Industrialization, well under way by the 1860s, created a stiff demand for workers in the textile and boot and shoe industries. Laborers were also needed in building construction and in canal and railroad work. The native and Irish-immigrant labor force present in New England in 1865 could not meet the labor demands of industry.[1]
The context in this case is that of economic expansion due to industrialization in post-Civil War New England. Although these jobs, primarily in textile factories, were taken by native-born working-class laborers or relatively recent Irish immigrants, the sheer growth of the industrial economy in Lowell elsewhere following the war provided more jobs than the existing demographic groups could fill. Therefore, they were hired for these jobs. The result was that, despite some resistance to their arrival, the Quebecois established themselves in the Lowell area and were even able to support increased immigration from their home because there was a steady supply of jobs available to those who decided to come to the United States.
To me, this excerpt is important because it demonstrates the extent to which an immigrant group can become successful by virtue of coming to occupy a niche in the existing economy or a role in the growing economy. As we see in the United States today, immigrant groups are sometimes resented due to the impressions, whether real or imagined, that they will take the jobs of existing jobs away from longer-established immigrant groups or native-born citizens. In the same way as Latin American immigrants work in niche jobs such as those in California's agricultural regions, Quebecois coming to Massachusetts in the 1860s onward obtained employment in a specific industry in a specific place.
In terms of the reasons for the Quebecois influx, the article is abundantly clear that a lack of industrialization in rural Canada led to the immigration of Quebecois to New England, where industrialization was already going ahead at a rapid rate. Some of the points mentioned by the author later in the article, such as marriage trends between Quebecois immigrants and the Irish population, would be interesting to learn more about. She notes that there was actually a surplus of Quebecois women in Lowell, so Quebecois men did not have to return home to marry or risk cultural and linguistic eradication by marrying American Catholics [2]; however, it is not clear what the case was outside of Lowell.
=====
[1] Frances H. Early, "Mobility Potential and the Quality of Life in Working-Class Lowell, Massachusetts: The French Canadians ca. 1870," Labour / La Travaille, 2 (1977): 218.
[2] Ibid, 227. The selection from the reading that I've chosen to discuss is the following:
Industrialization, well under way by the 1860s, created a stiff demand for workers in the textile and boot and shoe industries. Laborers were also needed in building construction and in canal and railroad work. The native and Irish-immigrant labor force present in New England in 1865 could not meet the labor demands of industry.[1]
The context in this case is that of economic expansion due to industrialization in post-Civil War New England. Although these jobs, primarily in textile factories, were taken by native-born working-class laborers or relatively recent Irish immigrants, the sheer growth of the industrial economy in Lowell elsewhere following the war provided more jobs than the existing demographic groups could fill. Therefore, they were hired for these jobs. The result was that, despite some resistance to their arrival, the Quebecois established themselves in the Lowell area and were even able to support increased immigration from their home because there was a steady supply of jobs available to those who decided to come to the United States.
To me, this excerpt is important because it demonstrates the extent to which an immigrant group can become successful by virtue of coming to occupy a niche in the existing economy or a role in the growing economy. As we see in the United States today, immigrant groups are sometimes resented due to the impressions, whether real or imagined, that they will take the jobs of existing jobs away from longer-established immigrant groups or native-born citizens. In the same way as Latin American immigrants work in niche jobs such as those in California's agricultural regions, Quebecois coming to Massachusetts in the 1860s onward obtained employment in a specific industry in a specific place.
In terms of the reasons for the Quebecois influx, the article is abundantly clear that a lack of industrialization in rural Canada led to the immigration of Quebecois to New England, where industrialization was already going ahead at a rapid rate. Some of the points mentioned by the author later in the article, such as marriage trends between Quebecois immigrants and the Irish population, would be interesting to learn more about. She notes that there was actually a surplus of Quebecois women in Lowell, so Quebecois men did not have to return home to marry or risk cultural and linguistic eradication by marrying American Catholics [2]; however, it is not clear what the case was outside of Lowell.
=====
[1] Frances H. Early, "Mobility Potential and the Quality of Life in Working-Class Lowell, Massachusetts: The French Canadians ca. 1870," Labour / La Travaille, 2 (1977): 218.
[2] Ibid, 227.
No comments:
Post a Comment