Quebec and the American Dream

Terry A. Crowley is an associate professor of history at the University
of Guelph.

History is liberating. At a time when the mind reels with the
interminable machinations surrounding the Meech Lake Accord and the
Canadian unity talks, the broader view about the greater course of
events provided by journalists Chados and Hamovitch arrives as welcome
respite.

Adopting a comprehensive approach that ranges through time and a
variety of academic disciplines, these authors trace developments that
have influenced francophones in Canada and the United States since the
American Revolution. Quebec, New England, and Louisiana are the primary
objects of their study, but critical currents in both countries are
carefully considered. Their perspective is refreshingly free of the
stereotypes that once littered the writing about the relations between
French Canada and the United States, but the attention they give
Louisiana is highly uneven.

While the authors eschew the thorny analytical questions that
historians pursue in highly circumscribed monographs, this volume serves
as an excellent introduction to history’s longer course. It is a major
achievement.