Fourth Grade
Worksheets
The Quiet Revolution
Caption: Statue of Jean Lesage in front of the National Assembly in Quebec City
What makes people change? It has to be something inside of them. Maybe they are tired of how things are. Perhaps they have a dream for their future. Change is often hard, but it can be good.
On June 22, 1960, a change was starting in Quebec. An election was held. It seemed like any other election, but change was in the wind.
The Union Nationale party had been in power for a total of 20 years under Duplessis. Now the Quebec Liberal party had taken over. Quebec's new premier was Jean Lesage.
Lesage brought in popular leaders to make the government work better. One of these men was Rene Levesque.
Levesque was Minister of Natural Resources. It was his idea to nationalize all of the hydro-electric plants in Quebec.
In spite of that, change was coming. Radio brought some new ideas. When TV began, it brought even more. Men who had been told to be content now wanted more out of life.
Lesage's first 30 days in office brought many changes. He made up the Department of Youth. This gave a free education through high school. The church no longer controlled education.
The Roman Catholic Church had been the center of the French Canadian culture. People were told to be happy with what they got out of life. The old ways were good. The church had also owned the schools.
