Object Details
The Rocky Mountains. Emigrants Crossing the Plains
1866
Object Essay
The Rocky Mountains (see Acc. No. 71.155) had been circulating for two years when this strong and vivacious image was issued as a companion piece. Prior to the Civil War, development of a transcontinental railroad had been delayed due to a government stalemate over which route would be completed first, north or south. With the South defeated, the route through the northern part of the midcontinent was cleared through legislation and work began. In 1865 the decision was made to establish a race between the Union Pacific Railroad, coming from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific, leaving Sacramento, California. Each was to lay as much track in as little time as possible and meet in the center. Huge resources and tens of thousands of people were involved in the financing and the construction, which was completed in 1869.
Currier & Ives turned to one of their favorite and most popular artists, Fanny F. Palmer, once again, to provide an image of the western movement. A long train heads west with engine smoking; it is labeled “Through Line / New York / San Francisco.” Solid and symmetrical buildings, one a school, are neatly arranged near the track. Industrious men clear the land with axe and shovel, children play in the schoolyard, other children, with their parents, wave to the train that is responsible for their prosperity. In the background to the left is a panorama of the Great Plains, to the right the majestic mountains. In the woods and toward the right margin are two Indian nomads on horses. The scene reflects the new and greater technology found in an idealized America.
Donald H. Creswell
Excerpted from Jonathan L. Fairbanks. Becoming a Nation: Americana from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State. New York: Rizzoli, 2003.