French American facts for kids
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Total population | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(11,804,485 3.8% of the U.S. population (2010)) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Regions with significant populations | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Predominantly in New England, the Midwest and Louisiana | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Languages | |||||||||||||||||||||||
English (American English dialects) French (Cajun•Acadian•Canadian•Missouri•New England French) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Religion | |||||||||||||||||||||||
47% Roman Catholic, 39% Protestant, 3% Christian – unspecified; 12% other (including deists, Raelians) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Related ethnic groups | |||||||||||||||||||||||
French people, French Canadian, Québécois, Cajuns, Acadians, French Haitian |
French Americans (French: Américain français), also called Franco-Americans (French: Franco-Américain) are Americans who identify themselves to be of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of French or French Canadian descent. About 2 million speak French at home. An additional 750,000 U.S. residents speak a French-based creole language, according to the 2011 census.
Americans of French descent make up a substantial percentage of the American population. However French Americans are less visible than other similarly sized ethnic groups. This is due in part to the high degree of assimilation among Huguenot (French Protestant) settlers. Also, there is a tendency of French American groups to identify more strongly with "New World" regional identities. These include Québécois, French Canadian, Acadian, Cajun, or Louisiana Creole. This has prevented the development of a wider French American identity.
- Dave Martucci, Franco-American flags, in Flags of the World
Images for kids
-
The Marquis de Lafayette, known as “The Hero of the Two Worlds” for his accomplishments in the service of the United States in the American War of Independence.
-
The Statue of Liberty is a gift from the French people in memory of the American Declaration of Independence.
-
Distribution of Franco Americans according to the 2000 census
-
Creole girls, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, 1935
-
St. Philip Street at Royal Street, French Quarter, New Orleans
See also
In Spanish: Inmigración francesa en los Estados Unidos para niños