Manifest Destiny on Paper: How 19th Century US Currency Depicted Westward Expansion from Covered Wagons to Pacific Railroads
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing turned America’s most ambitious national narrative into finely engraved vignettes on Demand Notes, Legal Tender Notes, and National Bank Notes between the 1860s and 1890s. Understanding these images transforms ordinary 19th century currency into windows onto the ideology that shaped a continent.
Read More →