In 1947, Laurendeau became associate editor-in-chief of "Le Devoir" and, in 1957, became its editor-in-chief. As editor, he was known first for his battles against Maurice Duplessis and later as a leading spokesman for the rising national identity of Quebec during the Quiet Revolution. His editorial column of November 18, 1958, "Maurice Duplessis à l'Assemblée nationale: la théorie du roi nègre" ("Maurice Duplessis at the National Assembly: the theory of the negro king") was widely cited by Quebecers of all political stripes for years afterwards. This piece compared the status of Duplessis in Quebec in Canada to that of an indigenous ruler in an imperial colony, the parallel being that violations of civil rights and liberties, perpetrated by Duplessis, were tolerated by English Canadians. In the colonial case, the same would hold true even though such violations would not be tolerated by colonists in their imperial lands of origin.