The Western Frontier Is An Important Part Of American Society

In Elena’s own introduction to the novel, she recalls an empty, inhabited American West and questions why the forefathers of South Texas have been forgotten:

How does Turner explain the recurring need for communication and transportation along the American frontier?

      Willa Cather's novel My Ántonia dramatizes the effect the frontier has on both native-born people and immigrants that come to the West in search of new beginnings. The story centers around two families living in a remote area of Nebraska from completely diverse backgrounds. This tale suggests that regardless of where a person comes from, the trials and tribulations of living under such tough conditions will ultimately impact his/her future existence. Cather's characters, no matter the age or heritage, are continuously re-defined, as if reborn, into a new life by surviving the harsh realities of the frontier. Much of the creation of these characters takes place in the very

The setting of the story has tremendous impact on the characters and themes in the novel "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Cather's delicately crafted naturalistic style is evident not only in her colorfully detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters’ relationship with the land on which they live. The common naturalist theme of man being controlled by nature appears many times throughout the novel, particularly in the chapters containing the first winter.

The American West is one of the most famous and important part of the American history. The American West or another name the American Frontier started off in the late-1700 and ended in mid-1940. Although that part of history ended, but the influence and the old west culture is still around today. So let get into the history of the American West, of what made the West what it is and how all the forces molded the West.

The Frontier Thesis may play a heavy part in U.S. history, but there are implications for truly understanding the outlines of this thesis. Fredrick Jackson Tuner during a great meeting of American Historical Association on July 12th, 1893 in Chicago, a paper named “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” This paper introduced an innovative way of astonishment to understanding the construction of America. Turner envisioned that the history of America was not focused one the prominence of the Frontier and the America established many trades and accomplishments from this voyage. Such as Tuner laid out the foundation of his thesis, he also didn’t account for the flaws that were overlooked from his discernment of the Frontier. (Tuner, pg. 1-9)

During the years 1790-1860 many changes in the nation were occurring in the values of Americans and in their different societies. The vacant, immeasurable land in the western frontier enabled a shift of change from social, political and economic conformity to more individual techniques and beliefs away from governmental traditions imposed more in the east coast of the nation. As different factors forced people to migrate west in the country it changed not only society and values of people in the west but also the east, transforming into a whole new affluent society. As people started to realize the nations grandness and what the property consisted of the rise in nationalism became very dependent on these enlightened ideas and visions.

Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of

Prior to the nineteenth century, Americans had no real unique identity and were still widely regarded as European, however with the rise of the Romantic era, America began to retain an identity based on the idea strong moral compass, God ordained expansion, and reverence of nature, making the ideal American a frontiersman. Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1806 was a momentous turning point in American history as it is considered by many historians to be the onset of the Romantic movement. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States. This huge expanse of land caused a dramatic shift from the highly-coveted mindset of rationalism to the ideas of romanticism. As new land, yet to be contaminated by mankind, was readily available for all Americans, people quickly began to venture west. As they traveled, a new sense of nature arose among Americans, one where the wilderness was divine, sublime and awe-inspiring. These ideas that help define the new American man are best presented in the abundant literature, artwork, and historical events littered throughout the 19th century. James Fennimore Cooper’s The Deerslayer is just one of these many pieces of work. The Deerslayer is a unique literary work as t it was one of the first fictional books written in the United States. Despite the fact that it is not a true story, it conveys a great deal of information about American society during the time period. The main character of Cooper’s

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]

Christine Bold’s article, “The Rough Riders at Home and Abroad: Cody, Roosevelt, Remington, and the Imperialist Hero,” tracks the contributions of three important historical figures: William Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Frederic Remington, to the image of the Rough Riders and the “packaged version of the American West” and its influence during the Spanish-American War (Bold, 324). After offering background on the conflict, she first considers the contributions of William Cody and his Wild West Show to the Rough Riders. She details how Cody constructed a narrative

   In her novel, My Antonia, Cather represents the frontier as a new nation. Blanche Gelfant notes that Cather "creat[ed] images of strong and resourceful women upon whom the fate of a new country depended" . This responsibility, along with the "economic productivity" Gilbert and Gubar cite (173), reinforces the sense that women hold a different place in this frontier community than they would in the more settled areas of America.

Cooper's novel deals with the issue of frontier as an area of boundary, change, and turmoil. He addresses not only the geographical frontier but also the boundaries of race and culture. Choose two of the characters in the book, and discuss whether contact with the frontier caused each one to grow and change or whether they resisted change. How did their choices reflect the values of American Romanticism?

Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.

The emergence of western history as an important field of scholarship started with Frederick Jackson Turner’s (1861-1932) famous essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American history.”[1] This thesis shaped both popular and scholarly views of the West for the next two generations. In his thesis, Turner argued that the West had to be taken seriously. He felt that up to his time there had not been enough research of what he in his essay call “the fundamental, dominating fact in the U.S. history”: the territorial expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The frontier past was, according to Turner, the best way to describe the distinctive American history and character.