Naiya I.

Dorchester, New Brunswick

Anglophone East Regional Heritage Fair (Hopewell Cape)

Mothers of Confederation

My project is about how women's participation in Confederation may not have been direct but was still very important. Without their contribution we may not know what had happened behind the scenes during Confederation.

 

 

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

One of the most interesting things that I researched in my project was that there were many more women involved than we know about . Some people thought women's opinions were not important so they never really recorded women's thoughts. I wonder what information we would have about the women's insights if there were women's rights at that time.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

Even though the women were not allowed a political voice they were involved in Confederation in many different ways. I found it very interesting that some of the women clearly understood the importance of there role behind the scenes and how some women made a contribution to confederation without knowing. I learned that some small things can make big differences.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

The lives of women at the time of Confederation were very different than the lives of women today. Some women wrote letters, journals and diaries . I write in a journal every day and communicate with family members through letters. Also, there were few women's rights at the time of Confederation but there are more women's rights today.