Transcript Focus Question:

Focus Question: How was the idea of westward
expansion depicted as a sign of American
“progress” in the 1800s?
Do Now:
What do
you think
could be
the main
idea or
message
of this
painting?
1
Lewis and Clark At Three Forks, Edgar Paxson (1912)
Paxson was commissioned to paint this mural by the state of
Montana. It is located in the Montana State Capitol building.
Causes of westward expansion
•
•
•
•
the Louisiana Purchase
a rapidly growing population
shortage of good farmland in East
to reduce the threat of foreign
invasion
• American nationalism
• the idea of Manifest Destiny
The idea that God wanted the U.S. to
expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
2
Westward The Course Of Empire Takes Its Way, Emanuel Leutze (1860)
This is an oil sketch of a mural located in the U.S. Capitol building in
Washington, DC. Leutze completed the mural in 1862, during the Civil War.
3
Across The Continent, Currier & Ives (1868)
This image was a popular lithograph that was reproduced in
thousands of copies and sold to the public.
4
American Progress, John Gast (1872)
Gast painted this picture for a popular series of western travel guides. Its
reproduction sold thousands of copies throughout the U.S.