In the United States, during the 1800s, as the population in the East began to increase, Americans started to move westward into previously occupied Native American lands. As they moved, two groups clashed: White settlers versus Native Americans, with White settlers forcing the Natives further and further west. During the Antebellum period, early Americans used their religion and their belief that Western culture was superior to justify taking over and occupying the Native American lands, taming the wilderness, and converting Natives to Western culture, as can be seen by period paintings and writings, which are often based on the Bible.
The early Americans felt justified in occupying Native American lands because of their belief of white supremacy …show more content…
Americans again looked to the Bible for guidance, and interpreted the readings that God believed that they should tame the world to their will. According to Genesis, "God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). Subduing the land meant creating farms, towns and cities in the former wilderness. These themes are also portrayed in the artwork during this time period. In Thomas Cole's painting, The Course of Empire: The Savage State, 1834, a group of Native Americans wearing skins and using primitive weapons can be seen hunting in the middle of a dark and wild forest. The Native Americans seem to be part of the uncivilized wilderness, and are portrayed as wild and something to be feared. In another painting by Thomas Cole, View from Mt. Holyoke: The Oxbow, 1836, the wilderness is again depicted as dark and frightening, due to the dead, twisted tree in the left foreground and the ominous storm in the background. But, on the right side of the painting, a clear blue sky shines over a river bent in the shape of an oxbow, representing that the land had been tamed. This picture also contrasts the dark, foreboding wilderness, and the tamed river as safe and superior. It can be inferred that Americans believed they should subdue and alter the wilderness …show more content…
According to Senator Benton in 1846, when two separate races mix, "the White race will take the ascendant, elevating what is susceptible to improvement—wearing out what is not" (Benton). When the White race takes over another race, the Whites will improve some aspects of their culture, but destroy the others in an endeavor to alter the non-White race into what the White race wants. Attempts to convert Native Americans can also be seen in American Progress, an 1872 painting by John Gast. The woman in the middle resembles an angel, with her white flowing dress, her feet floating in the air, and light emitting from her skin. She represents God, leading the way for the settlers behind her. The left side of the painting is dark, with half naked natives with primitive weapons, while the right side is light, with trains, telegraphs, farms, ships and a clear sunny sky. The right side represents the good of civilization, and the left side, inferior wilderness. The woman appears to be dispelling the storms and the darkness to bring calm and light and technology with her. As she moves across the landscape, she turns the civilizes the Native Americans as she overpowers the
The early Americans felt justified in occupying Native American lands because of their belief of white supremacy …show more content…
Americans again looked to the Bible for guidance, and interpreted the readings that God believed that they should tame the world to their will. According to Genesis, "God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). Subduing the land meant creating farms, towns and cities in the former wilderness. These themes are also portrayed in the artwork during this time period. In Thomas Cole's painting, The Course of Empire: The Savage State, 1834, a group of Native Americans wearing skins and using primitive weapons can be seen hunting in the middle of a dark and wild forest. The Native Americans seem to be part of the uncivilized wilderness, and are portrayed as wild and something to be feared. In another painting by Thomas Cole, View from Mt. Holyoke: The Oxbow, 1836, the wilderness is again depicted as dark and frightening, due to the dead, twisted tree in the left foreground and the ominous storm in the background. But, on the right side of the painting, a clear blue sky shines over a river bent in the shape of an oxbow, representing that the land had been tamed. This picture also contrasts the dark, foreboding wilderness, and the tamed river as safe and superior. It can be inferred that Americans believed they should subdue and alter the wilderness …show more content…
According to Senator Benton in 1846, when two separate races mix, "the White race will take the ascendant, elevating what is susceptible to improvement—wearing out what is not" (Benton). When the White race takes over another race, the Whites will improve some aspects of their culture, but destroy the others in an endeavor to alter the non-White race into what the White race wants. Attempts to convert Native Americans can also be seen in American Progress, an 1872 painting by John Gast. The woman in the middle resembles an angel, with her white flowing dress, her feet floating in the air, and light emitting from her skin. She represents God, leading the way for the settlers behind her. The left side of the painting is dark, with half naked natives with primitive weapons, while the right side is light, with trains, telegraphs, farms, ships and a clear sunny sky. The right side represents the good of civilization, and the left side, inferior wilderness. The woman appears to be dispelling the storms and the darkness to bring calm and light and technology with her. As she moves across the landscape, she turns the civilizes the Native Americans as she overpowers the