Following the Trail of Tears review, we read about Seminole resistance to the Indian Removal Act and the start of the Second Seminole War. We also read about the popular fashion accessory, beaver hats, which became so popular that it nearly wiped out the Eastern beaver population. As beaver hats grew less fashionable, some mountain men started farming in Oregon and this region became known as Oregon Country. We read about the Adams-Onis Treaty which added Florida to the US and defined Spanish-American borders. It also recognized the 42nd parallel as the southern boundary of Oregon territory. We concluded our session reading about the Oregon, Sante Fe and Mormon trails. Ben was familiar with the names of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the practice of polygamy, and reasons the Mormons fled to Utah.

Ben was very tired and was asleep during class today. I was informed that he was leaving early today for an appointment.

I shared a YouTube clip with Ben entitled, 'The Trail of Tears - They Knew it was Wrong,' which stated a historian's perspective that it shouldn't have happened. People at the time knew that it was wrong, that it was illegal, and that it was unconstitutional, but they did it anyway. In this video, historian Amy Sturgis explained why the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to "Indian Territory" (modern-day Oklahoma) was wrong on both moral and legal grounds. We discussed how the Trail of Tears provides lessons to us today and that we can't just look aside and ignore it as an example of something that was just part of the mid-19th century mindset. It is a story about how a group that had power gained at the expense of a minority unable to defend itself. As Ben has stated that he prefers hearing the 'real story' of events and not just the 'whitewashed version,' I shared this clip with him to address how the Trail of Tears set precedents we can only hope to avoid repeating. Ben was interested but stated he already agrees this perspective.

We studied for a test on the three branches of government. We came up with acronyms to remember the duties of the three branches and the bicameral Congress. We reviewed the minimum age, citizenship, and term limit requirements for members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Paige knew that there were 27 amendments and that the first 10 were the Bill of Rights.

Today's lesson examined how new technologies created affected different regions of the US differently. We discussed the most significant inventions, such as the cotton gin and the development of the Erie Canal, and later, railroads, which led to westward expansion in the South which, in turn, led to increased dependence on slavery. We saw that the Missouri Compromise divided the land from the Louisiana Purchase into separate regions defined by slavery and how slavery increasingly became an issue dividing the North and South. (a precursor to the Civil War). We then began a new chapter examining how the westward expansion pushed Indigenous people off their land and President Jackson's Indian Removal Act. We read about the policy of removing Indigenous people westward to what is now Oklahoma from 1830-1850, which forced the displacement of 60,000 people. To end our session, I showed Ben a video showing the truth behind the Trail of Tears. Ben said he appreciated seeing a clip that was not 'whitewashed.'

This morning, I had Ben read an article from the New York Historical Society entitled, 'A Landmark Court Case for Chinese Immigrants in the US.' It discussed how Chinese men who began immigrating to the US in search of work in the 1840's were subjected to harsh laws. We discussed the laws and regulations that specifically targeted the Chinese and were designed to make their lives expensive, difficult, and unpleasant, such as the 'Queue Ordinance,' also called the pigtail law, which required that prisoners in the city's jails have their hair cut to a length of one inch. To a Chinese man, this would mean disgrace and anguish, and resulted in a Supreme Court case which ultimately ruled in favor of a Chinese man who sought justice and was a victory for Chinese immigrants. Ben was interested in the article and actively engaged in discussion, supporting peoples' right to rebel if treated unfairly. It was an interesting and productive session.

Ben was extremely exhausted this morning and was asleep at his desk when I arrived at his room. We will resume the lesson I had planned when he is better prepared to work.

This morning, we covered how Thomas Jefferson became the third US president in the election of 1800, defeating John Adams but tying with Aaron Burr, and that the mess of trying to break the tie led to the twelfth amendment, which made the election of the president and vice president two separate ballots. We discussed how Jefferson fathered 6 children with a woman he had enslaved - a fact which Ben stated he already knew. We ended our session noting the central stances of the Democratic-Republican party that Jefferson emphasized, including limited government, with a 'laissez-faire' approach, and a focus on agriculture. 'Laissez faire' was today's subject-specific vocabulary term.

This morning, our lesson covered American expansion at the turn of the 19th century as more and more settlers moved west. We discussed how this led to rising tensions as indigenous peoples were forced off their land and the number of settlers skyrocketed.

Ben and I enjoyed an interesting exchange about world affairs and current events this morning as we eased into the new week following the Thanksgiving break. Ben freely shared his ideas about the Israel Hamas situation and was able to support his opinions with justifications rooted in fact. He shared that he respects and appreciates getting information from media sources that offer both sides of the story.