Frederick Jackson Turner

Frederick Jackson Turner

Frederick Jackson Turner is a key part of early American history. “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development.” These words by Turner are the basis by which modern history on the American West is perceived today. He presented his “Frontier Thesis” that still today influences historical thinking. Turner’s frontier argument as it acted as an analysis of the past and where America came from as well as a warning regarding the future. It is safe to say that his arguments in the thesis spurred the westward expansion and promoted the individualistic democracy. The paper will interpret Turner’s argument and thus prove that the western frontier’s closing was indeed a turning point in American history.

The westward expansion by the white people had changed a savage and desolate and into modern civilization, which was a crucial occasion in the rise of democracy in America. Through this argument, Turner was able to justify how important it was, and later it would be to continue conquering more territories. This meant that they would be able to continue to spread their new American ideas of democracy, individualism, and, in turn, to reshape not only the West but also the whole nation. As it turned out later on in history, the westward expansion was fruitful. It enabled America to get more land for the people and achieve her quest to expand its ideas and modern civilization. Turner was of the opinion that conquering new frontiers meant that those frontiers would be developed into modern cities and with comes social and economic development and prosperity.

The development of the American frontier was instrumental in shaping American institutions’ nature and, above all, the character of its people. During the move from East to West in the Nineteenth-Century, the American people developed various characteristics, nationalism, egalitarianism, individualism, and mobility. The move helped the people deviate from their perceived standard cultural attitudes that characterized them to become reformed into people full of these new characters. What Turner believes is that America was unique as far as their heritage was concerned, and they were not like their European cousins but a special mixture of American Indian and European. They had a character that was born through intermixing “savagery and civilization.” The American character was shaped by the frontier as those who settled there had to conquer a land that was difficult to farm, and also, they were away from the comfort of the urban life they were used to. By enduring the hardships and conquering the wilderness, they were repaid by the boundless resources and opportunities their new homes offered them. The more west they pushed, the more American they became and less European for the people and the nation as a whole.

The western frontier truly marked a turning point in American history. Their search for new homes and less clouded places to live inspired America’s push for democracy and civilization. The hardships and struggles they faced in the early years of the frontier in addition to the democratic institutions in America instilled individualism and self-reliance into the American people and as a result a birth of a nation that was different from the rest of Europe. However, there are issues that arise from his argument like for instance, he implies the push west was done on empty lands but the truth is Native Americans lived there and the expansion disrupted their lives and pushed into small reservations something that most critics like to point out. But no one can dispute that his thesis changed America and laid a foundation to the America we have today. Frederick Jackson Turner, is a key part of the early American history. “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development.” These words by Turner are the basis by which modern historical on the American West is perceived today. He presented his “Frontier Thesis” that still today influences historical thinking. Turner’s frontier argument as it acted as an analysis of the past and where America came from as well as a warning regarding the future. It is safe to say that his arguments in the thesis spurred the westward expansion and the promotion of the individualistic democracy. The paper will interpret Turner’s argument and thus prove that the closing of the western frontier was indeed a turning point in American history.

The westward expansion by the white people had changed a savage and desolate and into modern civilization which was a crucial occasion in the rise of democracy in America. Through this argument Turner was able to justify how important it was and later it would be to continue conquering more territories. This meant that they would be able to continue to spread their new American ideas of democracy, individualism and in turn will be able to reshape not only the West but also the whole nation as well. As it turned out later on in history, the westward expansion was fruitful as it enabled America to get more land for the people and achieve her quest to expand its ideas and modern civilization. Turner was of the opinion that conquering new frontiers, meant that those frontiers will be developed into modern cities and with comes social and economic development and prosperity.

Development of the American frontier was instrumental in shaping the nature of American institutions and above all the character of its people. During the move from East to West in the Nineteenth-Century the American people developed various characteristics, nationalism, egalitarian, individualism and mobility. The move helped the people to deviate from their perceived standard cultural attitudes that characterized at the time to become reformed into people full of these new characters. What Turner believe is that America was unique as far as their heritage was concerned and they were not like their European cousins but a special mixture of American Indian and European. They had a character that was born through intermixing “savagery and civilization.” The American character was shaped by the frontier as those who settled there had to conquer a land that was difficult to farm and also they were away from the comfort of the urban life they were used to. By enduring the hardships and conquering the wilderness they were repaid by the boundless resources and opportunities their new homes offered them. The more west they pushed, the more American they became and less European for the people and the nation as whole.

The western frontier truly marked a turning point In American history, and their search for new homes and less clouded places to live in inspired America’s push for democracy and civilization. The hardships and struggles they faced in the early years of the frontier in addition to the democratic institutions in America instilled individualism and self-reliance into the American people and as a result a birth of a nation that was different from the rest of Europe. However, there are issues that arise from his argument like for instance, he implies the push west was done on empty lands but the truth is Native Americans lived there and the expansion disrupted their lives and pushed into small reservations something that most critics like to point out. But no one can dispute that his thesis changed America and laid a foundation to the America we have today.