Post by matthew njaa on Nov 29, 2010 10:56:31 GMT -5
I believe the trans-continental railroad was essential to the development of the country of Canada. It attracted colonies into Confederation (therefore building the base of the country itself), made movement possible between the raw resources in the West and the manufacturing facilities in the East, and the united nation would be protected against invasion from teh United States. I find it interesting that the railroad that would be the longest ever built, and built in some the most difficult terrain in teh world, the railroad that defines our great country was built under the practice of basically slaves and severe racism. The Chinese workers were not payed well at all, they were given the most dangerous jobs, had terrible living conditions, and were treated as animals. Its hard to think how we can proud of such a great accomplishment when it was achieved in such a way. But then again if we were to repeat what we did again today, it would not be allowed to happen. The bright side is we are making progress and learning from our mistakes and really we are now showing what it is to be a multiculturalist society.