Assignment 10 [Canadian Railroad] <33

I found lots of information, and i decided to do my assignment number 10 on a Chinese boy living in the U.S.A. grieving over the loss of his father who helped work on the Canadian Railroad. This video shows what it was like, this site is a really great place to get a good, detailed, definition of what happened.This site has a brief description of a Chinese workers life.

Dear Diary, Sept 8, 1897

My Mother used to tell me stories, about how her mother was one of the first Asians to move to the United states. In the United States, she owned a restaurant, called "The Chef's Delight", I had never seen it, nor tasted the food, but I've heard it was the best. About a year after success with the restaurant, it was taken away. In 1880, my father and I had moved to the States, to work on the Canadian Railroad. I was about 12 years old. I didn't understand anything that was happening, all I knew was that my father worked on the Canadian Railroad. Whenever I asked him why we didn't just move back to China, he would never answer me, and I knew not to ask it again, so for the next couple of years, i got used to life working on the Canadian Railroad in British Columbia.

As i got older, I began to understand that everyday when my father and I went to work, we were risking our lives, but we didn't have a choice, because the Americans thought that we were trying to steal their jobs, and they didn't like us. I also realized that Andrew Onderdonk, the contractor who was hired to build the Canadian Railroad from Port Moody through Fraser Canyon didn't want to give us jobs, but British Columbia had a labour shortage. We were given the most dangerous tasks, we were the ones who were risking our lives, just for the low-payment we got. It wasn't just us, it was all of the Chinese workers who were there, 9 out of 10 of those workers were Chinese, and the white men who did work there, didn't get jobs which were as dangerous as ours, and a Chinese man's salary's was half of the white man's salary. I couldn't even see my father for most of the time, because he was always doing a more dangerous job than I was, and I was with most of the boys my age. Each month, the cost of food was 15 to 18 dollars, and we only earned 35 dollars a month each, sometimes less, and we were the ones who even slept there overnight, and the only thing to keep us warm was a fire. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was to make sure there wouldn't be too much hard labour.

It's 1897, and my father died in the year 1884, he was blowing up a mountain, and he couldn't get away from the explosion fast enough, I remember how hard it was for me to see his body on the ground, and to realize that my father was actually gone, he's not here anymore, I'm just glad to know that this railroad is finally done, and people don't have to go through what i did.

- Lee Fang

Assignment 8 : [Louis Riel]

Click HERE to see my teachers site.
Here is where i got my information:
wikipedia**
Canadian Encyclopedia**a>
shsb.mb.ca**

Chongo: Louis Riel, the Métis leader, was born on October 22,1844. To some, he was a hero and is worshipped, but to others, he is a traitor, and a disgrace to Canada. He led two Resistance movements against John A. MacDonald and the Canadian Government. He fought for the Métis rights as changes were being made with confederation happening. A lot of different obstacles happened, and Riel ended up surrendering. His trial started on July 20, and Riel was sentenced to hang on September 18, but the dates kept on changing, and the date he was actually sentenced to die was November 16.
** Louis Arrives**
Chongo: Welcome everyone, today, we have a special guest, his name is Louis Riel!


Louis Riel: Hey everyone!


Chongo: So anyways, can I ask you a few questions ?


Louis Riel: Yes, I would love for everyone to know my side of things.


Chongo: So, many people have mixed emotions about you, some have good feelings and some have bad, what do you think about the people who judged you without knowing the full story?


Louis Riel: Well, in life not everyone is going to like you, and if those people aren't going to listen to my story, I cant do anything about it.Honestly all i cared about was my people and making sure that they had freedom and the same rights that people who joined confederation would have.


Chongo: Oh, that is really interesting, during the years of your leadership, you ended up having a role in killing a man named Thomas Scott, do you think that if you hadn't been part of that, some Canadians would have a different opinion on you ?


Louis Riel: Well, I could sit here and say that i want to take that back, but just think about it, if i had taken that back, I wouldn't have gotten sent out of Canada, and maybe things wouldn't have turned out as they did, and the people who do think of me as a hero, they know the real me, and know how a man ended up dieing over it.


Chongo: Wow, that makes sense..


Louis Riel: Well, its my opinion on things.


Chongo: Oh, do you think that if the people who didn't like you knew your side to the story, their opinion on you would be different ?


Louis Riel: Well, i think that even if they did know the whole story, most people wouldn't change their minds because they probably did have their own idea of the story, and it probably wouldn't interest them to know that their way of thinking was wrong, so I don't think they would admit that they were wrong about me, so I don't think many people would change their minds about me.


Chongo: Oh, I understand, well thanks for being here and talking with me today.

Louis Riel: No problem.

Canadian Personalities: Assignment # 7

*** To see what my assignment was about, go to Miss Pollock's blog.

a.) Which category of Canadian Personalities interested you the most? Did you like the "we inspired", "we founded", "we fought", "we built" or "we governed" section the best? Why?
The category which interested me most was the "we governed" category. I liked it most because the entries helped me get a better understanding of confederation and the previous prime ministers of Canada, that's what inspired me to write about it.

b.) Which personality interested you the most? Why? Find an image of him or her to embed (add to the body of your post) and write, in your own words, a short description of what he or she did and why he or she is your favourite. If you get information from any source, you must credit it by creating a link to it (that includes information from the site that I've asked you to look at).

The personality which interested me the most was John A. MacDonald. He interested me most because i knew he was the first prime minister of Canada, but I never knew that he helped with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to join Ontario and Quebec to make confederation in Canada. He had owned his office for 18 years, and that made him the second longest prime minister who was serving. He was a lawyer, businessman, and politician, and also, he was the one who produced the British North American Act. Because of his role in confederation, MacDonald was asked to be the first prime minister of the new dominion government. He was my favourite because he was the very first prime minister of Canada, and he was a big help in confederation, and that just makes me wonder, what would happen if these colonies had not joined confederation? How would our life be right now ?
canadianencyclopedia***
wikipedia***
civilization***

c.) In your post, suggest three more influential Canadian personalities that could be added to this site. Why did you choose these people? Which categories would they fit into? Link to information about each of them.
One influential Canadian personality i found was James David Edgar, he was a Canadian politician. I chose him because after many failures, he fought for what he wanted, and at the end, he was nominated to be a speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, and was given knighthood by Queen Victoria. He lived from 1841 to 1899. Another influential Canadian personality i found was Ellen Fairclough, the first female to be a member of the Canadian Cabinet.I chose her because she was the increased the amount of immigrants allowed in Canada, she also introduced some new laws, which mostly got rid of racial discrimination in the immigration plan. She did many more things , but one thing she wouldn't do was hire a homosexual to a position which was important. She was alive from 1905 to 2004. The Last person i chose was Guy Laliberté, he was the founder and chief executive officer of Cirque du Soleil. In his life, he won many awards, including one of the 100 most influential people in the world, by Time Magazine, and also Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. I chose him, because Cirque du Soleil is a really popular dance group, and to think that he was the founder and chief executive officer, that's amazing to realize. I think that James David Edgar would fit into the category of "we fought" because i found another man in that category who was a Canadian politician. Next was Ellen Fairclough, i thought that she should be in the category of "we governed" , because she has worked in the House of Commons. Last was Guy Laliberté, i think he should be put in the category of "we founded" because he was the founder of Cirque du Soliel.
Guy Laliberté***
James David Edgar***
Ellen Fairclough***

d.) Which History-Maker did you have the most in common with? Were you able to figure it out from the clues given? What do you share with that person? What are some things that are different between you and that person?
The History-Maker that i had the most in common with was James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. I actually wasn't able to figure out who it was with the names given, because i haven't spent very much time actually researching as many History-Makers as i have these past couple of days, i never even knew he existed. Things which i share with James are that in his life, he was a doctor, and when i grow up i also want to be a doctor. Just like me, he had a sister, and also, just like me, his language was English. He has also traveled to many of places in Canada and the United states, just like me. Some thin which are different between us are the facts that he has many places and things named after him, and also, he believes that good education is one of the number one things, but i think tat some other things in life are more important. He was also in lots of debating clubs and choirs, but i am not. His parents died when he was at a young age, but mine are still alive right now.

e.) One hundred years from now, (in 2109!) imagine that students are learning about Canadian History Makers and they discover you. What will you be remembered for? How were you a Canadian History Maker? You are using your imagination, so think about some things that you would like to accomplish in your life and imagine that you have all the accomplishments of your life to look back on. Write a short profile of yourself, imagining the contributions you have made to the future of Canada. (Write this as though you've lived your whole life. You may have been a phenomenal athlete, the first black Prime Minister, cured cancer...use your imagination!)
Chongo Bwalya was alive from 1995-2061. She became a doctor in the year 2034, but wasn't very successful and gave up her dream to become a medical doctor. For the next ten years, she was a scientist, looking for new discoveries which she could find, and solve. She spent a few months looking to discover a new species, and ended up finding a very rare kind of snake, instead of poison, it had a very rare substance inside it, which could be used for healing. She was very proud of herself, but when she had gotten home from her trip she had discovered that her dad had gotten diabetes. Since she went to doctors college, she understood which medicines would help him get well. When the medicines that she used didn't work out, she tried using the rare snakes she found to get the medicine. When she had gotten all of the bad stuff out and was just left with the healer, she also added more ingredients into the medicine, then tried it out on her dad. At first it appeared that it hadn't helped at all, but after two days, his health had miraculously changed. After about a year or two, after they had sent people to try and look for more of these mysterious snakes, this cure for diabetes had gone world-wide, and Chongo was known as the person who found the cure for diabetes.

[CHLOE COOLEY!] <33

Can you believe it? We don't really think about it, but a few hundred years ago, slavery was LEGAL in Canada! Here's how Chloe Cooley contributed to helping end slavery in Canada.
Here is my project on Chloe Cooley, she was a slave in 1793.
On March 14 1793, Chloe Cooley's owner took her and tried to sell Chloe to a new owner in New York in the United States, against her will, and she protested against it. Peter Martin, a black veteran told Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe about her screaming and violent protesting, also William Grisley, who was a neighbor had seen and witnessed more of it, so he told Simcoe about it.That led Simcoe to make the July 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, to completely get rid of slavery. Slavery in Canada wasn't over until 1834, so it did take some work before the slavery was completely done in Canada. After that, Canada became a place for slaves who were trying to get away from America. About 30 000 slaves traveled there until slavery was finally over in 1865. Chloe Cooley was a big contribute to ending slavery in Canada, and her name will always go along with the Act to Limit Slavery.

If you would like to see what my assignment was go to Mrs. Pollock's site

Here are the sites I got my information from :
newswire**
ontario paques**
accessmylibrary**

Assignment # 5 [ITS REALLY COLD!]

In Canada, its REALLY cold ! So why people come and settle here instead of somewhere warmer ? I'll tell you why.
For the people who came from Europe and traveled here, the journey was very long! Just taking the steamship could have taken them around two weeks! The sailing ships took even longer, so the steamship is better right ? Well, one thing which could change your mind is the fact that is was dirty, and it got overcrowded because so many people were taking it, that made some of the passengers sick. Another weird thing was that once you arrived, you couldn't just get off the boat and leave, they had medicals, and their travel papers were checked over, again.

Some of the settlers in other countries left because there lives in their other countries were horrible compared to their lives in Canada. One reason why some people left was because men were forced to serve in the army. Even if it's doing other people good, you might have a family who needs you, and its too much of a risk if you die or something.Another reason was because there were either no jobs, or the job had very low pay. A person needs good pay, to help provide for their house, and so that their family can have food, and shelter and water, and fuel..
Farmers also wanted to own their own land, when they came to Canada every person got their own strip of land for farming and living a new life, with a better job with better pay.
I like how the site said this sentence, and it makes sence :
"The Government of Canada was offering free land to those who were willing to settle on the prairies. For many this was an opportunity to own land and have a better life. "
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/settlers1.html

Pioneers had to build their own houses, and not only that but they had to build them strong enough so they could stand the cold weather in winter. A settlers first house would probably made out of logs, or prairie sod. If you had a house made with bricks, has glass windows, and a good roof, its probably the end of your pioneering. Pioneers lives were pretty straightforward, the things which were most important in their lives were food, shelter, food, and clothing.
I think that this sentence had a a lot to do wit the last sentence of the third paragraph:
"Some pioneer settlers brought personal belongings, including furniture, kitchen utensils, books and ornaments; some settled on land prepared by COLONIZATION COMPANIES or within reach of villages or towns."
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006303

The habitants had a pretty hard life, they were the ones who had to build their houses, and it wasnt easy ! Building a house, clearing and farming his land, paying taxes to the seigneur and working on the seigneur's land a few days for a year, are a few examples of what the habitants had to do. Building their house was pretty tough, for building their house, first clearing the land, and that is cutting down trees and tree stumps, they then had to grow their crops, for their land . The crops included growing weed for bread, cows for milk and meat, sheeps for wool, and other stuff too.
Even though the habitants life was pretty hard, and tiring, its still better then being back in France.
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/premierescommunautes/jeunesse/021013-2051.6-e.html

My family only moved to Canada eight years ago. We moved to Canada from London, because we had heard that even though Canada got REALLY cold in the winter, it was worth it, because of how it is in the summer and all the fun activities we could do in the winter like skiing, skating, tobogganing, snow shoeing etc. At first we HATED the winter so much, and couldnt wait for it to be over, but the longer we stayed here, the more we got used to the weather, and understood how to dress for the weather, to keep us warm. Another reason why we moved here in 2000, was because it's safe too, and a free country, and my family friends who lived here told us about what an awesome place it is, so we decided to move here, and see it for ourselves.
So if you think about it, we are actually lucky, we live in this safe place, where we have warm houses with hot water, heating, and warm clothing. Even though our weather in the winter can get pretty cold, its worth all the good times we have, and also the nice weather we have in the summer and spring, its actually a great place to live !

Here are the sites i went to:

http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/settlers1.html
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/premierescommunautes/jeunesse/021013-2051.6-e.html

If your kind of confused about what the assignment is about, check out my teachers blog,to find out!

[Linking] (:

There were a couple of blogs which I liked, which i read. First of all i like Sabrina's blog, she did an AMAZING job specifying what she thought about what would happen in 2109. The part i liked most was when she proved that she actually understood what she was reading, and reflected on it. For example " I think that 1606-1709 was the best time for the First Nations people. They were in power, they built alliances, and became central in the fur trade out of both Montreal and Hudson's Bay."
I also liked Ryleigh's blog, i also liked the fact that she read Christopher Moore's blog, and understood the fact that not very much changes in one century at times . "In the past, some things never changed in one century, but two.." What she said there was true because not everything changes in ONE century, well not in most cases.
The last blog i liked was Emily's blog. She came up with A LOT of ideas about things which are really possible that could happen in the future, she REALLY understood the project, and it was a REALLY easy way to learn about everything i read, and make predictions about what we may have , my favourite quote of her was "Canada's provinces might drift apart, including "the narrows" ". I liked it because that's probably true, because the world did drift apart, and it might again .

Assignment #3 : History of the Future

Hey, this is what i thought of Christopher Moore's blog. Click here to see Christopher Moore's blog.

Canada has gone through a lot of change in the past centuries. In 1509, we didn't have as much technology as we do now, i don't even think they knew it would exist. If you look at the way it was before 1909, the way we lived was completely different then it was starting 1909 to 2009. Starting in 1909 we started having things like industrialization, railroads, factories, intercontinental telegrapy, mass literacy, democratic government.

What i think about 2109 is that a lot of things will change, things like:
- much more technology, to do all the work humans have been doing in this past century for us
- robots may exist on earth, to take better care of humans, but would probably be worse for our environment
- because of the global warming, and some people not making an effort to stop littering, our environment will be much worse, who knows what could happen to it
- changes in the American and Canadian politics, like a woman for president in the United States
- maybe in the next 100 or 200 years from now, the earth may end, and we may find life on another planet, or maybe not
- there won't be anymore oil, and we will drive things like battery powered cars, we may even create a new way to power cars, not including oil or batteries, and that might even be good for our environment
- we may find cures for things like the common cold, but we may discover a new disease even worse then HIV-AIDS, or the flu
- things like gay marriage will be more accepted,and more common
- in the next 100 years, the earth may become more populated, and that may cause the pollution to expand, and earth to end faster

Those were some of my ideas about how earth would be like,and what it would look like in the next century to come. I think that it could change for the better, or for the worse.

WELCOME !

Hey, I'm so exited that our class is going to get to do blogging instead of reading from those boring text books ! I'm in grade 8 and you can feel free to read and comment on my blogs as much as you like ! <3

Check out Miss Pollock's blog