Summary Of American Progress By John Gast

During the nineteenth century “manifest destiny” was the mindset of many people. This was all in the idea of expanding the country and many believe it was God’s plan for them to move to the west coast to establish, they said god gave them the right to do so. “American Progress” was a painting created by John Gast based on Brooklyn, New York America. It was a chromolithograph; 37.6 x 49 cm. It was used to persuade many others that the idea of manifest destiny was what was best for the country and themselves. The painting also contains a lot of meaning about this time of the country.
Many paintings were mad as advertisement and published all over to help encourage others to make their own move to the plains. This included telling stories of people
They were viewed as savages and not fit for society. Not only that but some said they were not using the land to its best purpose. Driving them out of their homes and land during this time period was thought of as the best thing to do for the country to most Americans. So the left hand corner of the painting probably made them feel powerful and safe now that they took over their homeland. Now in the twenty-first century most people feel an understanding to them. When viewing the Indians running away we picture them scared and running away so they could stay safe. So the angel to some could represent the idea of America’s expansion, and the displacement of Indian tribes and including the Buffalo.
Many people would be persuaded to move west for many different reasons. One just the thought of exploration and starting a new life. There wasn’t anything in the west yet, but, it left a very large opportunity to start something new and big. Also you can see in the painting a man carrying a shovel or some type of tool. In 1848 gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Soon what is known as the Gold Rush was happening. So this image in the painting could symbolize the young men at the time rushing west to dig for