Exploration of immigration, industrialization & ethnicity in Waterville, Maine

Author (Your Name)

Amy E. Rowe, Colby College

Date of Award

1999

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Anthropology Dept.

Advisor(s)

David L. Nugent

Second Advisor

Mary Beth Mills

Abstract

This paper traces how hegemonic forces create boundaries through the specific examples of the Lebanese and Franco-Americans in Waterville, Maine. These two immigrant groups entered into Waterville after an English-Scottish Protestant majority had already been established in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The Franco-American immigration from Quebec extended well over a century and the flow of people out of Canada can generally be studied into two distinct waves. People were constantly coming into Waterville from Quebec, and a small number would return to live in Canada after a time. It is also critical to understand that Franco-Americans were settling all over Maine during this same time span and that it is generally accepted that in the state of Maine today at least forty percent of the state has French-Canadian ancestry. In contrast the Lebanese who came to Waterville came during a very specific time period, from about 1890-1920. Their numbers were smaller and there were very few Lebanese who settled elsewhere in Maine.

Keywords

Alien labor -- Maine -- Waterville, Immigrants -- Maine -- Waterville, Ethnicity -- Maine -- Waterville, French Americans, Lebanese Americans

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