<em><strong>Westward the Star of Empire Takes its Way</strong></em>
<strong>Westward expansion, Manifest Destiny</strong>
<strong>The railroad disrupts nature and bears down on the viewer, with the locomotive's light shining like a jewel. Wild deer scatter to the left, but the cleared field offers no refuge--the stumps, that catch the light of the west-setting sun, and the still sunlit cabin, are a sign of progress.</strong>
<strong>Andrew W. Melrose</strong>
<p><strong>Museum of the American West</strong></p>
<p><strong>Los Angeles, CA </strong></p>
<strong>1867</strong>
<strong>Public Domain</strong>
<p><strong>Oil on canvas</strong></p>
<p><br /><strong> Height: 64.8 cm (25.51 in.)</strong></p>
<p><strong> Width: 116.8 cm (45.98 in.)</strong></p>
<strong>English</strong>
<strong>Still Image</strong>
<em><strong>Emigrants Crossing the Plains</strong></em>
<strong>Westward expansion, Manifest Destiny</strong>
<p><strong>Redefined by territorial expansion in the mid-1800s, the boundary of the American West shifted from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, fueled largely by exploration and emigration along the Oregon Trail, among others. </strong></p>
<p><strong>Over the course of fifty years, almost 400,000 people traveled the 2,170-mile route, leaving their farms along the East Coast in hopes of securing fertile land in the Oregon Territory. </strong></p>
<p><strong>American artist Albert Bierstadt documented his journey on the trail, capturing the dramatic panoramas and indomitable spirit of the emigrants on his oversized canvases. With their rich colors and pristine details, these romanticized images roused an already fascinated American public to begin their own westward adventure.</strong></p>
<strong>Albert Bierstadt</strong>
<strong>National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum</strong><br /><strong> Oklahoma City, OK</strong>
<strong>November 27, 1867</strong>
<strong>Public Domain</strong>
<p><strong>Oil on canvas </strong></p>
<p><strong>67" x 102"</strong></p>
<strong>English</strong>
<strong>Still Image</strong>