The Frontier Of American History

What Turner wants to point out here is that the American West is the most important feature of American history, and of the development of its society. He refers several times to a process of “Americanization” and we will see that the definition he gives of it is a very peculiar one. He gives a definition of the frontier: “it lies at the hither edge of free land”, meaning that he considers the Indian territory to be free land. According to him the frontier is the “meeting point between savagery and civilization”, “the most rapid and effective Americanization”. The process of Americanization he refers to is in fact a double

Faragher, John Mack. Re-reading Frederick Jackson Turner: “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”

Patricia Nelson Limerick describes the frontier as being a place of where racial tension predominately exists. In her essay, “The Frontier as a Place of Ethnic and Religion Conflict,” Limerick says that the frontier wasn’t the place where everyone got to escape from their problems from previous locations before; instead she suggested that it was the place in which we all met. The frontier gave many the opportunities to find a better life from all over the world. But because this chance for a new life attracted millions of people from different countries across the seas, the United States experienced an influx of immigrants. Since the east was already preoccupied by settlers, the west was available to new settlement and that

land of the United States of America. Western expansion was a great part of the growth of the

In the beginning the frontier was Atlantic coast. The frontier was Europe in some sort of real sense. While moving towards the west the frontier became more American. Form the frontier being advanced it meant a steady movement away from any influence from Europe, a constant growth of independence in American lines. The only way to study the frontier’s advance, the men who were growing up in the conditions, and the economic, and social results of it, is really the study of American part of our

Throughout history society has to go through many changes that not only affect many of the people but also the areas around the transformation. The main point of Fredrick Jackson Turner’s thesis is what the real essence of America is, and how we’re all influenced by the many changes we have to go through. He believes that American history should not be focused on the extension of European enterprise. The society will have to realize that America will have to be emancipated because of the fact that we had a country with an unlimited amount of boundaries and have to come to realization that we have many closed-spaced limits. The views in the seminal essay share his thoughts on the idea of how the frontier shaped

According to Turner, through America’s conquest of the frontier, the cultural traits of Americans could be credited to the directly to the land and “that coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness; that practical inventive turn of mind, quick to find expedients; that masterful grasp of material things... that restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism"(Turner 34). While on the other side of the argument, Pierson believed that traits of modern Americans such as democracy and individualism had already existed in other parts of the world, and the frontier itself had not created whole new theories and ways of

There were acts passed during the Gilded Age that promoted Westward expansion, and, as a result, allowed for businesses to rise to prominence. The Morrill Grants, notably in 1890, established many agricultural and vocational colleges in the United States to promote more industry supplemented with an educated workforce to grow in the sparsely populated West. (Westward expansion.) The Homestead Act also was a source of motivation for many aspiring wealth-seekers to settle West. (Homestead Act.) The settlement of the West allowed for the rise of the railroad industry, both private and government-operated, which was one of the stepping stones in the steep quest for industry. Railroads allowed for easy access and shipment of raw materials from one edge of the country to another. Also in support of Westward Expansion was Frederick Jackson Turner, who promoted Westward settlement in his Frontier Thesis. In this thesis, he claims that the West is America’s ultimate frontier, and stressed the process of settling the frontier. (Turner Thesis.) Westward expansion and the settlement of the frontier saw the rise of the railroad industry and American business, and also allowed for certain entrepreneurs throughout the country to take advantage of their opportunity, despite causing harm to many small businesses that were practicing fair business methods. (Ida

In 1893, at the 400th anniversary of the appearance of Columbus in the Americas celebrated in Chicago , Frederick Jackson Turner presented an academic paper entitled, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” In this essay, Turner proposes that, “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development.” The group dynamic that Turner champions is the farmer. More directly it is white, male farmers. While the expansion of the west by white male farmers was a factor in the development of America, it is not the only explanation for this progression. Turner fails to incorporate all of the demographics present during this expansion which were essential to the evolution of America.

Response to Turner's Essay on The Significance of the Frontier in American History Turner's "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" essay presents the primary model for comprehending American history. Turner developed his notions on the uncovering of the 1890 census that the frontier was coming to an end, that the nation had occupied its continental borders. As Turner discusses in his essay, an extensive era of American development approached an ending, but left enduring marks on American society. A major notion within his claims of the American frontier is, "the existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, [that]

Turner states in the first chapter that “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development. When America decided to colonize west its isolation led to the need of communication,legislation and transportation. As America developed it started to move away from the influence of Europe. He points out that west of America is one of the most important features of shaping America. The frontier lands also gave a way for the government to provide economic benefits without raising taxes.Fredrick Jackson Turner changed the way Historians were thinking about the United States by arguing that the Frontier had a major impact on the way America was shaped . He

Brian Levack, Edward Muir, Micheal Maas, Meredith Veldman. The West: Encounters and Transformations, Consise Edition. Pearson: Upper Saddle River, 2009. Print

In the work of Elliot west, entitled The Way to the West, and in the fourth chapter, stories, West details the impacts and implications of western tales and ideology in regards to how the telling of those tales and ideas about the west influences our present understanding of western history and culture. West uses the catch line “stories have power.” This is in reference to the idea that the types of stories and the way they are told contains a large base of influence over those who partake of them.

In the 19th century, amidst population growth too big for the original states, we looked toward the western frontier toward expansion. We now recognize that expansion

Frontiers were not only a vast area of space to be occupied by towns; they symbolized opportunity, ambition and brought forth the idea of always wanting more. As time progressed, frontiers faded, but the desire for “more” remained with Americans and shaped how our society functions. Shame expressed that frontiers have been modernized into our economy. Similar to the Americans in the past always wanting more land, citizens nowadays consistently want more products. The “more factor” has maintained engrained in Americans mindset through the ages and demands to be fueled with products rather than land. Consumers are never satisfied with their belongings and are constantly purchasing more and better products to fulfill these cravings. Consumers