The Franco-Americans of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine: Lessons in Cultural Persistence

The Franco-American population of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine is emblematic of the waves of almost one million French-speaking migrants who flooded the industrial cities of New England in the 19th and 20th centuries. Yet this particular group of Franco-Americans is unique in their persistence. Professor DeFosse explains how this group has managed to hold on to their cultural identity against the forces of assimilation in Anglophone culture, while still participating fully in American society.