The Westward Expansion of the United States

Rosy overview of the American conquest of much of North America.

This colorful overview of the United States highlights the gradual development of the modern day conception of America and its overseas possessions. Various stages of the country’s development are shown in different shades, with little mention of the inevitable conflict resulting from the growth. Major early trails and roads are also colored and labeled, linking America’s expansion and apparently inevitable success with its system of transportation.

The attempted association is unsurprising, given the image was produced and distributed by General Drafting Company, a division of the Esso Oil Company and strong proponent of the growing Interstate Highway System. The verso of the image features an attractive pictorial map of early colonial America, with numerous illustrated vignettes showing important historical events east of the Mississippi River. Accompanying the map is a list of Famous Flags of Colonial America and a brief Euro-centric history of the early colonization of the continent.