samedi, décembre 09, 2006
I'd give you everything that I am, I'm handing over everything that I've got
[Song recommendation: "4 in the morning" on Gwen Stefani's new album]
So I've been doing the marathon lecture-watching of my political history class I'd mentioned. I have to say it again: it's really very interesting, history. Since this is a full-year class, we only make it up to the first world war this term, and the bulk of the semester is actually spent on the tumultuous years prior to and after Confederation.
I'm impressed with John A. Macdonald's ability to get British Columbia into Confederation so early (1871). As Dr. McDowall points out, at that time there wasn't even a railway going out West, only the early formation of a province called Manitoba, so British Columbia was far, FAR away. They had to send out exploratory expeditions to get a feel for the land and just how much of a challenge crossing the Rocky Mountains was actually going to be. Keep in mind that John A. ended up committing to the building of a railroad to BC within TEN years of them joining Confederation. This was around the same time that Sandford Fleming, the engineer he recruited to assess the terrain, was expressing serious pessimism about the feasibility of getting a railroad built. It was mighty ambitious (or foolhardy) of John A. to make such a promise.
Yesterday I picked up two of my graded term papers. I got B- in Public Affairs Analysis and B+ on my political history one. I'm pleased with those marks. If you are interested in reading my history paper, which was about the struggle for power between the provinces (mainly Ontario) and Ottawa just after Confederation, I have posted it here (look at me, all fancy using "Google documents" - nifty service). It's not as boring as it might sound, fyi - try it out. I probably shouldn't leave that paper up too long since I don't really want anyone using my work as their own in the future. So grab it now, this offer won't last long...! | ¶ 12:58 p.m.
So I've been doing the marathon lecture-watching of my political history class I'd mentioned. I have to say it again: it's really very interesting, history. Since this is a full-year class, we only make it up to the first world war this term, and the bulk of the semester is actually spent on the tumultuous years prior to and after Confederation.
I'm impressed with John A. Macdonald's ability to get British Columbia into Confederation so early (1871). As Dr. McDowall points out, at that time there wasn't even a railway going out West, only the early formation of a province called Manitoba, so British Columbia was far, FAR away. They had to send out exploratory expeditions to get a feel for the land and just how much of a challenge crossing the Rocky Mountains was actually going to be. Keep in mind that John A. ended up committing to the building of a railroad to BC within TEN years of them joining Confederation. This was around the same time that Sandford Fleming, the engineer he recruited to assess the terrain, was expressing serious pessimism about the feasibility of getting a railroad built. It was mighty ambitious (or foolhardy) of John A. to make such a promise.
Yesterday I picked up two of my graded term papers. I got B- in Public Affairs Analysis and B+ on my political history one. I'm pleased with those marks. If you are interested in reading my history paper, which was about the struggle for power between the provinces (mainly Ontario) and Ottawa just after Confederation, I have posted it here (look at me, all fancy using "Google documents" - nifty service). It's not as boring as it might sound, fyi - try it out. I probably shouldn't leave that paper up too long since I don't really want anyone using my work as their own in the future. So grab it now, this offer won't last long...! | ¶ 12:58 p.m.
