Conagher Chapter Summary

With the vast amounts of cultivation and trade progressing in the west many settlements managed to form into permanent towns with the help of steady trade that helped the residents economically. Trade was supported by the growth of the railroad that helped with the import and export of goods and animals. In “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (shvoong n.d.) Frederick Turner makes a point in saying that the settlement of the west had created a different race in America. In that the way of life was different and caused many people to adapt to their surroundings and mentally perceive lifestyles different than their counterparts on the eastern seaboard.

The expansion to the West in the 19th century was an interesting and incredible time. As the Eastern population of the United States grew, people expanded to the West in search of opportunity. Over population created a lack of jobs and land, so emigration westward was appealing for many. People from many walks of life traveled west and each one experienced their time on the trail a different way. These personal journals and diaries gave historians a glance at what the western frontier was really like during that time frame. These personal accounts showcase the attitudes, concerns and the everyday lives of different travelers.

While moving to the west, they started noticing there were fertilized land and gold being found. Another reason why they moved to the west was because of religion and beliefs. Also plenty of jobs and opportunities for them. There was also plenty of land for people could purchase to grow their own crops.

Recalling a story involving her immigrant great-grandparents and grandparents, Marquart states that they “traveled to the Midwest by train to what was the end of the line-Eureka, South Dakota. Eureka-from the Greek word heureka, meaning ‘I have found it’-is reported to have been the word that Archimedes cried when he found a way to test the purity of Hiero’s crown” (64-70). By alluding to Archimedes journey, Marquart indicates the excitement her family feels after the long migration to the Midwest. Articulating that Eureka means, “I have found it”, Marquart then redefines South Dakota as a place with substantial meaning to those who relocated here. She further emphasizes this impact when expressing that “My grandparents wouldn’t have known the etymology of the word, but they would have felt it, the anticipation, as they waited along with the other immigrants from Russia to receive their allotments of land” (70-74). Although her grandparent’s do not understand what Eureka means, South Dakota is seen as a place for starting over and building a better life, a different perception of those who only view the land as bleak and lacking. The Midwest represents opportunity to Marquart’s grandparents, creating a more profound, personal connection to the land. Furthermore, by alluding to Archimedes and providing

The frontier line was just the beginning of what was to become of America. Acres upon acres of land scarce of settlers allowed for easy expansion. “Frontier history tells the story of the creation and defense of communities, the use of land, the development of markets, and the formation of states” (Hine and Faragher). One the expansion of the land started the formation of our own ways formed. For the first time we began to modify the ways of European life and make them into our own. Eventually as we continued to advance westward we began to leave the European ways of

In the 1800’s, the United States of America had never experienced a breakthrough in the expansion of land and resources like the American Frontier, even with the American Revolution in consideration. Like they did, our current nation has several frontiers of its own to accomplish. These unexplored territories include the outer reaches of space and the inner workings of digital technology. Although the frontiers of the 1800’s drastically differ from the present frontiers in identity, they liken in the challenges confronted, and still faced today.

The concept of white superiority and an ethnocentric view was based upon application of Social Darwinism which support the idea and belief that white civilization and culture was superior to that of the Indians. Americans began encountering the Indians more frequently as people began to follow their dreams westward. American theorist Fredrick Jackson Turner believed that it was the American Frontier that distinguished America from other nations. He described the frontier as both a place and a process because in conjunction to being a physical place the frontier was a series of advancement . It is important to understand this idea in order to understand the American relentless drive to move west. The concept of Manifest Destiny and writings of Turner encouraged settlers to move west which created a direct and inherent conflict between the settlers aided by the government and the American Indians who resided within those lands. This conflict led to the severe mistreatment of the Indians in the expansion into “The West”.

Did you know that pioneers back then journey westward to make a better living. People in the west would write letters telling about the good life in the frontier. The west also gave people an opportunity to buy land for their home and some farm land. The price was much more cheaper than the east to buy land. The hardest part about traveling to the west is the trip there. People would ride on wagons, pulled by an oxen or mule. Along the way, pioneers address their basic needs like hunger, Pierre’s Hole and clothing when they journey westward.

When somebody thinks about the west the first things that presumably ring a bell are most likely Cowboys, Indians, Gunfights and The Gold Rush. Almost none individuals consider blacks and their commitment to the development of the west. This is because the fact that the west was viewed as free domain blacks, were still defeated to a certain degree. What individuals need to acknowledge is that slavery is more mental than anything. Blacks made commitments in numerous zones of the west: on the farm, in wars, furthermore in trade. In this paper, I will convey to light a dominant part of the numerous commitments that blacks made to help make the American west what it is known today as “The Buffalo Soldiers”. Numerous individuals convey the confusion

Turner’s paper eulogized the frontier, coming on the heels of the U.S. Census Bureau’s announcement that there was no longer a discernable frontier line in 1890. Turner saw the West as a laboratory, where our nation truly created its own identity, away from the European influence felt in the East. There, “out of the primitive economic and political conditions of the frontier,” were the settlers able to create something expressly American as they moved “into the complexity of city life,” founding a new “individualism, democracy and nationalism (Turner, 199; 225). Turner’s narrative of American expansion is well-illustrated by John Gast in his famous painting American Progress, which depicts Lady Progress bringing forth the light from the East to illuminate the dark, savage, and undiscovered West, guiding settlers who come by stagecoach and train as the Native Peoples retreat, fading out of the scene (Elmore, Sept. 12).

Hidden in the middle of prose and paint, Bryant and Cole have used their work to describe the frontiers of America by comparing it to Europe. They touch on important issues such as urbanization and deforestation and use their influence to argue against it. In this paper, I will examine how Cole uses his work to show the evolution of the frontier over time and demonstrate how change constitutes destruction. I will also go into detail on how Bryant and Cole differ in their views on involvement in the pressing issue of urbanization.

"The Frontier" is one of the most American of ideals; it is vital to our history, culture, and identity. The events of the Frontier have shaped the United States into the country that it is today. We can see its significance through the art, photography and literature of the era. These platforms of expression allow us to understand and get an idea of what life was like for those pioneers exploring the west for the first time.

The manifest destiny gave people a reason to battle through the uninhabitable frontier and expand westward, improving the land by mixing one’s sweat with the soil. The east-most land, California, was reached at last and fortunes were made. Interestingly, Los Angeles, located in southern California, the last step of the Frontier Dream, became one of the most prosperous city in the United States by the modern time. Through close examination of three perspectives – nature, social organization, and cultural ideas – we can unravel how Los Angeles came to be the one we see today.

For Europeans, the frontier was practically uncharted territory, the land was not controlled by a government nor was it divided up into parcels. The wilds of the frontier seem to inspire desires, such as Uncas’s and Cora’s desire for one another. It also seems an suitable backdrop for outbreaks of violence such as the Indians’ quick massacre of the English at Fort William Henry.

American frontier is the border area of settlement of their descendants of American counterpart. The American civilization was established a long time ago, but even later the American West held a great attraction for some of the men. However, the frontier began when colonists settled on the east coast of the continent the 1600s.The values represented the American frontier that are important such as Self-Reliance and Rugged individualist, American macho, Inventiveness, and Can-do-spirit. Each value represents the American frontier. For a long time, the experience for the Native American became an important part of American frontier life. However, “American frontier was romanticized in popular motion pictures and network shows that included cowhand saints battling Indian scoundrels”. Little consideration was given to the terrible story of what truly happened to the Native Americans, otherwise called the American Indians. Today, most Americans are more careful of the darker side of the settling of the landmass, when a great many American Indians were killed, their territories taken, and quite a bit of their way of life was crushed. “There is a restored interest for Indian societies, and the Smithsonian now has an exhibition hall dedicated to Indian society in Washington, D.C”.The two heroes of the American frontier, Daniel Boone, and James P. Beckwourth represent the challenges they faced in the wilderness and the American values that were