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For the language spoken by some of these people, see American French. American French (French le français d'Amérique) is a collective term used for the varieties of the French language that are spoken in North America
French American Flag of France Flag of the United States
Brett Favre, Angelina Jolie, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Col. Peter Julien Ortiz, Captain Jean Lafitte, Jack Kerouac
Total population

13,000,000
4% of the US population
Regions with significant populations
The entire Northeastern United States, much of the Midwestern and Northwestern United States, the West Coast, Louisiana coastal Mississippi, coastal Alabama, coastal Florida. Brett Lorenzo Favre (ˈfɑrv (born October 10 1969 is an American football Quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4 1975 is an American film actor Colonel Peter Ortiz (August 5 1913-May 13 1988 born in New York City, was one of the most decorated Marine officers of World War II. Jean Lafitte (ca 1776 - ca 1826 was a Privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and The Northeast is a region of the United States. As defined by the U See also Pacific Northwest The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States The " West Coast " " Western Seaboard " or " Pacific Seaboard " are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the Western United States The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the
Languages
American English, French
Religions
Predominantly
Roman Catholicism
Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
French people, French Canadian, Quebecois, Cajuns, Acadians

French Americans or Franco-Americans are citizens or permanent residents of the United States of French descent. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( A Québécois or Quebecois (pronounced) or in the feminine Québécoise (pronounced) (plural Québécoises) is a native or resident of the Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( About 13 million U. S. residents are of French descent, and about 1. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( 6 million of them speak the French language at home. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people An additional 450,000 speak a French-based creole language, according to the 2000 U. A French creole, or French-based creole language, is a Creole language based on the French language, more specifically on a 17th century koiné S. Census.

While Americans of French descent make up a substantial percentage of the American population, French Americans arguably are less visible than other similarly-sized ethnic groups. This is due in part to the high degree of assimilation among Huguenot Protestant settlers, as well as the tendency of French American groups to identify more strongly with "New World" regional identities such as Québécois, French Canadian, Acadian, Cajun, or Louisiana Creole. A Québécois or Quebecois (pronounced) or in the feminine Québécoise (pronounced) (plural Québécoises) is a native or resident of the This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other This has inhibited the development of a wider French American identity.

Contents

French American Population

Map of New France. Light Blue= Claimed by Great Britain.
Map of New France. The Viceroyalty of New France (Nouvelle-France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Light Blue= Claimed by Great Britain. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands

While found throughout the country, they are most numerous in New England, Northern New York, Louisiana (where more than 15% of the population of the Cajun Country reported in the last census that French was spoken at home) and Michigan. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) (L'Acadiane is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. French Louisiana, when it was sold by Napoleon in 1803, covered all or part of than fifteen current U.S. states and contained French colonists dispersed across it, though they were most numerous in its southernmost portion. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government

Often, Franco-Americans are identified more specifically as being of French Canadian, Cajun, or Louisiana Creole descent. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other This article is about an ethnic culture in Louisiana USA For uses of the term "Creole" in other countries and cultures see Creole (disambiguation. An important part of French American history is the Quebec diaspora of the 1840s-1930s, in which one million French Canadians moved to the United States, principally to the New England states, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. For the 1970s migration of Quebec anglophones to other Canadian provinces see English-speaking Quebecers The Quebec diaspora consists of Quebec Historically, the French in Canada had among the highest birth rates in world history, which is why their population was large even though immigration from France was relatively low. They also moved to different regions within Canada, namely Ontario and Manitoba. Many of the early male migrants worked in the lumber industry in both regions, and, to lesser degree, in the burgeoning mining industry in the upper Great Lakes. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border.

Another significant source of immigrants was Saint Domingue, which gained its independence as the Republic of Haiti in 1804 following a bloody revolution; much of its white population (along with some mulattoes) fled during this time, often to Louisiana, where they largely assimilated into the Creole culture. Saint-Domingue was a French Colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola from 1659 to 1804 when it became the independent nation of Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole: Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Mulatto is a term used to describe a person with one white parent and one black parent or a person whose Ancestry is a mixture of black and white

The Cajuns of Louisiana have a unique heritage. Their ancestors settled Acadia, in what is now the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture ( ACADIA) is a Non-profit organization active in the area of Computer-aided architectural design New Brunswick ( French: Nouveau-Brunswick /nuvobʁɔnzwik/ is one of Canada 's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Prince Edward Island (ˌprɪns ˌɛdwɚd ˈaɪlɨnd ( PEI or P In 1755, after capturing Fort Beauséjour in the region, the British army forced the Acadians to either swear an oath of loyalty to the British crown or face expulsion. Fort Beauséjour, also referred to as Fort Cumberland, is a National Historic Site located in Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada. Thousands refused to take the oath, causing them to be sent, penniless, to the 13 colonies to the south in what has become known as the Great Upheaval. The Great Upheaval, also known as the Great Expulsion, The Deportation, the Acadian Expulsion, or to the deportees Le Grand Dérangement, was Over the next generation, some four thousand managed to make the long trek to Louisiana, where they began a new life. The name Cajun is a corruption of the word Acadian. Many still live in what is known as the Cajun Country, where much of their colonial culture survives. Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) (L'Acadiane is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population

Because the ancestors of most French Americans had for the most part left France before the French Revolution, they usually identify more with the Fleur-de-lis of monarchical France than with the modern French tricolor. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural fleurs-de-lis ˌfləː(rdəˈliː (ˌfləː(rdəˈlɪs in Quebec) translated from French as "lily The National flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau français,and in military parlance les couleurs

French American communities

Distribution of French Americans according to the 2000 census
Distribution of French Americans according to the 2000 census

According to the U.S. Census Bureau of 2000, French Americans (of French and French-Canadian ancestry) made up close to, or more than, 10% of the population of:

New Hampshire 25. The ancestry of the people of the United States is widely varied and includes descendants of Populations from around the World, some presumably extinct The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census New Hampshire ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. 2%
Vermont 23. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. 3%
Maine 22. The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean 8%
Rhode Island 17. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States 2%
Louisiana 16. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America 2%
Massachusetts   12. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. 9%
Connecticut   9. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. 9%

In states that once made up part of New France (excluding Louisiana):

Michigan 6. The Viceroyalty of New France (Nouvelle-France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. 8%
Montana 5. Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern 3%
Minnesota 5. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers 3%
Wisconsin 5. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States 0%
North Dakota   4. North Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern and Western regions of the United States of America. 7%
Wyoming 4. The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. 2%
Missouri 3. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee 8%
Kansas 3. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " 6%

French Americans also made up more than 4% of the population in

Washington   4. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. 6%
Oregon 4. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. 6%
Alaska 4. Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent 2%

National percentage of Americans of French & French-Canadian ancestry: 5. 3%

States with the largest French communities include (according to the 2000 U. S. Census)

French and French-Canadian

1. California 927,453
2. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Massachusetts   818,388
3. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Michigan 680,939
4. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Louisiana 680,208
5. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America New York 628,810

Religion

French Americans are divided between those of Roman Catholic heritage (which includes most French Canadians and Cajuns) and those of Huguenot (Protestant) background, most of whom came during the colonial period. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. For most of its existence, New France was open only to Catholic settlement. The Viceroyalty of New France (Nouvelle-France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the In response, many Huguenots – who sought to emigrate as they faced religious discrimination in France – moved instead to other countries (mainly England, the Netherlands and Prussia) and their overseas territories, including the 13 colonies of Great Britain and the Dutch Cape Colony. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 with the founding of Cape Town. Huguenots tended to assimilate more quickly into English-speaking society than their Catholic counterparts. One-third of all American Presidents have some proven Huguenot ancestry, along with other famous politicians such as Alexander Hamilton and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the judicial branch of the government of the United States, and presides over the U John Jay (December 12 1745 – May 17 1829 was an American Politician, Statesman, revolutionary, Diplomat, a Supreme Court

French language in the United States

For more details on this topic, see French in the United States. The French language is spoken as a Minority language in the United States.

According to the National Education Bureau, French is the second most commonly taught foreign language in U. S. high schools, colleges and universities behind Spanish. French was the most commonly taught foreign language until the 1980s, when the influx of Hispanic immigrants aided the growth of Spanish. Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically According to the U. S. 2000 Census, French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish and Chinese with over 1. 6 million speakers. In addition to parts of Louisiana, the language is also commonly spoken in Miami, northern Maine, Vermont and New York City, home to large French-speaking communities from France, Canada, and Haiti. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The City of New York

As a result of French immigration to what is now the United States in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the French language was once widely spoken in much of the country, especially in the former Louisiana Territory, as well as in the Northeast. Louisiana Territory was a historic Organized territory of the United States from July 4, 1805 until December 11, 1812. The Northeast is a region of the United States. As defined by the U French-language newspapers existed in many American cities, especially New Orleans. Americans of French descent often lived in French-dominated neighborhoods, where they attended schools and churches that used their language. In New England, Upstate New York and the Midwest, French-Canadian neighborhoods were known as "Little Canadas".

Trivia

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "The Random House College Dictionary" p. A French American or Franco-American is a citizen of the United States of America of French descent and heritage Huguenot Society of America is a hereditary patriotic society organized in New York City on April 12 1883 and incorporated on June 12 1885 777 Random House, Inc. , 1975 ISBN 0-394-43600-8

References


External links

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