American Frontier Significance
The Significance of the Frontier in American History 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner was born November 14, 1861 in Portage, Wisconsin. He is well recognized for writing the paper “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” It is considered an influential and impacting piece of work because of the proposition he states within the thesis. Turner’s reasoning for scripting the paper was to present the issue of the dissolving American frontier. He released his disquieting thoughts about how losing the frontier would greatly affect the dissipating political models of democratic potency in the United States.
Thesis and Western Importance Turner’s thesis states his beliefs about the prominence of the Great West. He understood that democracy
in the United States was molded by the American frontier. The emphasized influence on the pioneers and the positive outcomes that were recorded demonstrated that democracy in the U.S. was a direct consequence as well. Egalitarianism was the popular trend among the people, whereas violence and high culture were given minimal regard. The Great West meant “new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character” (Turner, 1893, p. 2). One major importance that Frederick points out is that the American frontier “lies at the hither edge of free land” (Turner, 1893, p. 2). This means he interprets the territory of the Indians as free land, and we can therefor establish a civilized American population in the Western frontier. Frederick explained that each frontier leaves “traces,” and when we implement our way of life in the West to the “savages,” the region will engage in those characteristics once the settlement is developed. This is a stepping stone towards what Turner called “Americanization.”
The Great West Significance & Americanization
In order for Frederick Turner to build his case, he introduced his view of Americanization and used a lot of references from European influence. “Thus the advance of the frontier has meant a steady movement away from the influence of Europe, a steady growth of independence on American lines” (Turner, 1893, p. 3). This quote recognizes what the West signifies and institutes the movement for detaching ourselves from Europe and creating our own American society. Turner asserted that the West represents the U.S. the most because it symbolized true American civility and a discard of England. He deemed the frontier a duration of time that entrenched American history. Frederick associated the East and the West in two different periods of time in history. The East, in his beliefs, was a time when the U.S. depended on England. The West, or the Frontier, is America in its prosperous social and demographical state as of today. The Great West in Turner’s eyes gives the U.S. its own “Americanized” feeling and that they were secluded from England and completely independent from a foreign nation.
Faults and Overlooks
Frederick Jackson Turner presented a formative idea that seemed to be somewhat one sided for the majority of the paper. He went into extreme detail expressing what Americanization is and did not give any recognition to the support from Europe. The entire paper seemed very one-sided with Turner obviously affiliating himself with the West. He implies that the citizens in the East are turncoats and rely on England excessively. Turner believed that the East was a duplication of England’s politics. Although some of this is correct, Eastern America needed to create a contemporary system, and England’s system was a starting basis for their government. Lastly, Turner’s way of presenting Americanization was very preferential, and he completely refused to incorporate Eastern America into his avant-garde “Americanized” civilization.
Thesis and Western Importance Turner’s thesis states his beliefs about the prominence of the Great West. He understood that democracy
in the United States was molded by the American frontier. The emphasized influence on the pioneers and the positive outcomes that were recorded demonstrated that democracy in the U.S. was a direct consequence as well. Egalitarianism was the popular trend among the people, whereas violence and high culture were given minimal regard. The Great West meant “new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character” (Turner, 1893, p. 2). One major importance that Frederick points out is that the American frontier “lies at the hither edge of free land” (Turner, 1893, p. 2). This means he interprets the territory of the Indians as free land, and we can therefor establish a civilized American population in the Western frontier. Frederick explained that each frontier leaves “traces,” and when we implement our way of life in the West to the “savages,” the region will engage in those characteristics once the settlement is developed. This is a stepping stone towards what Turner called “Americanization.”
The Great West Significance & Americanization
In order for Frederick Turner to build his case, he introduced his view of Americanization and used a lot of references from European influence. “Thus the advance of the frontier has meant a steady movement away from the influence of Europe, a steady growth of independence on American lines” (Turner, 1893, p. 3). This quote recognizes what the West signifies and institutes the movement for detaching ourselves from Europe and creating our own American society. Turner asserted that the West represents the U.S. the most because it symbolized true American civility and a discard of England. He deemed the frontier a duration of time that entrenched American history. Frederick associated the East and the West in two different periods of time in history. The East, in his beliefs, was a time when the U.S. depended on England. The West, or the Frontier, is America in its prosperous social and demographical state as of today. The Great West in Turner’s eyes gives the U.S. its own “Americanized” feeling and that they were secluded from England and completely independent from a foreign nation.
Faults and Overlooks
Frederick Jackson Turner presented a formative idea that seemed to be somewhat one sided for the majority of the paper. He went into extreme detail expressing what Americanization is and did not give any recognition to the support from Europe. The entire paper seemed very one-sided with Turner obviously affiliating himself with the West. He implies that the citizens in the East are turncoats and rely on England excessively. Turner believed that the East was a duplication of England’s politics. Although some of this is correct, Eastern America needed to create a contemporary system, and England’s system was a starting basis for their government. Lastly, Turner’s way of presenting Americanization was very preferential, and he completely refused to incorporate Eastern America into his avant-garde “Americanized” civilization.