Did Quebec save Canada?

Is it possible that the US left Canada alone (during the latter 19th and early 20th Century) at least partially because it couldn't be bothered integrating French speakers?
 
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This is one reason they left Canada alone for all that time...
 
Is it possible that the US left Canada alone (during the latter 19th and early 20th Century) at least partially because it couldn't be bothered integrating French speakers?

It didn't seem to have any problems assimilating French speakers in Louisiana and Spanish speakers in Florida and the Southwest or native speakers all over the country. Or for that matter the huge waves of immigrants speaking various European languages. During the days of manifest destiny language was not an issue.

I think you have to look elsewhere.
 
Is it possible that the US left Canada alone (during the latter 19th and early 20th Century) at least partially because it couldn't be bothered integrating French speakers?

While the francophone (yes, I know that this is a 20th century term) identity of the people of Quebec along with their stiff resistance to Anglicization are long standing and well known, the answer to your question is no. These concerns would only have come to the forefront of the US' political conversations after the region had been annexed (and the idea of annexing eastern Canada died in the aftermath of that great stalemate known as the War of 1812).
 

DTanza

Banned
I'm pretty sure the United States lacking to motivation to go after Canada was what saved Canada.
 

NothingNow

Banned
It didn't seem to have any problems assimilating French speakers in Louisiana and Spanish speakers in Florida and the Southwest or native speakers all over the country. Or for that matter the huge waves of immigrants speaking various European languages. During the days of manifest destiny language was not an issue.

Of course not. No-one really gave a shit about having a common national language till the 20th century. English was the ligua franca and that was it.
 
Shouldn't this be in Before 1900, since by 1900, the whole "America attempting to annex Canada" ship had sailed long ago?
 
It didn't seem to have any problems assimilating French speakers in Louisiana and Spanish speakers in Florida and the Southwest or native speakers all over the country. Or for that matter the huge waves of immigrants speaking various European languages. During the days of manifest destiny language was not an issue.

I think you have to look elsewhere.

Well Louisiana had a population less then a third of Quebec when it was bought about 90000 compared to 300000 so I guess assimilation would have been easier.
 
Let's be honest. If the U.S. really wanted Canada, what Quebec liked of didn't wouldn't matter a damn. "Assimilate" 300,000 Francophones? What for? Most people speak English; if you can't, you can't work outside Quebec. And you can bet the likes of the Quebec language bills would get hammered by SCotUS.:eek: (The only reason SCoC didn't is thanks to a weasel-out clause in the CoR&F...:rolleyes:)
 
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