In the mid 1800’s the United States was rapidly expanding westward. Territory had not been developed in the western half of the continent, and as the population grew, people wanted to move to where they could own land. The growth railroads, including railroads that spanned the entire Continental United States, helped accelerate this movement. However, there multiple Native American tribes had territory out west. As the population expanded westward, the Native Americans were pushed further and further. Eventually the Native American tribes were largely relegated to specific reservations. This was partly due to racism toward Native Americans that was present at the time. As these events occurred, artists created paintings depicting expansion, …show more content…
It was created in 1861, as the move west was starting to get into full swing. The first thing we can draw from this is the ethnocentrism displayed in the title. The title indicates that it is the duty of the Empire, meaning the United States of America, to take the land out west. By expanding from coast to coast, the United States was fulfilling the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. The painting itself shows multitudes of famous figures and settlers that have helped with expansion in the United States. They are shown traversing mountains and triumphing as they made way west. A few settlers are pointing to the left of the painting, toward what we can only assume is west, as if leading the way. At the bottom of the painting is a sea or lake with two land masses on either side. I take this to mean “from sea to shining sea”, part of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. One thing that appears absent from this piece are Native Americans. It seems to focus more on the romanticization of expansionism, rather than the reality. Other paintings romanticized expansion of the United States as …show more content…
This painting, created in 1872, portrays different periods of expansion and technological improvement as the frontier line moved west. You can see the some of the themes that were displayed in paintings about the so-called “empire” of the United States. The painting spans from the east coast, and what appears to be New York City, to the unexplored west coast, inhabited by “savages”. This, and the angel displayed at the center of the painting, represent Manifest Destiny. The idea that the Native Americans were “savages” is indicated by the sun rising in the east, in territory already belonging to the United States, and the darkness in the west. This light can be construed as “Civilization bringing the light to the American West”. The angel in the center of the painting is also holding a book, titled “School Book”. We could take this to mean that Americans believe they are more educated than the Native Americans, and are bringing education with them westward. We can also see that the expansion westward displayed in this painting is causing the Native Americans and wildlife to be fearful and attempt to run away. Included here are deer, bears, and most importantly buffalo. The buffalo were important to the Native American way of life, as they provided not only food, but also utility. By taking the land of the Native Americans, and destroying their main source of food, resentment
Another example of how art represented in the Native North America exhibit is a painting by David Paul Bradley, a Chippewa artist, titled Greasy Grass Premonition #2. It depicts a scene from the Battle of Little Bighorn, but the tombstone explains that Native Americans know it as the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek. By providing that information for the audience, the MFA is allowing them a glimpse into the minds of Native Americans and their culture instead of presenting it as another example of Western bias.
These particular journeys would be featured as a two part series on the victims of manifest destiny. The beginning part of the first episode should discuss the theory of manifest destiny, opening with George Berkeley’s “Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America.” The last two lines of the poem should be emphasized as it discusses “…Westward the course of empire takes its way. The first four Acts already past, a fifth shall close the Drama with the day; time 's noblest offspring is the last.” This particular poem inspired Americans to claim land westward, as well as different painters to depict such action such as: Thomas Cole and Emmanuel Leutze. Leutze painted a picture with the title “Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way.” This poem also depicts America as the last great civilization. It also reflects the ideas of the people during this time period. This idea Americans starting to move westward was depicted in the painting by Leutze. The painting ...
The ,Adoption of the Human Race, induce an intense feeling of sadness ,despair and possibly a glimmer of optimism. The pain of a nation radiates from the painting but the belief that a supreme spirit continues to keep his nation safe from the perils of the world. The great spirit chief desperately tries to keep his great nation from suffering ,but the people are becoming disconnected. The disconnection can be interred because the chief fingers aren't interlaced .
The time of westward expansion was filled of hardships and challenges for the citizens of America. They left their homes at their own will to help make life better for themselves, and would letter recognize how they helped our country expand. The people of the Oregon trail risked their lives to help better their lives and expand and improve the country of America. However, no reward comes without work, and the emigrants of the Oregon Trail definitely had it cut out for them. They faced challenges tougher than anyone elses during the time of westward expansion.The Emigrants of the Oregon trail had the the most difficult time surviving and thriving in the west because of environmental difficulties, illness abundance, and accident occurrence.
The majority of us Americans know some basic things about how our nation came to be. We came from our mother country, Europe, and took over the native’s land. However, did the Native Americans have a fighting chance against the English?
The Manifest Destiny was a progressive movement starting in the 1840's. John O'Sullivan, a democratic leader, named the movement in 1845. Manifest Destiny meant that westward expansion was America's destiny. The land that was added to the U.S. after 1840 (the start of Manifest Destiny) includes The Texas Annexation (1845), The Oregon Country (1846), The Mexican Cession (1848), The Gadsden Purchase (1853), Alaska (1867), and Hawaii (1898). Although this movement would take several years to accomplish fully, things started changing before we knew it. New technology took off right away!
How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.
At the time Andrew Jackson was president, there was a fast growing population and a desire for more land. Because of this, expansion was inevitable. To the west, many native Indian tribes were settled. Andrew Jackson spent a good deal of his presidency dealing with the removal of the Indians in western land. Throughout the 1800’s, westward expansion harmed the natives, was an invasion of their land, which led to war and tension between the natives and America, specifically the Cherokee Nation.
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us?
The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worse. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture. Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them.
Before the topic of westward expansion is further touched upon the time period must be recognized. During the mid 1840’s settlers from the U.S began travelling west after the Louisiana purchase in 1803. Americans continued to travel westward
Native American art was not created solely for its aesthetics it was integrated in other aspects of culture, it represented the values and events of the tribe, while providing basic needs such as shelter. Because of it’s vital role in all aspects of tribal culture, Native American art not only exhibits the diversity of the American Indians, but also their unique natural environments.
Griffith’s painting gives me a warm feeling of remembrance from seeing all of the characters. They’ve all been seen as people to define the way America is. Each of our iconic poster boys siding with America against what is portrayed as wrong. Griffith uses the Battle of Yorktown as a template to showcase the people we side with and are against in modern times.
The art of the American West has long been honored in the states whose history it records, but it hasn’t always been accepted in the larger art world. Thirty years ago, it was often seen as an out of touch genre, fed by a love of nostalgia and history. Today, it is slowly entering museums across the U.S. and the great works of the American Western artists are being recognized. Charles M. Russell was truly an artist of the American West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the western United States. Of Russell’s paintings, a large number of them depict Indians hunting buffalo. His painting, Spearing A Buffalo, finished in 1925, was one of the last pieces he completed. This piece, for Charles M. Russell, is unique because the theme of the painting is, of course, western and depicts an Indian spearing a buffalo as the main subject. However, the style strays away from what Russell typically does, which is more naturalistic, and demonstrates techniques used in impressionistic works. Spearing A Buffalo was a painting that honored the history of the “wild west” and, at the same time, hooked the larger art world with its new and diverse style of
When this painting was commissioned, The Indian Removal Act of 1830 had previously forced many Indians from their homelands (Keene, Cornell and O'Donnell 2013, 235) which had created feelings of dissension between Americans and Indians (Keene, Cornell and O'Donnell 2013, 236). During the late 1830’s and early 1840’s, America was once again growing westward and encountering Indian resistance (Keene, Cornell and O'Donnell 2013, 322).