"The Frontier in American History"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in his collection of essays "The Frontier in American History," Frederick Jackson Turner records and hypothesizes on the many ways in which the frontier has contributed to the building of the American nationality and culture. The author points out that this book contains twelve related essays focusing on specific aspects of the frontier's history including technological factors, such as the development of the steam engine and the railroad, and limitations, such as the threat of Indian attacks and the peril of being isolated in the wilderness. The paper concludes that, although written at the turn of the 19th century, Turner's essays have a strikingly modern feel because he describes a vision of America as a strong, proud but brutal country, shaped not so much by individual cult figures or powerful politicians as by a massive, eager movement of people who were fed up with their previous lots and who had the courage to face an isolating wilderness in exchange for an untold bounty.

From the Paper:

"In the remaining chapters, Turner elaborates on previous themes and continues a study of the ways in which each successive frontier-wave shaped the modern American nation. "The Problems of the West" provides an especially illuminating glimpse into the American psychology. For all his rugged, rudimentary style, the Western man was an idealist at heart. He championed the virtues of "equality, of the exaltation of the common man," and had an "unbounded confidence in his ability to make his dreams come true." It sounds romantic, but the proof of it lies in the bare fact of forward frontier movement on such a grand scale, over so long a time, by so many men and women. However, the romanticism does provoke thoughts on Turner's great shortcoming: his failure to address the sheer human cost of the expansion, not only in the number of European-American lives lost, but particularly among the Native Americans, who were so completely displaced and exterminated by the frontier."

More papers on "The Frontier in American History":

• Book Review # 60020 : "Ordinary People and Risk in Frederick Jackson Turner's "From the Significance of the Frontier in American History"
• Comparison Essay # 18149 : "The Role of the Frontier in American History"
• Essay # 4398 : "Suffrage and Party Power in American History"

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