Creoles were not the only distinct community to undergo Americanization, but Louisiana Creoles were singular in their response. Creole leaders in churches, schools, and the tourism industry offered divergent reactions some elite Creoles began looking to Francophone Canada for whitened ethnic identity support while others turned toward the Catholic establishment in Baltimore, Maryland to bolster their faith. Assimilation and cultural resistance characterized the Creole response, but by 1945, southwest Louisiana more closely resembled much of the American South. World War I signalled early transformative changes and over the next three decades, the region saw the introduction of English language, new industries, an increasing number of Protestant denominations, and the forceful imposition of racialized identities and racial segregation. As this work makes clear, the transition to American identity transmuted the cultural foundations of French- and Creole-speaking Creole communities. This work examines that cultural transformation, paying particular attention to the processes of cultural assimilation and resistance to the introduction and imposition of American social values and its southern racial corollary: Jim Crow. ![]() ![]() Southwest Louisiana Creoles underwent great change between World Wars I and II as they confronted American culture, people, and norms.
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