In the early 19th century, many women showed their support for the temperance movement because of the dangerous effect alcohol had on society and on their husbands. In 1848, women, such as Lucretia Mott & Elizabeth Cady Stanton, worked together to organize the Seneca Falls Convention. They signed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document mirroring the Declaration of Independence, outlining women's equality issues. When the inclusion of a woman's right to vote was made in the Declaration of Sentiments, it lost many supporters. Opponents believed that women did not have the knowledge needed in order to vote, and instead belonged in the domestic sphere, out of the reach of politics. However, the convention mobilized women across the country to stand up for equality. It encouraged women to vote, work outside the home, and gain an education, aside from the traditional domestic duties they were accustomed to. Other important women, such as Susan B. Anthony, joined the fight in 1850, traveling the country to let their messages be heard. Sojourner Truth spoke up for women of color across the nation. These important women's actions & their organization of the Seneca Falls Convention paved the way for the 19th amendment to be passed in 1920.

To get a sense of the western expansion, we discussed the journey made by pioneers and the impact of expansion/annexation on indigenous residents of the land. A tragically famed pioneering tale is that of the Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party. It was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Today, the "Donner Pass" on interstate 80 just east of Sacramento, CA is named for them.

During today's classes, we continued working on Aufbau's Principle. Jaydn completed several practices.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that God had destined the United States to extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The idea that the United States should span the North American continent was not new. The idea led President Thomas Jefferson to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France before sending Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery on their famous expedition. The term Manifest Destiny was new, however. The journalist John O'Sullivan first used this term in an 1845 article in which he advocated for the annexation of Texas. We spent time analyzing the famed painting "American Progress" in an 1872 painting by John Gast.

During today's Geometry class, we worked on defining some of the basic concepts of geometry.

We initially addressed how to use the "end notes" at the back of our edition to provide historical context and some definitions. After I defined the terms "atavism" and" primordial", I discussed these concepts as manifested in the novel. In this regard, we then explored how people has trained and bred the natural instincts from domestic dogs and cats and considered what the animal gains and loses from domesticity. Jaydn participated actively in this exchange of ideas. Next, I provided instruction on the genre of "Naturalism". We read through the first pages of the novel and located examples of the Naturalist genre as manifested in Buck's being kidnapped and sold as a consequence of environmental factors beyond his control.

Beginning in 1836, the first wagon train made its journey over the 2,000-mile expanse of N. American wilderness from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. Travelers crossed hundreds of miles of plains in Kansas and Nebraska before reaching the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, then dropping down into the valleys of Idaho, and crossing into the Blue Mountains in Oregon. The promise of free land due to the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a huge draw for many families, though the decision to move west did not come without consequences. The journey was often arduous and cost many people their lives. Thousands of Native Americans were displaced when Europeans used the concept of Manifest Destiny paired with force and often violence to take the land. In all, somewhere around 400,000 people used the Overland Trails to emigrate to the West. Others used similar routes such as the California Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, or the Mormon Trail to make homes for themselves in various settlements along the way. Westward expansion caused the US to look the way it does today and would not have been possible without the Oregon Trail.

During today's Chemistry class, we studied how to list the total number of electrons needed to fully occupy each main energy level. We also stated the Aufbau principle.

During today's class, we listed the four quantum numbers and described their significance. We also related the number of sublevels corresponding to each of an atom's main energy levels, the number of orbitals per sublevel, and the number of orbitals per main energy level.

During this Geometry class, we introduced the class and talked about the resources that we will be using and how the class will be divided. We started working on the introductory chapter.