John Gast American Progress Analysis

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Recommended: America's Westward Expansion

American Progress was painted by John Gast in 1872. It was produced on commission for George Crofutt - the publisher of a popular series of western travel guides; when manifest destiny was a prevalent belief in the United States. The painting is a secondary source of information, since it was painted by an artist who had never even left Brooklyn, New York. For this reason, the reliability can be questioned. The painting American Progress (1872), shows the beauty of the country’s expansion, along with the peaceful movement of the country spreading west. The contrast between the east, as a light place and the west as dark, shows the hope that is waiting for them. The angelic figure of Lady Liberty, gliding above them showing them the way, with this she brings communication advancement and education. She is an unstoppable force. Just like America’s destiny to expand. The simple Indian travois …show more content…

The native Americans are on the left side of the painting, shown as wild uncivilized groups, that are running away from the whites.It shows that the American expansion was a peaceful movement, evidence of this is shown via the lack of weapons in the pictured scene. Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans were destined to rule the continent. John Gast justified Manifest Destiny by using symbolism and imagery to show the west as uncivilized and wild, that the Americans must dominate. The perspective he gives on Manifest Destiny was that the west was given to the Americans to settle, but the west belonged to the Native Americans; who had lived there for a thousand of years until the settlers came and took their land. Manifest Destiny is a wrong view of westward expansion, as it justified the conquering of the west and the destruction as a way of life. The reality – the expansion was not peaceful as John Gast shows in his painting, it was full of fighting, killing and

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