Frontier Thesis
US History I Honors
Frontier Thesis
Jan. 14, 2012
Frontier Thesis Analysis
Throughout the early 20th Century, Fredrick Jackson Turner changed many people’s views on evolution by creating his idea of the Frontier Thesis. Throughout his entire thesis he explained that the more west the settlers move, the more distant and individualized they become from their homeland of Europe. After receiving his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and later becoming a professor of history at Wisconsin and Harvard University, he became one of the most intelligent men when it came to history. His encyclopedic knowledge of American history earned him the reputation by 1910 as one of the two or three most influential historians in the country at that time. After completing the US History I class, I can confidently say that I agree with Jackson’s thesis. History has proven that as the years progress so does the evolution of the American people. Not only did people evolve more as they moved west, individuals also established their own religion, government, and education system. Religion was a topic that was extremely strict in Europe; it was their way or no way. As more immigrants came to America looking for a fresh start, they realized they had more freedom to do as they pleased, for example, the Mormons. The Mormons were not accepted by many, therefore forcing them to move around the country and expand westward into the unknown territory. The farther into the new territory they went, the farther away they were from anyone who had any say in what they could do. Even though the Mormon religion was frowned upon by many throughout the country and ended up coming to a halt when their leader Joseph Smith died, it was a prime example of how separating from Europe gave people the option to have more of an expression of how they wanted to live them lives. Moving westward showed that the farther west a group of people who were frowned upon travel, the less people wanted to do with
Frontier Thesis
Jan. 14, 2012
Frontier Thesis Analysis
Throughout the early 20th Century, Fredrick Jackson Turner changed many people’s views on evolution by creating his idea of the Frontier Thesis. Throughout his entire thesis he explained that the more west the settlers move, the more distant and individualized they become from their homeland of Europe. After receiving his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and later becoming a professor of history at Wisconsin and Harvard University, he became one of the most intelligent men when it came to history. His encyclopedic knowledge of American history earned him the reputation by 1910 as one of the two or three most influential historians in the country at that time. After completing the US History I class, I can confidently say that I agree with Jackson’s thesis. History has proven that as the years progress so does the evolution of the American people. Not only did people evolve more as they moved west, individuals also established their own religion, government, and education system. Religion was a topic that was extremely strict in Europe; it was their way or no way. As more immigrants came to America looking for a fresh start, they realized they had more freedom to do as they pleased, for example, the Mormons. The Mormons were not accepted by many, therefore forcing them to move around the country and expand westward into the unknown territory. The farther into the new territory they went, the farther away they were from anyone who had any say in what they could do. Even though the Mormon religion was frowned upon by many throughout the country and ended up coming to a halt when their leader Joseph Smith died, it was a prime example of how separating from Europe gave people the option to have more of an expression of how they wanted to live them lives. Moving westward showed that the farther west a group of people who were frowned upon travel, the less people wanted to do with