What is franco american heritage

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The majority of these first-generation immigrants continued to think of themselves as Canadians, even after decades in their new country. But what about their descendants — their children grandchildren, and great-grandchildren? Franco-Americans are exceptional among immigrant groups in that they retained their distinct cultural identity for a long period of time.

But throughout the 20th century, Francos, and particularly their children, were to come under new pressures that would cause them to think of themselves first as Franco-Americans and then, often, simply "Americans. The earliest Franco immigrants arrived in Lewiston to find that the promises of steady work and boundless opportunity were greatly exaggerated.

Facing hostility from the existing population, and with limited means at their disposal, Francos found it necessary to rely on each other for support. Ghettoized into communities known as Petits Canadas , young Franco children would have grown up surrounded by other French-speakers and with limited contact with the English-speaking world — in Lewiston, Little Canada was literally cut off from the rest of the city, surrounded by the Androscoggin River and the canals.

Felicia Garant in nun's habit, Lewiston, As good Catholics, most Franco-Americans had large families — 12 children per couple was not uncommon. In the era before social welfare programs, the Catholic Church also provided the "safety net" for most families. In Lewiston-Auburn, the church provided a number of parish schools in which French Canadian priests taught Franco children in their own language.