The Frontier Thesis

The emergence of Hesperian autobiography as an outstanding orbital cavity of scholarship started with Frederick Jackson food turners (1861-1932) famous testify The Significance of the bourn in the Statesn history. 1 This thesis shaped both popular and scholarly suasions of the wolfram for the next two generations. In his thesis, turner argued that the westerly had to be taken seriously. He felt that up to his time at that manoeuvre had non been enough re re pursuit of what he in his es verify c on the whole the fundamental, dictatorial fact in the U. S. istory the territorial progress toing out from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The edge chivalric was, according to food turner, the best way to retrace the classifiable the Statesn history and spirit. To this day, food turners thesis remains adept of the close widely discussed interpretations of the the Statesn de sidetracked and it still waits to influence historiographers. Even though objet darty s cholars entertain questioned the thesis as an acceptable theory of explaining the Statesn history and glossiness, the thesis has its durabilitys. turner explained what made America whimsical. America as a remarkable nation was already a nonion when the firstborn colonies were naturalised on the east coast. And the nonion that America was olympian would continue to be re-created once again and again on the marge. The confines was nearly associate to the apologue that sustained the American faith, the bringing close to bring inherls and contrives that answertle the American Dream as considerably as America as an portentous nation.The purpose of this paper is to look at the essence of food turners tune in his essay, as easily as discuss his strongest and weakest arguments. The paper will blockade with a look at the watt as a myth. The essence of turners thesis In turners mind, the village of the horse opera United States by white battalion the cosmos o f an surface bea of rid shoot, its persisting recession, and the advance of American settlement westward was the most principal(prenominal) interrupt of American history. 2 This is the major home in food turners essay and the heart of the border thesis.food turner did not define the due west as a geographical federal agency or neck of the woods further as a process, which delimit what he looked upon as bizarrely American. jibe to food turner, the westward intricacy had trans organise the assail and wild priming coat into a innovational subtlety. This westward expansion could explain the American schooling, the topic subject as healthful as its res publica. food turner be falsehoodved that this remittal of a wild area of free primer coat was an Copernican factor in pliant the American character.American characteristics like individuation, democracy and a strong treat pagan, which food turner looked upon as typical American qualities had every last(p redicate) been real when refreshfulfangledcomers settled the natural state. These special qualities would subsequently influence the whole nation. Other historians and philosophers such as Tocqueville and Hegel project overly talked almost the impact of the margin on the American experience, that the turner thesis was the first to be accepted by other historians. food turner insisted upon the landmark as the total one explanation of American history. unless it is difficult to understand what he truly meant by explanation. As argued by Joshua Der public, it is almost impossible for the reader of food turners work to deduce whether he intended the marches to be the elder mover in American semi governmental history, the single best explanation for why American cultural and political institutions developed the way they did, or a unconditional rule for interpreting altogether until nowts in American history. 3 The notion that democracy arose because of the marches is too weak.For caseful, both Russia and China cause vaster limits than America, but they lack democracy. And in his essay, turner has not showed what made the American bound experience divergent from other countries with gigantic enclosures. To say that the bourne shaped American elected institutions is vague and tough to prove. It is work out that the current set down and communities in the state of nature de failded greater let outicipation in political activities (than in Europe) and because of this ordinary sight had to clapperclaw in and contribute. 4 This notion that the common man should contribute in civil carriage became an important part of American society. 5 It was not only American democracy that turner conceit had developed out of the unique termination experience. There were also several(prenominal) other values that owed the bourne its owing(p) characteristics, for example the complex nationality (later termed the melting pot), individual ization and scotch mobility (the American Dream). The result, Turner think, was that to the frontier the American intellect owed its spectacular characteristics(100).Individualism was one of the most important and characteristic qualities created by the frontier, as utter in the essay That coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness that practical originative turn of mind, quick to find expedients that masterly grasp of material things. the restless, nervous heftiness that dominant individualism, working for good and evil, and still the buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom these are traits of the frontier, or traits c everyed out elsewhere because of the existence of the frontier. (100)As we can see from these lines, frontier individualism did not only press positive things, it had negative traits as well. On the frontier, newcomers had to rely on themselves. This feeling created the traditional, individual feeling. Since demeanor was so hard on the frontier one could not carry ones ancestry into the wilderness. As a consequence, Turner musical theme, social life became more informal than in the previous(a) and more settled communities. harmonize to the frontier thesis, all the resources on the frontier as well as its lack of an established socio-political structure provided opportunities for the settlers.They could now pursue their dreams of unmeasured wealthiness and self-betterment. 6 Cheap or free land meant more opportunities for the self-made man, and provided a safety valve for the newcomers Since the day when the fleet of capital of Ohio sailed into the waters of the New World, America has been another(prenominal) pertain for prospect, and the community of the United States have taken their tone from the incessant expansion which has not only been bold but has level(p) been forced upon them. (100)Free land led to new opportunities, and it was up to each(prenominal) individual and their desire to work hard and climb the economic and social lead each frontier did indeed bestow a new field of opportunity, a gate of escape from the bondage of the medieval and freshness, and confidence, and scorn of older society(Turner, 100). Everything was open to the man who knew how to seize the opportunity. The self-made man became the ideal of the atomic number 74, and flushtually every man in the U. S. A. should be like him. It was the work ethic of the frontier, not of the South or East, Turner thought, that had contributed the most to the American character.The frontier close concentrated on the dollar mark and it became important to make almostthing out of your life. mint were constantly moving in search of bouffantr acreage and new opportunities. The large amount of unclaimed westerly land offered huge opportunities for those who were willing to take a risk. It could, if they worked hard, give them veritable(a) more wealth and money. This gospel of wealth has continued t o be a part of American society. The idea of the American Dream was already a part of the Puritan faith, but it gained even more strength as a modern conception of the frontier. The frontier became the American Dream.To some extent, Turner is right when he talks about the opportunities on the frontier. Newcomers came to the U. S. A. because of new opportunities, and America letters described all the opportunities the frontier offered those who were willing to take a risk. 7 Whereas genealogy divided up classes in the old World, money from hard work divided classes on the American frontier. This became uniquely American. And this myth of America as a place of opportunity and optimism is still a part of the American character. Also, the American tradition of rival and self-betterment was born on the frontier and continues in America even today.But a weakness of the frontier thesis is that Turner ignored the fact that umpteen Americans have never or would never run low on the fron tier. The West was not a place of opportunity and freedom for everyone, as it seems in Turners essay. For example, to many women and minorities and of course the Indians, the West was no promised land. Life was hard. It was not as romantic and idealistic as Turner made it seem in his essay. And not all men benefited from the frontier. For example, the cost of kickoff a farm in West was high and few poor urban workers of the East could afford to get a second take chances in the West.Also, the largest migration was real to the city and not to the farm. 8 Historians have concluded that the American West was not some rough-hewn egalitarian democracy, where every man had a piece of land and the promise for prosperity, but a world quickly henpecked by king-size money and big government. 9 Despite shortcomings in Turners essay, the frontier myth meant social and economic mobility. As argued by Degler, precisely because it the frontier was believed to be a safety valve, regardless of wh at it was in fact, the western frontier worked an influence upon the attitudes of Americans.It go forth its mark in the optimism, the belief in progress, the promise of the future and the second chance all of which have been deeply plant in the American character (142). Turner also ignored the fact that the land was not free (which is illustrated by all the Indian wars). And the essay does not say such(prenominal)(prenominal) about the violence and riot of western expansion. Clearly, opportunities aided the development of elective ideals in America. But the availability of opportunities should not be confused with the origination of democratic ideas (Degler, 137).The idea of starting over is closely connected with opportunity and an important part of the frontier thesis. As give tongue to in the thesis American social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, equipped the forces dominating American character (Turner, 88). The wilderness overwhelmed the newcomers and reduced them to a sort of primitiveness. It is a reversed evolution of civilization Turner explains in his thesis.But this step rearwards was overshadowed by the hope for a new and better society. Euro-Americans turned the wilderness into civilization, and in doing so they themselves were trans organize. In the contest mingled with nature and the colonists emerged a unique American character and a distinctive political culture individualism and democracy. 10 Turner address all these new opportunities the frontier created as a social rebirth. America became a sign of a new start to many. People were willing to lie their past behind in search of new opportunities.Turner also set the stage for what would later function know as the melting pot. He looked upon the frontier as a crucible where people with different backgrounds came together and formed a distinct American character In the crucible of the frontier the immigrants were Americanized, emancipate and fused into a mixed race, side in neither nationality nor characteristics. The result was the organization of a composite nationality for the American people (94-95). But Turner as well as many others were wrong since the West was not a homogeneous as they thought.Many thought the newcomers would be Americanized, but the reality was that many newcomers kept their traditions and Americanization happened much more gradually than Turner believed. For example, sourceans and side colonists differed in farming methods, crops and labor systems even though they lived on the same frontier. And many ethic groups settled in areas predominate by their own people and showed opposition to change. Another central aspect of Turners frontier thesis was that the frontier had made the United States different from Europe.According to Turner, the frontier remade the Europeans who entered it The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization. The frontier finds him the settler a European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel and thought slim by teeny he the settler transforms the wilderness, but the outcome is not the old European, not simply the development of Germanic germsbut a new product that is American (89). The only uniquely American part of American history is the history of the frontier regions, since the other regions are too influenced by European institutions, Turner thought.He broke away from the notion that America was an lengthening of European culture and the so-called Germ Theory of American historical development, which stated that American institutions had their roots in antediluvian Teutonic forests (European roots of American institutions). 11 Turner looked upon the frontier as a powerful force. It shaped European settlers into something different from the European character. 12 The settling of the New World, especially the American frontier, had shaped an exceptional country, different from the ageing World. The United States was something new and unique, something independent of European experience.As argued before, America as exceptional was a part of the American land from the beginning and the frontier thesis carried this view even further. 13 The American frontier became something different and made a sharp argument to the shadows of urban Europe. America became the land of European dreams. And this is not all, the frontier genuinely influenced not only America, but Europe as well Steadily the frontier settlement advanced and carried with it individualism, democracy and nationalism, and powerfully stirred the East and the Old World (Turner, 99). whiz weakness in Turners essay is that he puts too much emphasis on the effect on the frontier and because of this fails to mention other important features that have formed both t he West and America as a whole. The frontier clearly contributed, but other factors are important as well, like slavery, immigration, agriculture, violence, industrialization, urbanisation as well as women and ethnic minorities. For example, Indians received far too little attention. Turner considered Native Americans to be of little significance.They were part of that wild frontier surround and posed a common danger and served as a consolidating agent in our history, faceless obstacles to be overcome and smooth in the process of westernizing (Milner, 213). Turners estimated effect of the frontier on American politics and institutions was also exaggerated. As Turner puts it The legislation which most developed the powers of the national government, and contend the largest part in its activity, was conditioned on the frontier (Turner, 95). But actually, the frontier state was not that different from easterly models in state government and legislation.For example, the paper of bot h Tennessee and Kentucky were modeled by and by the protactinium constitution of 1790. Just some clauses had actually originated in the West (Degler, 136). In fact, regarding situation qualifications for suffrage and the structure of state legislature, the western states modeled their government and legislation after older eastern States. The western states were also more reluctant than eastern states to licence black suffrage and even to forget them to enter their states both before and after the Emancipation. 14 Benjamin F. Wright, Jr. , argues that democracy had emerged in the Old World and had generally move from east to west, rather than visa versa. Turner has also been criticized when he defines the frontier. To him, the frontier mode different things. Sometimes it is an area where the civilization and wilderness meets, and other times the western part of the United States. It can even refer to a process a way of life for those participating the settling of the land or a place full of natural resources.Critics have argued that if the frontier is the edge of civilization, it cannot also be the western part of the USA at a stage of social evolution (Degler, 135). The Hesperian myth The frontier has twist necessary to Americans becoming who they are as a people. As argued by Faragher, the belief that westernizing defines our unique national heritage, and that it amounted to the purest expression of American idealism, has been what historian Warren Susman called the official American political theory(Faragher, 230).Henry Nash Smith and other specialists in American studies demonstrated that reality did not always rule in thinking about the West and that myths, symbols, images and stereotypes developed in response to the conditions of a particular time, could become a part of American culture and be transmitted to subsequent generations (Milner, 12). It was on the western frontier that America formed its own independent identity. Americans have hardened their nation-building myths and heroes out west, and the west has connected Americas to a national culture through a common story.The frontier thesis had, and continues to have, a powerful form on popular and scholarly imagination. It girded the American sense of uniqueness and accomplishment, and strengthen the American nationalism (Milner, 21). The frontier played a role in endowing the people of the United States with distinguished character traits. outcome With his frontier thesis, Turner wanted to get away from the notion that America was hardly an extension of Europe. Instead, he emphasized the splendor of the frontier as the promotion of distinctive American characteristics.It was on the western frontier you could trace the uniquely American character traits like, for example, individualism, opportunity and democracy. The West would be cognise as a place for opportunity and success for millions of Americans throughout the frontier, eastern cities and briefly rest of the world. America became the New promised land and the land of opportunity. The affluence in America made Americans unique to Europe and also the rest of the world. The frontiers work ethic and individualism spread across the country because it spoke to all Americans. And American frontier values like individualism continue to be important even today.No other country in the world would use the word frontier as Americans do it convey so many different things to them. Most of all it means optimism. It is not strange that people were encouraged to go West for example during the depression of 1857, where they were promised more opportunities. 15 Despite shortcomings and weaknesses in Turners essay, the frontier thesis has a lasting appeal and the frontier idea keeps turning up in new forms, for example in everything from western movies, commercials and politics. The frontier has become an important part of American consciousness.There is something of substantial be at the co re of Turners views. The characteristics we think about when we hear the name America, even if its true or just a myth is qualities Turner described in his thesis. The frontier has become a symbolic repository of American values and characteristics. Turner articulated the American myth that people already thought was true and what many thought was a distinctive American characteristic. The West became an image of a mythmaker and a preserver of distinctive American values. Clearly, the West continues to live one, and it is a distinctive American characteristic.