...In 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner published his own essay entitled, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. The first presentation of this paper was at a convocation of the American Historical Association during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. With in this paper Turner brings up topics he felt would help the American Frontier however, there are two main topics that stand out: individualism will promote democracy, shaping of american character using inventions and adaptations. In Frederick Jacksons thesis he states that an advocacy of a democracy was being introduced in Westward America as well as Europe due to individualism. The Europeans were in lands that Americans were trying to settle in therefore...
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...Turner, the Thesis, and Tracking history: Frederick Jackson Turner’s journey to the thesis and his contribution to the way we study history today History Today 290 Megan Houck Professor Le Bar May 7, 2014 Over 120 years ago, Frederick Jackson Turner spoke in Chicago about his theory of the American West. This Statement made a bold case that the closing of the westward expansion was the end to a glorious and influential chapter in the history of the nation. Throughout the decades there is one thing for certain, the Frontier thesis has just as much impact today as when produced. It may be studied today for its purposefulness as well as its theories, but his work ultimately inspires one to open their mind for critique, discussion, and praise. He believed that westering American individuality helped assure our democracy. Turner has many influences during his career like his father, teachers, students, and other historians. He continued to be an avid student as well, always reading and educating himself. The center of his thesis was to state that the American character, including such traits as equality and acquisitiveness, and the “American character” derived from the frontier experience. His historical value was in understanding America’s inner workings. Looking at all aspects of the American life, their past, where their future was heading, their economic, political, and social belongings. It was this forward thinking that elevated Turner’s status in his...
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...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Development of the Western Frontier Frederick Jackson turner developed a thesis called the frontier thesis where he conquers that the democracy of America was established by the Western frontier. He also stated that the democracy of America resulted from violence and the absence of interests in high culture. He continued to state that the Frontier land was acquired, and there was no need to establish institutions to attain it. His insistence on the frontier’s need to shape the country led to a pool of responses found in many articles. His works led to the use of social history as the underlying grounds for all socio-economic and political progress in the history of America. When Turner died, history departments were teaching frontier history based on his approach. For a long time, the history of America has been largely tied to the colonization history of the Great west. The presence of free land and the settlement of Americans to the west explain the progress of America. American institutions have been required to change with the increase of the diversity and population of people and facilitate the transformation from backward political and economic ways to civilization. Development in some nations has only taken place in some areas, but in America, development has been widespread. However, there is a frontier line still facing primitive conditions along the western part. Nevertheless, the history of America is not based on the western coast...
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...The frontier as Frederick Turner put forth, varied from each period in history; Turner believed that in terms of American history, it was the birth of a nation, stating that: “...we [the reader(s)] note that the frontier promoted the formation of a composite nationality for the American people.”1 This teleological approach however is a bit slighted; while the colonists did eventually look to other settlements around them for aid rather than their parent continues overseas, the first settlers did not set out into the frontier of the New World looking for, or even attempting to create an identity. Instead, they did it to expand their own influence and gather a foothold within the New World. With this said, Turner’s thesis of the American frontier’s impact on the county's history does yield something interesting....
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...In 1893, historian Fredrick Jackson Turner presented his "Frontier Thesis" at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Turner's Frontier Thesis mentioned the process of the frontier and argued about what it did. He explains the effect that the Frontier had on the development of the United States as everyone has come to learn in chronological order the different phases early America experienced. The advancement of the Frontier allowed Americans to forget old European culture and traditions to start a new American culture. This allowed citizens to start a new nation with the vast free land there was to explore. Turner lists the different phases beginning with the Indian and the hunter, the disintegration of savagery by the entrance of the trader,...
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...Frank Vlasak and the Beginnings of Prague, Oklahoma by Viles Slive Viles Slive wrote a thesis titled “Frank Vlasak and the Beginnings of Prague, Oklahoma”. In Slive’s thesis he studies the life of Frank Vlasak and the establishment of Prague, Oklahoma by Czech immigrants. Vlasak was an influential leader having migrated from Bykosi, Bohemia. Vlasak had realized that the Czech immigrants coming to America only made up about thirty percent of the total population and because of this it would be difficult for the Czech immigrants to succeed and become a leading force in the United States. To overcome this Slive theorized that Vlasak sow an opportunity with the founding of Prague to move his business to the new town where it would have a greater...
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...Hidden in the middle of prose and paint, Bryant and Cole have used their work to describe the frontiers of America by comparing it to Europe. They touch on important issues such as urbanization and deforestation and use their influence to argue against it. In this paper, I will examine how Cole uses his work to show the evolution of the frontier over time which consequently demonstrates how change constitutes destruction. I will also go into detail on how Bryant and Cole differ in their views on involvement in the pressing issue of urbanization. In his work, Cole used the method of self-inserting himself into his paintings to get his point across. Cole's 'The Course of Empire' series is made up of five parts: The Savage State, The Pastoral State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction, and Desolation. I will begin by detailing the two main themes in his paintings that reoccur throughout the series: the power of the individual and the benefit of space. The first painting in the Course of Empire series is The Savage State. This painting represents the image of an untouched America and is akin to the image of Eden before it was harmed by the actions of the humans. The primary focus points of the painting are the image of a hunter chasing a deer and a mountain in the distance. These two figures represent the perfect balance of humanity and nature in which there is no urbanization and nature is left to its own means. Cole inserted himself into the painting as the young hunter...
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...Fredrick Jackson Turner, had a different vision and mindset as a historian when it came to the topic “Frontier.” To elaborate, he offered a new theory on the American idea of the frontier, stating that with the recent Western movement that attracted many citizens to the western united states the end of an era was upon us. In addition, Turner also speaks on the forces that make America great, such as development, colonization, and adaptation where in the past, present, and future the institution of America has successfully adapted to the growth of American life. To Turner, he views the frontier as more of an era or part of history where America can look back and view just how much the concept of industry and settlement has been a vital role in shaping the future of the West. As with many years prior, Turner has accepted that with great movement comes great expansion and the ability to create new...
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...Frederick Jackson Turner is most successful at analyzing American history through his essay, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. This piece examines how life was first created here in America, as well as how the first frontier set the stage for numerous civilization advancements that would occur in the near future. Many Americans today seem to forget about the first settlements that served as the basis for what the United States of America has become. This essay accomplishes the goal of reminding those people of how majorly important each step was on the American frontier centuries ago. What was once just an enormous area of free, unoccupied land, is now the home of billions of people as well as numerous buildings, businesses, and modes of transportation....
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...Ogechi Okereke To an extent, Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis, that democracy was a result of the American frontier is correct, but concurrently Turner’s thesis is also wrong. Ways Turner’s thesis is correct is because the frontier or the idea made Americas society independent, more egalitarian. Turner’s thesis is wrong because the frontier wasn’t unoccupied and actually had native people living on the land. The American frontier was essentially a line and or boundary that separated the East and West, more specifically known as civilization and the wilderness (East being civilization and West being the wilderness or Free land). As time progressed the American Frontier had advanced further into the West. Frederick Jackson Turner,...
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...In 1893, Frederick Turner published his “Frontier Thesis” in a paper - “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. Within his publication, he asserted that the wilderness masters the colonist. As man traveled over from Europe, nature “strips off the garments of civilization and arrays him in the hunting shirt and the moccasin.” At first, the frontier environment is “too strong for the man … little by little he transforms the wilderness”. Once the individual is stripped of the old and thrown into the wilderness, an American is born. Thus, America began to advance away from the influence of Europe and towards a bright future. As Turner transcribes on, one can only understand that Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis is valid because nature is one of the greatest equalizers and cannot be underestimated. As the frontier grew, American democracy expanded as the West expanded....
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...his faulty views reject the duty and purpose of the American government. The work of Richard W. Etulain fully analyzes Frederick Jackson Turner’s “Turner Thesis”. Turner gave his speech in Chicago in the 1890s, and the Turner Thesis discussed how the frontier was the greatest thing that happened in American history, and how Manifest Destiny tells that the U.S. has a responsibility to expand entirely west. While moving west was seen as a positive aftermath of Reconstruction by some, the main problem with the Turner Thesis and the expansion of the frontier was that Turner’s vision only included the accomplishments of white settlers; he neglected Native Americans even though they had already inhabited the land. The Native Americans wanted to keep their land and maintain their society, however, white settlers wanted to take over and expand their own community westward. In addition, another major flaw of the Turner Thesis is the way it ignored women. Turner overlooked women, their roles, and their contributions and only focused on men’s actions when expanding west. The Turner Thesis also states that the germ theory, meaning that traditions are brought from European immigrants, created a melting pot. He also thought that the process of moving European immigrants across the country allowed for new challenges and values different from what they had back home. Turner thought this would result in a new American identity that could be shared by all of the people on the frontier. Lastly...
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...flourish, and businesses could begin to grow. As a result growing businesses led to the rise of monopolies in America, such as those led by Carnegie, and Rockefeller, and these growing businesses created many new jobs for the many immigrants who were moving to America at growing rates. These represent both economic, and social changes in America following the closing of the frontier. Sometimes these changes in business and the industrialization of America led to poor conditions for immigrants, but With these changes a new America was born, and along with that a new American dream that consisted of success in business, where success in America had previously been represented by new life out on the open plain. As Frederick Jackson Turner stated in his frontier thesis, “the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history.” ...
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...Revolution- Samuel Morse invented telegraph. • The Market Revolution- improvements in how goods were processed and fabricated as well as by a transformation of how labor was organized to process trade goods for consumption. • Porkopolis- Cincinnati was the country's chief hog packing center, and herds of pigs traveled the streets. • Labor theory of value- The value of a commodity is only related to the labor needed to produce or obtain that commodity and not to other factors of production • Second Party System- 2 party system • Democrats- white men democracy. Free markets, no limits on hours/wages. Expand religious liberty. • Whigs- strong, economically involved central gov. • Andrew Jackson- 7th president. Democrat. • Indian Removal Act of 1830- The act authorized Jackson to negotiate with the Native Americans in the Southern United States for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange...
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...injustice behavior out of many that occurred during the western time. Limerick uses sources throughout her book to show how other people viewed the events of the West in contrast with how she viewed the events. One source for example was Mark Twain who wrote Roughing It, which Limerick thought that captured the true absurdity of the situation. “As usual, Mark Twain had an infallible instinct for the irony hidden in a widespread social fiction.” (pg. 56) A major source Limerick used all throughout the book was Frederick Jackson Turner, who wrote a thesis about the West that many people believed was one hundred percent true. “The center of American history, Turner had argued was actually to be found as its edges. As American people proceeded westward, ‘the frontier [was] the outer edge of the wave the meeting point between savagery and civilization’ and ‘the line of mot effective and rapid Americanization.’” (pg. 20) A major issue was that Turner saw the West working as a new frontier process where Limerick saw it as a place of conquest to all. Limerick was very successful in writing The Legacy of Conquest she shows her beliefs and represents them in a logical and reasonable manner all throughout the book. She shows that past beliefs about the West are not exactly right and she sheds light on her beliefs which are based off of facts recorded from the time period. But some of the people that she disagrees with also have facts to back up their...
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