Thomas Moran's Yellowstone

How is Thomas Moran's painting of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone "a uniquely American combination of art, commerce, and government fiat?

Student worksheet available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C_C9z3Tu7lZ6oTrpd81L4lh4rFMlS04JthjaVt4bHzE/edit?usp=sharing

Transcript

1. Thomas Moran’s Yellowstone
2. Thomas Moran
4. Thomas Moran & F.V. Hayden
6. Jay Cooke
9. William Henry Jackson
11. Thomas Moran & W.H. Jackson
13. W.H. Jackson’s Yellowstone
15. Thomas Moran’s Yellowstone
17. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1872
21. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1893-1901
22. Anne Twadell’s Yellowstone
24. COMPARE / CONTRAST
27. WHY?
28. “Every form introduced into the picture is within view from a given point, but the relations of the separate parts to one another are not always preserved…. My aim was to bring before the public the character of that region.” (emphasis added)
29. “I place no value upon literal transcripts from Nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward idealization….The motive…was the gorgeous display of color that impressed itself upon me. Probably no scenery in the world presents such a combination.”
36. ANALYZE
49. SEE, THINK, WONDER
53. “January 30, 1872: the U.S. Senate passes S. 392 in support of making Yellowstone the country’s first national park. ‘The Congressional Globe’ (shown here) records the debate prior to the vote. On to the House!”
54. “March 1, 1872: President Grant signs the Act Establishing Yellowstone Park into law because of…Hayden’s report, Jackson’s photographs, and Moran’s drawings (not the painting—unfinished).”
55. $10,000: June, 1872
56. “A uniquely American combination of art, commerce, and government fiat.” — EXPLAIN