In john gast’s painting american progress, what is symbolized by the changing sky?

Chris Breving says:

This paintings main idea is the American people’s push west. In the painting, there are many people that are moving west not for the same reason. Those people who are in large wagons that look like they are from the Oregon Trail game are families that start a new life out west. The men seen in the front of the painting, holding pix axes and shovels, are few of many people looking for gold. Then there are the mail runners, and railroads following the move west for economic and expansion reasons. The largest idea in this painting is also represented by the biggest object: the large woman. The angelic looking woman represents the idea of Manifest Destiny and that the United States is meant to expand, and one can notice while the American people move west, the Indians are moving further west. Another theme in this painting is the light and dark; the light represents where the American people have settled and thrived, while the dark is the unknown and unsettled.

veronica root says:

The “American Progress” shows the process of the people’s push to the west for a better life, more land, and new opportunity- manifest destiny. In the painting, there are farmers, American Indians, trains, boats, miners, and civilized families, all making their way to a new life full of change. The group of farmers are hopeful for rich land to gain cheap and start quickly. Although there were current tribes living west, American Indians after being pushed off of their land by some of the colonies spread further that way as well. New railroads are put in place for the fast transportation of goods and people. Spreading west, new waters are found and can be used for foreign trade and wars at sea. They may not have known yet, but the west was a gold mine with some of the richest lands. Miners spread this way in the hope of new findings. Families followed the crowd in hope of more land for their family and getting away from crowded areas in the east. Last but not least- the large angelic woman. This woman portrays a leading figure showing the American people to their dream of expansion and prosperous living.

Khai says:

The painting “American Progress” by John Gast, which was commissioned by George Crofutt in 1872, displayed the reality of American westward voyage in the mid 19th Century. By the middle of the 19th Century, Americans were granted the divine mission to expand and civilize the primitive western lands. Hundreds of thousands of people, under the name of modernization, advanced to the West to seek for new opportunities, bringing with them the traces of the civilized East. In “American Progress”, the blonde, charming lady dressed in a diaphanous gown was the Progress. She hovered above all the crowds, holding a common book, which represented her seraphic role as a missionary coming to christianize those savage western people. On the other hand, she was holding a telegraph wire, a symbol for the development of communication of the East. On her head was a crown called “the Star of the Empire”, which symbolized the immense power that Americans were possessing. Behind her, on the eastern side of the picture, the sky appeared in light, fair pigment, which displayed the enlightenment idea of logic and modernization. Moving westward, the sky was engulfed in a dard, sorrow, gloomy hue, which demonstrates the land of uncertainty, of uncivilization. On the ground, people are moving from east, the modern land, to the west, the barbarian land with solid, powerful steps. People travelled by stagecoach, horseback, wagon, steam trains, and so on. Those are all the innovative machines of the 19th century, a representation for the prosperity and strength of Americans. On the western side, indigenous Indians fled in extreme fright, trying to escape the blades of civilization. These people looked miserable, running on foot, somes had horses, yet, in general, they were covered in dust and mud. The dream of expansion and development was depicted thoroughly through these movements. All of them were led by the advancement of the charming woman “Progress”.

Nicole Comte says:

Manifest Destiny is the main idea this painting is depicting. Manifest Destiny was the idea that white Americans were destined to expand and settle across the entirety of North America. Embodying the idea of Manifest Destiny in the painting is a goddess. She is dressed all in white and seems to be leading people from east to west, bringing light as she moves. This seems to justify the Westward expansion of whites, and portray it under a positive light. If observed closely, boats are seen on the right corner (east) of the painting, and as one move’s left, railroads can be observed following wagons, and then farmers. This represents the spread of civilization, with that of the east being a much more developed area than the west. Along with the belief that white people had the inherent right and duty to move west, there are many specific reasons as to why people decided to move to this new territory. The wagons that can be seen moving west show the many families in search for new opportunities. There are farmers, who are benefiting from this new land, and men with shovels and pickaxes that are probably moving with the hope of finding gold. Behind them, there are railroads, telephone poles, and ships. These represent the spread of industrialization; how agrarian societies are all slowly going to become industrial societies. Ahead of the goddess, on the far left of the painting, there is darkness. Amongst the darkness there are men with spears, many of them on horses. These can be said to be Native Americans and they seem to be running away from something; westward expansion of whites resulted in Indians being pushed farther west as their land was being taken over.

Yuki Xi says:

Wherever the goddess went, there was light. In this painting, the setting is on a valley and the goddess is in the center. The left side, the dark side means places that haven’t developed yet, people are still hunters and gatherers, new technologies haven’t been injected. The goddess is about to make the left side develop and lighter. The human figures in the left corner are celebrating the appearance of the goddess to their sides. The right side, however, is fully developed, there is a canal, ships, trains, lights, after the appearance of the goddess, it becomes a real society. The author of the painting may think the American expansion is actually helping undeveloped areas to develop modern techniques. Additionally, the goddess is holding the wires on the right side and trying to take them and lighting the left side, which also portrays the willingness of the goddess to spread the wish to develop around all areas.

Sandy Xu says:

I think the godlike woman in the middle looks like the whole of America in general. On the left part of the painting, there are a lot of dark clouds which means there are so many unknowns and misunderstanding toward the west. A lot of newer immigrants and white people from the east are moving to the west to discover more land and mines. There are Indians and white people in the picture which foreshadows the conflicts of the white and Indian people in the west. There are railroads and ships which represent the great result of industrialization. They are all moving to the new lives which are what they are chasing for. There are more possible chances for people to do trade and mines for the sake of people. The Indians are being pushed away from their land and every and each one of the white male American look pretty satisfied and motivated. The animals are moving away from the people which foreshadows there will be more lands for people but also in another way less land for the forests and animals.

Adrianna Snoddy says:

In this painting, you can see the families/prospectors leaving the light side of the landscape towards a dark, stormy landscape along with the angelic woman. The woman in the painting is the human form of the westward expansion. If you look closely, she is holding the electrical wires, which is creating the telegraph poles. As she moves more west, the buffalo and Indians run away as the settlers follow her west. She is the ” American Progress”. The doom that the left side of the painting holds is the treachery of moving west that the prospectors and settlers are sure to face. It also imitates the fear of the settlers of the unknown future. However, the angel shows no fear as her conquests move on. The artist uses the light and dark aspects in the painting to imitate the fear and insecurities of the settlers about the future. The light shows the land that the settlers had made their own and shown as safe. However, when moving towards the dark side, it shows the fear the settlers hold about the unknown and distant future. The artist tried to show how the future can hold danger and fear, yet the past can hold security and progress to the settlers. That’s why they kept marching on.

Jenny Jiang says:

“American Progress” describes the era of America in the progressive movement from the New World to the Manifest Destiny. There are two opposite scenes in the painting: while Americans expand their lands towards the West with the development of advanced transportation (from carriage to railroads) in a clear sky symbolizing the prosperous and peaceful society, Indians were propelled to move to the west with a gloom and dim sky, implying a devastating destiny of Indians. After Columbus found America as the New World, Europeans initiated to transfer to new land to seek new opportunities, negotiating with Indians for these better resources. Despite some of the countries colonizing in America, such as France and Spain, had a relatively friendly trade with Indians, Indians were gradually expelled from East to West by increasing Britain power. After the independence of America, addressing the tensions between Indians and Americans, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 to satisfy the demand for more lands for white settlers. The policy of Indian removal damaged Native Americans, their culture, and their way of life. The ideology of removal of Indians and continental expansion led to the establishment of Manifest Destiny, which claims that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. Moreover, there is a goddess holding a book in the painting. She is considered as the spirit and culture of America in the symbol of liberty and rights. The books which she holds could be the Bible. When colonial people first came to America, they were determined to christianize Indians in the New World. Besides the movement of western expansion and Indian removal shown in this painting, it also reveals the cultural differences between North and South through the fence separating the different agricultural style between North and South. While Northerners focused on the manufacturing products and the advanced development in transportation inspired by the Industrial Revolution, Southerners stuck on agriculture, which highly depended on the labor of slaves. This cultural difference eventually led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Eve Cai says:

Through his painting American Progress, John Gast intends to show that the disputable westward expansion had disparate impact and importance on different groups of people. The sunshine coming from the right-cornered background of the painting, where the canals are packed with boats and bridges. If the source of light symbolizes Civilization, this detail suggests the development of national and even international trade exemplifies the connotation of Civilization. From near to far and light to dark, the three lines of trains running toward the left side of the painting demonstrate the establishment of railroads westward. Accompanying the trains, cables also stretch toward the West, which conveys the popularization of the telegraph in the remote West. Both motifs embody the vital role of technology in the definition of Civilization. It is worth noting that the end of the cable is held in an angel’s arm, whose enlarged figure floats in the center of the painting to symbolize the holy will of Providence. The angel’s drawing of the cable toward the painting’s left indicates that Americans’ westward expedition follows God’s will. Moreover, everything passed by the angel has been illuminated and the angel’s action discloses her plan to bring brightness (namely Civilization) further to the dark West. Since the School Book in the angel’s hand reflects education as a necessary part of Civilization, the painting unveils that some Americans justified their westward expansion by proclaiming their divine responsibility to make Indians more civilized through education. Below the angel are some whites walking leftward with some farming tools. A deer and a bear run away from these people, which implies that the Americans’ deed of claiming and utilizing “wastelands” in the West damaged its previous ecosystem. A little further toward the background are carriages of people migrating to the West. The white bones surrounding the vehicles depict the hardship the travelers underwent during their migration westwards. On the left corner of the painting are a group of Indians fearfully looking upward at the angel, which expresses Natives’ unwillingness and helplessness toward Americans’ westward expansion. The crowd of runaway buffalos also explains the dramatic decrease of oxen’s population in a short period of time as the migrants largely slew them for profit. In addition, the ice-covered steep mountains in the left background sharply contrast the smooth hill on the right, which further conveys the idea that the westward expansion improved the previous life in the West.

kaienchu says:

The American Progress portrayed a group movement to the west under the leadership of an angle. In this painting, it is apparent that all creatures are facing the west(we universally define the left as the direction of the west in 2 dimensions). At the middle, there is an angle wrapped in white silk satins flying above the ground standing as allegorical America, holding a textbook with one hand, which means the civilization in new territory, and releasing the string on the telegraph wires behind, symbolically represents the guide to the people left behind. American Indians, riding on the horse, holding the bow, looking back to the angle, take the lead. Farmers carry their tools and look for new land. Wagon owners or businessmen are anticipating the opportunity to reach wealth. Freight trains run on the railroad also toward the west. Steamships arrive at the coastline. Not only the human, but also animals join this west expansion-a large group of buffalo rush one by one, and a bear looks back to check he is in the right way. These all show the Manifest Destiny-American progress is inevitable and accelerated.

Daniel Vargas says:

This portrait titled “American Progress” painted by John Gast in 1872 portrays the westward movement during the mid 19th century to explore new lands to cultivate and profit off of as well as expand into new territory. What this portrait depicts is an angel overlooking these travelers giving them a safe passage keeping communication with the rest left behind planting telegraph poles and holding a textbook as if to write these events into history. The use of the light and dark colors shows that the movement westward was uncharted new land to these people and with indian territory ahead as well this meant that they may have resistance to overcome. Business men in the trading business or some skilled craftsmen hopped on these bandwagons of people moving out, not just farmers. The ideology of removing native americans and continental expansion led to the establishment of Manifest Destiny, which claims that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America, even if that meant lethal force to protect our best interest being a greater economy and better way of living. Slavery was disputed towards whether it would be allowed into the newly admitted states in the west but to balance this out and keep balance in congress, Missouri was admitted into the union as a slave state and Maine was as a free state.

Jacob Exum says:

The centerpiece of this painting represents the idea that the United States is meant to move West, also known as Manifest Destiny. The light fixed on the American land in the East represents the beautiful American land that should move west and beautify the rest of the soon to be country. The Indians are casted in the darkness, because although they are their the Americans do not even notice their existence. The Americans are putting themselves first for many different reasons. Men and women were traveling in buggies so that they could find a new place to live. Farmers were traveling with their crops to find new, fertile land to plant in. A man with a sword on horseback is moving West forcefully, pushing the Indians out of their homes. Finally, trains and boats are moving West to signify the spread of industrialization.

Kelby Hanson says:

The painting “American Progress” represents the American ideal of Manifest Destiny. This was the thought that westward expansion was patriotic and inevitable. The center of this painting is a woman that represents freedom and liberty laying down telegraph lines to expand the reach of America. The use of lighting is also significant. The settlers are moving from right to left(east to west) and from light to dark. This portrays the American thought that everybody not in the states, ie, the Indians, were not enlightened and lived in a more primitive way; The few Indians that are visible, are shown in the shadow.

Peter Chew says:

The painting “American Progress” by John Gast. Illustrates the westward push by the waves of Americans and immigrants in the search of new opportunities a driving ambition for land, religious motives, a new life, and the discovery of gold and other mineral deposits, which was seen as the key to economic success. In the painting, a patriotic Goddess figure is seen with what seems to be some sort of book which may be the bible, or this may represent the vanguard of America, and its enlightened values, giving it a patriotic purpose, and as well be the symbolization of the American way of life enforced by liberty and rights. The great trek of European civilization westward to the unknown plains, comprising a new threat of invaders to the several Native American territories already established, long before the arrival of the European. The use of different light and shades is done to express the cultural and differences in civilization. The bright sky with the glazing sun to the east symbolizing the progress and civilization made by the European settlers. To the west, a dark sky symbolizes the unknown, the empty presence of “civilization” but the presence of non-christian or called “barbarians” as thought by the common man at this time. Thus this idea; cultivated the policy of Indian removal which caused unfortunate destruction to the civilization of Native Americans, as for their culture, and their way of life, being significantly disturbed. At the bottom of the painting represents the rural south, dependent on an agricultural economy, which unlike the north is receiving less infrastructure, than the highly industrializing north.

Chaz Harvey says:

The painting “American Progress”, constructed by John Gast represents the Westward Expansion that was so heavily leaned on. Americans during this time were pushing West in search of land, gold, and a new life. In the painting, many families are leaving the lighted side and going into the dark side where they want to spread light onto. The angelic lady represents the American Progress, as she holds the book of the history that has been written and also waiting to be written. She also is holding wires that are used for telegraph across the country. Everyone on the ground follows this women without a doubt. However, the light and darkness contrasted in the painting represents the fears and worries for the future. They put aside to lighten up the Western side of America. The group of men looks like they’re carrying guns in order to hunt and survive because the living conditions out West are far more tough than the East.

Mackenzie Jennings says:

The “American Progress” is a painting focused largely on westward expansion and the American ideal of Manifest Destiny. The painting portrays a variety of different people such as farmers, railroad workers, gold miners, and Native Americans. This idea of westward expansion and manifest destiny is personified in the flying goddess who is stretching power lines across the landscape. The artist uses dark and light in a way to show where the Americans have been and where they are heading. The lighter side (right) shows boats, railroads, and factories, a land truly industrialized by the american people, but as you move left you see people spreading out and bringing the light with them into the darkness. This painting also portrays westward expansion in its more negative ways as you can see the Native Americans running away from the settlers. The light and dark could also be a play on civilization versus what (at the time) was viewed to be uncivilized land and people. The trains seen in this painting can be seen racing towards the west along with all the people that are heading west.