U.S. History Collection
Nicodemus and Black Settlements in the West

American Progress

John Gast’s 1872 painting American Progress is one of the most recognizable images depicting American westward expansion.

Analyze the Gast painting and answer the questions below.

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A colored painting shows a larger-than-life white female in a long, flowy white gown floating above a mostly flat landscape with few trees. She is facing left. On the land below are bison and Native Americans moving westward, or left, and behind them are white settlers in a wagon and stagecoach also heading west. The right side shows a farm being tilled by two white male settlers. Behind them are three trains on tracks moving left. A river with different-sized boats is at the top right side.

Take Notes

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