Was It Ever Really Against the Law to Speak French in Maine Schools?

The idea seems ludicrous right?

These days, it's easily one of the most taught foreign languages in Maine schools. Once upon a time though, that wasn't the case. You hear stories about it from older Mainers all the time. In many ways, the French-Canadians were seen with great disdain around here. It seemed to center around the border created when Maine became a state.

Pretty much, the St. John River cut the area where Maine and New Brunswick meet, and it became a hot button issue to have much to do with Franco culture on the Maine side. It seemed like you were American now, and that was it. speaking French in public was starting to be seen as unacceptable.

Why can't we all just get along?

I used to work for an older fella who was a butcher and taught me all about meat cutting, and he was French-Canadian from the Lewiston area. He said everyone in his family spoke French, but didn't advertise it. Especially his folks, and alluded to a time when they would basically be run out of town due to French bigotry.

According to a video from News Center Maine that I saw in this Reddit thread, a little over 100 years ago this battle spilled over into the classrooms, and there was a "No French" law passed at the state level. It wasn't even officially repealed until the 60s. It's crazy to think in a country where we have freedom of speech, that we were actually passing laws directly limiting that.

These days, this crazy hatred of the French in Maine doesn't exist. Funny how a century can change things. Sadly, not everything. But at least kids in Maine, who likely all have a small amount of French in them anyway, can learn the beauty of the French language. We take it for granted now, but back in the day, we were idiots.

Maybe we can lighten the mood now with some super ugly sweaters?