The painting called “American Progress” first saw the world in 1872. This work of John Gast is very popular in the United States. Even though very few people had an opportunity to see the original of the painting, everyone is familiar with it because this masterpiece is often used as a poster and studied in various schools and colleges because it represents multiple details of the American history and its specific development.
The painting was mainly designed as a visual means of propaganda of the belief that the American settlers had a manifest destiny. This concept was widely used to justify expansionism. The painting is a detailed representation of the American history. For example, there are a pony express and covered wagon, together with the farmers and settlers they follow the group of explorers, who come after the indigenous people. All of the people depicted in the painting are males; the only female there stands out a lot.
It is not hard to guess what she represents, she is dressed as a muse or a Greek goddess, the has a book, the symbol of education and enlightenment, in one hand and helps to spread the telegraph wires, the symbol of connection and technological progress, with the other hand. This woman is the American progress.
All of the figures in the painting are moving from the east to the west. Basically, this movement represents the unification of the Eastern and the Western states of the country. West is depicted as the least developed and the wildest area. To support this assumption the painter added the images of wild animals that are running away from the progress. One more group of runners from the progress is represented by the Native Americans.
The painting is an excellent example of the American manifest destiny belief that basically was used to view the American imperialism and expansion outside of the boarders as a noble movement helping the more advanced nation to carry progress, enlightenment, liberty and prosperity to the rest of the continent.
The idea of manifest destiny for the American nation was based on the assumption that the Americans knew some kind of a secret ingredient of ultimate success, development, freedom and happiness. The supporters of the manifest destiny concept arrogantly believed that they must introduce other nations to “the better life” and that the progress was supposed to be forced on people in case they rejected it.
The painting represents the myth of the Wild West that had to be tamed and conquered, mythical West in the painting is dark and filled with beasts and “savage” people, while in reality many indigenous people stated that their West started to be wild as soon as the new comers arrived. The mythical West is opposed to the enlightened East, in the painting east is the part where the sunlight comes from, the east is shown as the source of knowledge and progress.
John Gast’s representation of the understanding of the situation in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century is very one-sided and specifically narrow. His artwork creates a confrontation and contrast between the eastern and the western people and lifestyles in the United States of that time. Gast favors the Eastern approach, the concept of manifest destiny and the arrogant belief that American imperialism was nothing but an attempt to bring happiness to the less fortunate.