The painting “American Progress” by John Gast came to symbolize America’s role on the world stage by the end of the 19th century. The painting has come to symbolize the expansion as well as national destiny. In this painting, one sees the woman “Columbia” moving westward carrying a school book and stringing telegraph wires as she moves westward. This symbolizes the “conquest” of the United States onwards to the Pacific Ocean – one sees the Native Americans bowed as they too move westward to avoid the onslaught of the White man. Columbia is stringing telegraph wires, and this can be interpreted to mean that the White man is bringing technology and new transportation and other inventions to help make living easier and more convenient. The school book in the hands of Columbia means that the White man has come to “educate” all the “primitive” races living in the Western section of the country as the White man begins to occupy their territories. The new Americans are justified in taking the Western lands from the Hispanics and the Native Americans as it is also their destiny. It is their destiny to “teach” these individuals about culture and religion.
In this painting, the “mythic” West is portrayed as the land of uncouth and uncultured savages. One sees the Native Americans riding horses, whereas the White man is seen riding more modern forms of transportation such as the stagecoach and the train. Also, as the Native American is moving westward, he seems to be moving into a column of shadows and smoke – a dark hue is painted on them. The path taken by Columbia is bathed in light, meaning that her presence and her gifts have provided “enlightenment “ to those conquered by the Whites men. However, historical records will show that the Native Americans had their own culture and ways when the White men came to take their lands and claim them as their own. Another difference is that the mythic West has been portrayed as clean and pristine even with the presence of White men, when the construction of railroads, mining, oil mining and other activities have actually been known to cause environmental destruction in the West even then (Hauslader, 2003, 144-146).
The ideology of Manifest Destiny certainly propelled the leadership of the United States such that it drove the expansion policy of the country not only westward to the Pacific Ocean but onward across the seas. After the Spanish-American War, the United States acquired as its territories the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Clearly the perception of the United States was that the cultures of the people living in these countries were too “savage”, and that the country’s presence in these parts would bring “enlightenment” to these people – they would become more “educated” and more “couth”. Manifest Destiny also drove the United States to do what it needed to do in order to become a political and economic superpower across the globe. Thus the country needed new territories that would become sources of natural resources and manpower, and thus the opportunity to take the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico presented the Americans with the chance to evolve into a superpower (Miller, 120). Manifest Destiny therefore served as “divine sanction” for the United States to occupy as much territories as it can.
Works Cited
Miller, Robert. (2006). Native America, Discovered And Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, And Manifest Destiny. Greenwood. p. 120.
Hauslader, Gary. (2003). Western Places, American Myths: How We Think About the West. Geographical Review, 93 (1): 144-146.
