many cultural traditions.
Exhibit
Maine Through the Eyes of George W. French
George French, a native of Kezar Falls and graduate of Bates College, worked at several jobs before turning to photography as his career. He served for many years as photographer for the Maine Development Commission, taking pictures intended to promote both development and tourism.
Site Page
View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.
Site Page
Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary's
View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.
Story
Where are the French?
by Rhea Côté Robbins
Franco-Americans in Maine
Story
Biddeford and Maine Franco-American Hall of Fame Award recipient
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center
With options to be a college French professor, became a lawyer, mayor, DA & District Court Judge
Lesson Plan
Maine's Acadian Community: "Evangeline," Le Grand Dérangement, and Cultural Survival
Grade Level: 9-12
Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
This lesson plan will introduce students to the history of the forced expulsion of thousands of people from Acadia, the Romantic look back at the tragedy in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous epic poem Evangeline and the heroine's adoption as an Acadian cultural figure, and Maine's Acadian community today, along with their relations with Acadian New Brunswick and Nova Scotia residents and others in the Acadian Diaspora. Students will read and discuss primary documents, compare and contrast Le Grand Dérangement to other forced expulsions in Maine history and discuss the significance of cultural survival amidst hardships brought on by treaties, wars, and legislation.
Lesson Plan
Longfellow Studies: The Exile of the People of Longfellow's "Evangeline"
Grade Level: 6-8
Content Area: Social Studies
Other materials needed:
- Copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline"
- Print media and Internet access for research
- Deportation Orders (may use primary document with a secondary source interpretation)
Throughout the course of history there have been many events in which great suffering was inflicted upon innocent people. The story of the Acadian expulsion is one such event. Britain and France, the two most powerful nations of Europe, were at war off and on throughout the 18th century. North America became a coveted prize for both warring nations. The French Acadians of present day Nova Scotia fell victim to great suffering. Even under an oath of allegiance to England, the Acadians were advised that their families were to be deported and their lands confiscated by the English. This event was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangeline", which was published in 1847.
