Was John Gast's 1872 Painting, The American Progress, A Fraud?

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Was John Gast’s 1872 painting, the “American Progress”, a Fraud? It was supposedly meant to show how much the whites from Europe had done for the progress of the American continent and depict all that they were bringing to the new continent. It shows ships, trains, horse pulled carriages and even ox drawn ploughs. However a lot more can be deciphered from the painting as to how the whites from Europe perceived and related to the land and its people. 1. The Large maiden in white and carrying a book in one hand and telephone wire in the other signifies that the whites thought themselves greater than the natives and were not only peaceful but came to bring technology and literacy to the natives. 2. The painting being dark and cloudy where the

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