Frederick Jackson Turner American Frontier

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Frederick Jackson Turner, an American Historian in early 20th century, described frontier as a confluence of civilization and savagery or the sparsely populated area beyond which wilderness exists. Turner segregated the American frontier from the European frontier by highlighting a striking contrast between the two. The American frontier was dynamic, unlike the static European frontier which was set by fix boundaries dividing specific populated areas (or different countries). Furthermore, he elaborates the American frontier by stressing on the driving forces behind the expansion of the frontier. These driving forces can mainly be categorized into two groups: firstly, an attempt to free Americans from the European culture and to reverse the savagery and Americanize the new land and; secondly, to exploit the new opportunities and resources presented by the land in the West. Thus, Turner’s definition of frontier only marginally abides by the dictionary definition as he presents not only some geographical barriers like salt supplies, farm lands, and fall lines but also the primary barrier of eradicating the native American culture. The “fall line” served as a frontier in the 17th century. In early 18th century, trading encouraged the settlers to move to Ohio which set the new frontier line. However, the …show more content…

Initially, the settlers who travel to the West to free themselves from European values possess the same values and quality. They encounter the harsh conditions presented by the Native Americans and the new land. This forces them to brace the savagery and step out of civilization. However, when the colonists will accept the harsh conditions and fight the conservative values, the colonists would free themselves from the European values and become Americans. Thus, “wilderness masters the colonist” is a process of transformation of a European colonist into an American after surviving life in the

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