Who wrote the significance of the frontier in American history?
"The Significance of the Frontier in American History" was written by Frederick Jackson Turner, delivered as a conference paper at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in 1893, and published in that organization's Annual Report . There is much to this essay, which in many ways marks the...
What is the word count of the significance of the frontier?
Word Count: 447 "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" was written by Frederick Jackson Turner, delivered as a conference paper at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in 1893, and published in that organization's Annual Report . There is much to this essay, which in many ways marks the...
What is the main idea of the Frontier theory?
Turner is best known for his “Frontier Thesis,” an idea put forth in the essay excerpted. This essay was presented to a special meeting of the American Historical Association during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. In this essay, Turner argued that the frontier shaped key elements of the American experience.
What is Turner’s Frontier Thesis?
Turner is best known for his “Frontier Thesis,” an idea put forth in the essay excerpted. This essay was presented to a special meeting of the American Historical Association during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Who wrote The Significance of the Frontier in American History in 1893?
Frederick Jackson TurnerFrederick Jackson Turner D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1890. Turner was only 32 years old when he presented his historic thesis, 'The Significance of the Frontier in American History' to a group of fellow historians in Chicago in 1893.
Who published the essay The Significance of the Frontier in American History?
Frederick Jackson TurnerFrederick Jackson Turner, “Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893) | The American Yawp Reader.
How do you cite The Significance of the Frontier in American History?
Citation DataMLA. Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932. The Significance of the Frontier in American History. Madison :State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1894.APA. Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932. ( 1894). ... Chicago. Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932. The Significance of the Frontier in American History.
Who wrote the frontier thesis?
historian Frederick Jackson TurnerThe Frontier thesis was formulated 1893, when American historian Frederick Jackson Turner theorized that the availability of unsettled land throughout much of American history was the most important factor determining national development.
Which is more significant to American history the frontier of the cities?
The frontier is more significant to American history than the cities because the frontier had symbolized "land" mainly being unclaimed land, where people could go and settle on it. People could go and prosper on this land and make something out of nothing.
What is frontier spirit in American literature?
The Frontier Spirit in America. Settling the frontier involved leaving the relative security of village or city to move to an unsettled land. It required courage, ingenuity, and perseverance. It is also tended to foster an extreme individualism, resistant to restrictions imposed by a community for the communal good.
Why was the closing of the frontier significance?
In 1890, the Census Bureau broadcast the closure of the frontier, meaning that in the west there was no apparent tracts of land without settlers. This news was a distinguished event in American history; the frontier represented danger because of the Natives who lived in the region but also freedom and opportunity.
What were 3 significant effects of the frontier in American History?
What were 3 significant effects of the frontier in American History? They were beliefs in individualism, political democracy, and economic mobility.
What is the frontier thesis quizlet?
The Frontier Thesis or Turner Thesis, is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that American democracy was formed by the American frontier. He stressed the process—the moving frontier line—and the impact it had on pioneers going through the process.
What was Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis?
The Frontier Thesis or Turner's Thesis (also American frontierism) is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that a settler colonial exceptionalism, under the guise of American democracy, was formed by appropriation of the rugged American frontier.
What was Frederick Jackson Turner known for?
Frederick Jackson Turner, (born November 14, 1861, Portage, Wisconsin, U.S.—died March 14, 1932, San Marino, California), American historian best known for the “frontier thesis.” The single most influential interpretation of the American past, it proposed that the distinctiveness of the United States was attributable ...
Where is the American frontier?
Richard W. Slatta, in his view of the frontier, writes that "historians sometimes define the American West as lands west of the 98th meridian or 98° west longitude," and that other definitions of the region "include all lands west of the Mississippi or Missouri rivers."
What does Frederick Jackson Turner believe was the Significance of the frontier in American History?
Historian Frederick Jackson Turner believed that the strength and the vitality of the America identity lay in its land and vast frontier.
What was Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis?
The Frontier Thesis or Turner's Thesis (also American frontierism) is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that a settler colonial exceptionalism, under the guise of American democracy, was formed by appropriation of the rugged American frontier.
What were 3 significant effects of the frontier in American History?
What were 3 significant effects of the frontier in American History? They were beliefs in individualism, political democracy, and economic mobility.
What is the frontier thesis quizlet?
The Frontier Thesis or Turner Thesis, is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that American democracy was formed by the American frontier. He stressed the process—the moving frontier line—and the impact it had on pioneers going through the process.
Who wrote the importance of the frontier?
Word Count: 447. "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" was written by Frederick Jackson Turner, delivered as a conference paper at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in 1893, and published in that organization's Annual Report. There is much to this essay, which in many ways marks the rise ...
When was the Frontier in American History published?
Turner republished his original paper, with twelve supporting articles, in the book The Frontier in American History; the second and consequent part of his theory, The Significance of Sections in American History, was published in 1932, the year he died. His 1894 paper was preceded by his doctoral dissertation on the fur trade in Wisconsin ...
Why is the United States unique?
For this reason, people have always been able to move westward. On the frontier, Turner thought, white men brought European ways that they had to adapt to the rugged conditions in these hinterlands . The mix of frontier-ready culture and European "civilization" was, for Turner, uniquely American, forged on the frontier, the "outer edge of the wave—the meeting point between savagery and civilization." Turner also thought that American democracy depended on the existence of free land. He thought that without its existence, large working classes would arise and become revolutionaries, creating a toxic environment for democracy as he understood it.
What were the two events that precipitated Turner's paper?
Two events precipitated Turner’s paper: First, the work of the Italian economist Achille Loria—who theorized that free land was the key to changes in human society— and of America as the best place in which to test this thesis, came to Turner’s notice in the late 1880’s. Loria’s work influenced an earlier paper by Turner, “Problems in American History” (1892). The second event was the announcement of the superintendent of the 1890 census that insufficient free land existed in the United States for the frontier to feature in the census reports as it had done since the first census in 1790. Turner dramatized this fact in the beginning of his paper. In effect, he was directing his fellow historians away from political and diplomatic history, insisting that, no matter what happened in European capitals, American history was made in the hinterland, where the westward movement had been the most significant historical phenomenon for Americans. There was, for historians, a vast frontier of local history to investigate in whatever state they might be located. The dramatic setting and occasion for Turner’s paper was not immediately appreciated, but it played its part in spreading his ideas rapidly.
What did Turner think of the American frontier?
Turner, in short, saw the American frontier as the key to American democracy, and, in a scholarly vein, the key to a valid historical understanding of the nation.
What was the mix of frontier-ready culture and European civilization?
The mix of frontier-ready culture and European "civilization" was, for Turner, uniquely American, forged on the frontier, the "outer edge of the wave—the meeting point between savagery and civilization.". Turner also thought that American democracy depended on the existence of free land. He thought that without its existence, ...
What is the frontier's chief characteristic?
As an effect of the environment into which it moved, the frontier’s chief characteristic is a process of reversion to savagery followed by a slow recovery of civilization that , because its chief influences are indigenous, cannot be an imitation of European life and must therefore be American alone.
What did the frontier promote?
The frontier promoted a composite American nationality. People from many countries emigrated and moved west, resulting in a melting pot of cultures. Turner suggests that these people became 'fused into a mixed race.' Although Turner knew that there were pockets of the nation that were wholly German or English, he recognized them as a part of the emerging multicultural American identity.
What was the frontier?
The demarcation of the frontier was a boundary line that was continuously being moved farther and farther west with each generation. In fact, it is the frontier, and subsequently its demarcation line, that determined the path of history more than other events.
What would happen to American culture and history once the frontier ceased to exist?
Would Americans maintain the 'dominant individualism' of frontier life? Would they retain the 'strength combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness?' Turner was concerned that once the frontier was officially removed, the next generations of Americans would be left with no territories to settle and no boundaries to overcome.
What did Turner say about the frontier?
Turner declared that this seemingly unimportant event represented a critical turning point in American history. Turner wrote, 'Now four centuries from the discovery of America, at the end of a hundred years of life under the Constitution, the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history'. Turner argued that the existence of the ever-shifting frontier was a major influence that has profoundly shaped the American character and history.
What was the impact of the frontier on the American people?
According to Turner, American history up until 1890 had been unique. In Europe, boundaries were fortified divisions separating large populations. In America, there was not a large enough population beyond the frontier to prevent migration. People who moved west had to fight Native Americans, learn to forage for food in the wilderness, and create tools and household implements from what they could find. The environment of the frontier was so strong that it created a tradition of self-sufficiency that is distinctly American and promoted a composite American nationality. People from many countries moved west, resulting in a melting pot of cultures and a multicultural American identity.
What was the American frontier environment?
The environment of the American frontier was so strong that it replaced European tradition, and from it arose the tradition of self-sufficiency that Turner says is distinctly American. The frontier promoted a composite American nationality.
What was the history of America up until 1890?
According to Turner, the history of America up until 1890, had been unique. In Europe, boundaries were fortified divisions separating large populations. In America, there was no large population beyond the frontier other than a few native tribes who were not numerous enough to prevent the migration west. Turner explained it this way, 'The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization… The wilderness masters the colonist. It finds him a European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel, and thought.'
Who is the historian who explored the concept of the frontier?
Australian historian Brett Bowden has explored how the concept of "frontier" has been very widely used in both the scholarly and the popular literature to denote challenging new forces.
What is the significance of the frontier?
" The Significance of the Frontier in American History " is a seminal essay by the American historian Frederick Jackson Turner which advanced the Frontier Thesis of American history. It was presented to a special meeting of the American Historical Association at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893, and published later that year first in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, then in the Annual Report of the American Historical Association. It has been subsequently reprinted and anthologized many times, and was incorporated into Turner's 1921 book, The Frontier in American History, as Chapter I.
How did the idea of the American frontier shape the American character?
The essay summarizes Turner's views on how the idea of the American frontier shaped the American character in terms of democracy and violence. He stresses how the availability of very large amounts of nearly free farm land built agriculture, pulled ambitious families to the western frontier, and created an ethos of unlimited opportunity. The frontier helped shape individualism and opposition to governmental control.
How did the frontier drive American history?
He writes how the frontier drove American history and helped shape American culture in the 1890s. Turner reflects on the past to illustrate his point by noting human fascination with the frontier and how expansion to the American West changed people's views on their culture. The essay had a major impact on historiography for decades, ...
What did Glenda Riley argue about Turner's thesis?
Glenda Riley has argued that Turner’s thesis ignored women. She argues that his context and upbringing led him to ignore the female portion of society, which directly led to the frontier becoming an exclusively male phenomenon.
What is the New Western History?
Limerick asserts the notion of a "New Western History" in which the American West is treated as a place and not a process of finite expansion. Limerick pushes for a continuation of study within the historical and social atmosphere of the American West, which she believes did not end in 1890, but rather continues on to this very day.
Who challenged the Frontier Thesis?
Urban historian Richard C. Wade challenged the Frontier Thesis in his first asset, The Urban Frontier (1959), asserting that western cities such as Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Cincinnati, not the farmer pioneers, were the catalysts for western expansion. Glenda Riley has argued that Turner’s thesis ignored women.
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Who wrote the paper The Significance of the Frontier in American History?
Terms in this set (217) In 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his paper "The Significance of the Frontier in American History.". It soon became the most influential interpretation of the West.
What did Turner say about the frontier experience?
Turner contented that the frontier experience help "Americanized" immigrants. Today, it is recognized that immigrates tended to settle in communities with other immigrants that had a similar background.
What was one area of criticism that Turner was critical of?
One area of criticism was the concept of the "frontiersman" of Turner.
What was the most influential aspect of American history?
It soon became the most influential interpretation of the West. Turner said that the most influential aspect of American history was the development of the West and its impact upon all events thereafter.
Why was the frontier pushed westward?
In most cases the frontier was pushed westward by farmers living in close proximity to it and wanting to expand their land holdings. Also, in most cases the expansion took place in times of economic prosperity. Immigrants. Turner contented that the frontier experience help "Americanized" immigrants.
Who led the 7th Cavalry Regiment?
The rest of the 7th Cavalry Regiment arrived led by Colonel James Forsyth and surrounded the encampment supported by four Hotchkiss guns. [2]
Is the Turner thesis valid?
While much of the Turner thesis is no longer considered valid-it certainly added much to the understanding of western development.