The+Immigration+Experience+(Part+2)

=** The Underground Railroad **=

**Coming to Canada**
 * Upper Canada became refuge for black American slaves fleeing the slavers[[image:http://www.blackbusinessbuilders.com/undergroundrailroad.jpg width="183" height="139" align="right" link="@http://msualumni.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/runaway-slaves-on-underground-railroad.jpg"]]
 * They traveled secretly through a network of trails “Underground Railroad”
 * Housed secretly in anti-slave homes (usually owned by Quakers or Methodists who thought slavery is a sin against God and humankind)
 * Harriet Tubman, a black activist, helped hundreds escape this way
 * Underground Railroad was risky: if caught severe punishments from slave masters
 * Many black communities founded in Upper Canada by escaped slaves

**Black Communities**
 * Few found acceptance in Canada
 * No representation in Government for more than 100 years
 * Lived as communities within communities
 * Many moved into the remote lands in Upper Canada and joined the pioneers
 * Soon there were Black Communities in every Colony of British North America
 * Those who came during Loyalist wave of immigration settle in Maritimes
 * Many blacks are of Maritimers descent
 * In British Columbia there were several black communities (ex: Salt spring Island)
 * Many wanted to return to native Africa


 * Women in **** Upper Canada **

**Women’s Position in Society**
 * A women’s place was determined by their class and the success of their husbands since they didn’t own property or work outside the home
 * All women were expected to marry
 * Spinsters (singles) were pitied because they must rely on the support of relatives
 * It was assumed that women idolized their husbands

**Responsibilities**
 * Hard work and long hours are the norm
 * Even upper-class women helped with the daily chores
 * Women worked together regardless of class to clear forests, and etc; this helped break some social barriers
 * Responsibilities: household jobs, housework, planting, harvesting, preserving harvest, candle and soap making
 * Were expected to have large families so that children may help with the work

**Childbirth**
 * Childbirth was hazardous due to the shortage of medical care and poor hygiene
 * Overcrowding and poor sanitation in small cabins made it worse for poor women who could not afford the midwives or servants like upper class women can

Check your understanding:

What was the "Underground Railway"? What was the name of a black activist who helped hundreds of slaves escape? What were the issues with black communities? What were hardships women faced in Upper Canada? Inferencing: Which kind (ethnicity/gender) of person would have the easiest time in Upper Canada?

How have the rights of ethnic minorities changed over the last 100 years? (From then till now.)

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