INDEPENDENCE

DESCRIPTION: The picture

which was created in 1872
during which Manifest
Destiny was a belief in
America the title American
progress shows the idea of
Manifest destiny, the
development and the
civilization of the American
West. In the left side
foreground an ox on the hill
can be found. Behind it, there
are 4 white men. One of
them is on a horse and
another one has a shovel in
his hands. Their clothes look
like clothes being worn in the
16th and 17th centuries. They have long boots, trousers with shoulder straps, full shirts and of
course hats. The horse looks like a thoroughbred with brown feathers. On the right side of
the picture there are 2 other white people who cultivate with the oxen. One of these guys
takes care of the oxen and the other one tussles with the hoe. Apart from the oxen and the
horse there’s a deer in the foreground, which looks like it runs away from people. Behind
these people, near the road there’s a house that is surrounded by a number of trees. This is
a sign of settlement. When we look to the other side of the road, to the background; we can
see that there are some natives running away with their horses on the left side of the
picture. These people have their traditional clothes and Indian hats like they always do.
Further back there are people with carriages. The painting serves as an allegory for Manifest
Destiny and American westward expansion. The woman in the center is called "Progress",
and on her head is "The Star of the Empire". Progress moves from the light-skied east to the
dark and treacherous West, leading white settlers who follow her either on foot or by
stagecoach, horseback, Conestoga wagon, wagon train, or riding steam trains. Progress lays
a telegraph wire with one hand and carries a school book in the other. As she moves
westward, indigenous people and a herd of buffalo are seen fleeing her and the settlers.

ANALYZE: The painting is set on an American landscape, with the right half of the painting
representing eastern America, and the left half of the painting representing western
America. The first thing to notice about the painting is the variations in light seen when
comparing the east and the west. The rightmost edge of the painting is bright, but as the
painting shifts left it begins to grow darker, with the furthest left edge being marked by a
foreboding sky adorned with storm clouds. Similarly, the gentle rolling hills of the east give
way to jagged mountains as the painting moves left into the west. From these landscape
features alone, the idea that the East is warm and welcoming is created, while the West is
dark and ominous. The next thing to notice is the dominating figure in the middle of the
painting. The figure is a woman who resembles an angel, and the light aforementioned
clearly exudes from her. She appears to be moving westwards, illuminating the way as she
goes. The painting features covered wagons, then stagecoaches, then trains, all moving
west. This presents the idea of technological advancement being brought further West as
American folk continue to settle the frontier, a thought which was very widespread at the
time. The opinions people shared about American Indians in the nineteenth century played a
significant role in the perspective people took regarding the Indians’ inclusion in the image.
In the nineteenth century Indians were thought of as mere savages, and driving them out of
an area of land may have been considered an example of cleansing in some American’s eyes.
Looking at “American Progress” today, however, one can’t help but feel sympathy for the
Indians shown fleeing on the left side of the painting. Rather than coming across as savages
fleeing from the progress settlers were bringing with them, they appear to be troubled
people fleeing in a desperate attempt to maintain the way of life they were accustomed to.
Similarly, the farmers depicted at the bottom of the painting may be viewed in a negative
light today as well. Rather than being brave individuals taming the land, they might instead
be viewed as selfish individuals destroying the habitat and forcing animals out of their
natural homes.

COMMENT: In my opinion, this picture illustrates the westward expansion in a very clear and
concrete way. The symbols and allegories such as the bright eastern side and darker western
side, natives running away from the bright eastern side to the western side, white people
cultivating in their farms, the woman in the middle with the cables moving to the west,
present a clear picture of the expansion and makes it easier to understand the Manifest
Destiny.