Traveling West

Hey everyone! Sorry about blog posts becoming really random, things are getting mixed up timewise here. Here's my latest paper.

Traveling West

One fine morning in February, 1835, in the city of Independence, Missouri, a family was walking down the street. The parents, Henry and Gloria Harrison, looked rather worried. Their two girls, Anna and Maria Harrison, were happily playing with each other. “I really do not like how crowded it is here, Gloria. I want to move out West. I hear that there is plenty of land, as well as plenty of animals to hunt.” “But Henry, I do not want to move out there with the wild animals.” The family walked home, the parents still discussing the possibility of moving west.

About a week later, the family again went to town, this time to stock up on the things necessary for the move west. They bought a new wagon to replace the old one that they had. They also bought many oxen to pull it. After transferring the belongings that they would take with them to the new wagon, they began buying more supplies. Flour, salt, dried fruit and vegetables, salted meat, ammunition, gunpowder, and tools all were purchased and placed in the wagon. The girls no longer looked happy, but were now sad and scared. They had to leave all of their favorite toys behind, as well as their furniture and their pet cats. 

 

Early the next morning, they left town to join a wagon train at the next town. Their wagon was filled to the brim, leaving no room for the family to ride. The road was hard dirt, which did not easily send dirt flying. However, the sun was hot, and they all became thirsty. It was late in the afternoon by the time they pulled into the area where the wagon train had camped for the night. Finding a spot in the circle, they set up the tents and went to sleep. The girls and their mother were dreaming of the home they had left behind, and their father was dreaming happily about the home they were traveling to.

After about two weeks of traveling, the roads became dirt trails. The wagons kicked up huge clouds of loose dirt, which made the people start coughing. The wagons only carried a small amount of water, which was carefully saved and given to the people who needed it the most. The train only traveled about twenty miles a day, sometimes twenty-five. 

 

Great was the joy of everyone when the fort came in sight! The leaders of the wagon train planned a week-long stay, giving everyone enough time to rest and restock on supplies. The Harrisons wandered around the fort, purchasing some supplies for the remainder of the journey. They also finally got to eat some fresh food again, which was a welcome change from the dried and salted foods they had been eating. There was also plenty of fresh water, which people used to refill the water barrels on the wagons. 

 

Once the week was over, the wagon train set out again, refreshed by the stop. Everything settled back into the dreary pattern of walking and sleeping, occasionally broken by a hunting party or stopping to gather vegetables along the road. Everyone was becoming tired of traveling, and a few people began debating turning back. 

 

In October, the wagon train reached the mountains. As they were crossing the trail between the mountains, Anna and Maria were able to look up and see all the snow on the peaks. It was beautiful, and the girls wanted to stop and try to climb to it, but the wagon train needed to continue as fast as possible in order to finish the journey before the snow came down. 

 

Finally, the wagon train reached the Oregon Territory! Everyone was extremely excited about having made it. After walking around the small town, which was where the wagon train had stopped, the Harrisons went to the small government office and purchased three hundred acres of land. They drove out to it and set up the tents, then wandered around the property near the wagon. They were quite happy to have their own land at last, and not be crowded by neighbors.

Within a week, they had built a little cabin and some furniture and were beginning to settle in. They would have to work hard to earn a living out there, and there were no stores where they could buy what they needed, but they were all content with where they were.

Influences on Nathaniel Hawthorne's Works

Here's what was supposed to be Saturday's post. I keep forgetting to actually post on Saturdays.

Influences on Nathaniel Hawthorne's Works

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a famous author from the early to mid 1800s. He was one of the leading writers of his time, and some of his books are still popular today. However, his writings were more on the side of dark and gloomy. There were multiple events in his life that influenced his writings.

His early life played a huge part in providing themes for his books. He was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, which was a Puritan community. Puritan Salem served as a basis for many of his books. The Scarlet Letter is a good example of that set of his books. Nathaniel wrote many other books of that type. In fact, most of his books are written with that theme.

His ancestry also affected his writing style. One of his great-grandfathers, John Hathorne, had been one of the judges during the Salem witch trials, and Nathaniel felt the guilt from that. The guilt on his mind shows up as a theme in many of his books, including The Scarlet Letter and The Minister's Black Veil. That guilt was probably a large influence on his using sin as his topic in numerous writings. Also, a number of his books are written using symbolism, showing what happens if sin is left undealt with, whether or not it is kept hidden. The Scarlet Letter is an extremely good example of this style. The House of the Seven Gables was another book that he wrote using symbolism. 

 

One extremely important lesson from The Scarlet Letter is that sin will show itself eventually, no matter how hard the person tries to hide it. The old saying “time will tell” is quite evident in this story. It is better to confess and take the punishment than to live knowing that you have sinned and not telling anyone, waiting until it is found out. 

 

Also, The Scarlet Letter shows the struggle with guilt. Anyone hiding sin will struggle with guilt. No mater how hard that person tries to ignore or get rid of it, the guilt will stay. The only way to release the burden of sin and guilt is to confess the sin and repent of it. 

 

In his later life, he worked at the Salem Custom-House. Near the end of his time there, while looking through an old storeroom, he found a scarlet letter “A” in a letter, which was buried deeply in some piles of old abandoned documents. That piece of cloth was a main influence on the book that is titled after it, and is one of the main pieces in the story. He and his family also lived in an old manse for several years, and the old house inspired him to write the book Mosses From an Old Manse. 

 

While serving as U.S. Consul in England, he had the chance to travel around Europe. He kept journals of his travels, and later published Passages From Notebooks, telling about his experiences. During his travels, he stayed in Rome, Italy, for a year. While there, he was inspired to write The Marble Faun. Several other themes that show up in his writings are nature and mankind. These themes were probably inspired and influenced by seeing the many different cultures and landscapes while traveling through Europe. 

 

A final experience that influenced him was living at Brook Farm, a Transcendentalist community, for about a year. The Blithedale Romance was a book that Nathaniel wrote about life there in the community. 

 

In conclusion, the reason that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote all of the dark and dreary books was because that was the life he knew. He had lived his whole life that way, and he did not want other people to also live such a dreary, dark, miserable life. The symbolism that he uses carries many lessons that would do this whole world much good if only the people would sit down and learn them.

Adams Family's Influence on America

Hey everyone! Sorry about the super late post, I've had a hectic schedule for the past week. I'll try not to forget about any more posts. Hope you enjoy this one!

Adams' Family Influence on America

The Adams family had a large influence on American history. For several generations, from John Adams down to Charles Francis Adams Junior, they all had a large part of building our country. Not all of them were presidents or Congressmen; some were simply journalists or ambassadors. High government positions or not, all of them had a part in shaping our country's history.

John Adams was the first of the Adams family to be mentioned in our country's history. He elected George Washington to be the Head of the Continental Army (such as it was). He was also among the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Once the Revolutionary War ended with Cornwallis surrendering in Charleston, Virginia, he went to England to assist in peace negotiations and help develop the Treaty of Paris. He also served as an American ambassador to several countries. He finished his political career by serving two terms as President of the United States.

Abigail Adams, who was the wife of President John Adams, acted as his trusted adviser throughout their marriage. She pressed for women's rights, as well as more educational opportunities for people. Because she believed that slavery was wrong, she also wrote extremely long letters to influential people, her husband among them, asking that slavery be banned and the slaves be released and treated as normal American citizens.

John Quincy Adams was the son of John and Abigail Adams, and one of several children. He worked as his father's personal secretary while on ambassadorships, and later became an ambassador himself. He served in the Massachusetts senate, and also served as both representative and senator for Massachusetts in the United States Congress. When the War of 1812 was being ended, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent. Later, after Monroe finished his two presidential terms, John Quincy Adams became the sixth president of America for one term.

Charles Francis Adams Senior was the son of President John Quincy Adams. He was the United States minister to England, and served in both the Massachusetts state senate and house of representatives. He also served in Congress both as a representative and as senator for Massachusetts.

Charles Francis Adams Junior was the son of Charles Francis Adams Senior. He served as a soldier on the Union side during the Civil War. After the war, when the transcontinental railroad was being built, he served as a commissioner for the railroad, and later became the president of the railroad board.

Henry Adams was the brother of Charles Francis Adams Junior. He served as his father's private secretary while an ambassador to England. He was a political journalist, and also had the job of editor for one of the most influential journalist newspapers in America at that time. He entertained government officials and foreign visitors, and visited many political figures. Eventually, he retired from politics, having seen enough of it, and settled down to teach history. 

 

In conclusion, the Adams family has been one of the most influential families in the history of America. For four generations, this family of leaders has been building our country up bit by bit. From presidents and Congressmen, to ambassadors, to journalists and secretaries, the Adams family has been a famous and well-remembered part of our country's history.

Creation vs Evolution (Part 7)

Hey everyone! Here's part 7 of the creation vs evolution series. Hope you enjoy!!

The Debate About Molecular Machines

Living things contain natural molecular machines that are made of many tiny proteins. These machines have parts that are similar to parts in man-made machines and that form a complex system. A bacterial motor is an example of a molecular machine. It has 10 protein parts for the sensor, 10 protein parts for the control circuitry, and 10 protein parts to construct the motor. These proteins form parts such as rotors, stators, drive shafts, O-rings, and bushings. All of these proteins form a complex system that has multiple, separate, well-matched parts that work together for a special function. A bacterial motor is also irreducibly complex, which means each piece must be present and fully functional in order for the system to work. 

 

Opponents of evolution claim that the presence of molecular machines contradicts the idea of natural selection through mutation. The characteristics of natural selection and the characteristics of molecular machines are very different. Natural selection makes gradual changes, but molecular machines must be fully formed in order to work. Also, natural selection preserves small advantageous changes, but a small piece of a molecular machine would not provide an advantage, and therefore would not be preserved. 
 

The evolutionists attempt to explain molecular machines with an idea that they call co-option, which involves the use of previously existing parts to build a new machine. Those parts must be chosen, collected, recombined, and reassembled. The evolutionists claim that natural selection could build a complex structure by co-opting pieces of simpler machines. They point out that the cellular pump includes 10 proteins that are also found in the bacterial motor, and that protein parts can have multiple uses. Evolutionists conclude that since protein parts have multiple uses, natural selection could assemble a more complex machine from parts of simpler machines. 

 

Opponents of evolution point out 3 problems with the theory of co-option. The first problem is that the random process of natural selection has limits. There is no known way for a random process to co-opt pieces without breaking the vital, previously existing system. There is also no known way for a random process to guarantee that the randomly chosen pieces will fit together well enough to work properly. 

 

The second problem is with the pump-to-motor example. The motor proteins seem to be older than the pump, which means that the motor proteins could not have been taken from the pump. Also, the motor has 20 proteins that are not similar to any proteins in the pump or proteins in anything else, which means that those 20 proteins could not have been co-opted from something else. 

 

The final problem is with the requirements for assembling proteins. The bacteria would not only have to have genes to make the protein parts of the motor, but would also need information to tell how to put the proteins together. Another requirement is an irreducibly complex machine to assemble the proteins. In trying to explain where one complex machine came from, the evolutionists need to introduce another complex machine. However, explaining the origin of one machine with another does not sufficiently explain the origin of machines. Looking at all of the evidence against the evolutionists' theory of co-option, opponents conclude that it does not sufficiently explain how molecular machines can be developed through natural selection.