The American Frontiers
History 1053
Process or Place?
• ■Turner thesis
• Frederick Jackson Turner 1893, “The significance of the frontier in American History” His explanation
behind the book became known as the Turner Thesis.
• Argued nobody knows hows to frontier. The frontier made us unique and different.
• Its what changed us from europeans into Americans
• Central most important thing in American History in his view.
• ■Process: expansion, democracy
• This helped spread democracy
• Beginning in the colonial period, along the applachian mountains was the frontier.
• it was the operation line between settlement, and uncivilized wilderness.
• Every generation was moving further west.
• This was a westward movement that brought civilization to the wilderness.
• this was also the process of spreading democratic institution.
• the frontier is where we learned to govern ourselves.
• without the protection and guidance of England, Democracy would have never flourished.
• mayflower compact was the first article of self govt rules.
• every generation reinvented, and help perfected the political institution.
• the frontier was the land of unlimited opportunities for everyone!
• frontier was a safety valve- it takes off the excess pressure so does the society does not over
pack.
• There were never class revolutions because we had the west to bleed into
• never mentioned indians.
• ■Ended 1890
• as of 1890 the frontier was closed.
• the first chapter of american history comes to an end.
• the safety valve is now shut.
• Turner never asked the question, but everyone questioned who read “what do we do now?” “whats to
become of us?”
• Discontinuity between the past and the present.
• book published in 1893
• he shaped the way of tons of millions of americans understood their past.
• not until 1980s, did someone want to rethink this.
• this was taken as fact and truth until 1987.
• Limerick thesisPatricia limerick, “the legacy of conquest”
• calls turners conclusions into question
• its an alternative to what the frontier was and the significance.
• the frontier was a place at a specific place and a specific time.
• the american West after the civil war.
• the themes of this place were conquest and economic development.
, • white americans and black americans were only the last people to move into this region to
compete for recourses with Native americans.
• she mentioned the indians who have lived and competed with fought with other indian groups
to control resources.
• americans were on the last group to come into this area to compete with the people who are
already there.
• Economic development- one group comes in and conquers over another group, and then
develops the recourses for wealth. (mining for example)
• ■Place: conquest, economic development
• ■Still continuing
• Native american and mexicans, and chinese have been pushed aside and NOW whites control this
region.
• Now different groups of white people are competing for resources.
• (urban people vs rural, industrialists vs. oil tycoons)
• she is stressing the continuity of the frontier.
• the process never ended and it is still going on, we are still competing for resources.
• ■Synthesis
• came around in 90s
• takes the best of Turner’s and Limerick theory
• this theory is accepted my recent historians
• multiple frontier experience. This frontier is relative to time, and place, and a its an
exclusionary process.
• this is not a land of unlimited opportunity.
• Different people going to different parts of the american west at different times brings it into a
more clear focus.
•
Multiple Frontiers
• ■Mining
• usually the first white american settlements anywhere across the west.
• the availability of mineral wealth attracted people into these regions.
• white-spanish americans came into the area and pushed out indians to mine for wealth.
• Turner noted we moved west because we found coal in western virginia, tenesseee, and the carolinas.
• Coal was valuable since it was an efficient energy source.
• 4 state area where lead and zinc were in abundance in that area, is where mining lead since the metals
were important for industrialization.
• 1840’s california gold rush of 1849
• this attracted many americans, mexicans, and chinese and canadians.
• everyone rushed to california for gold.
• Mining soon became dominated by large corporations since large machines were made to do the mining
job.
• gold was found in southern nevada, colorodo, and then south dakota, and then in alaska. people were
moving from place to place to find gold.
• the mining fro
frontier
ntier actually moved, east and tthen
hen north.
• one of the most prominent businesses in the camps were the saloons and the broffels.
• many women in these mining camps were originally sex trade workers.
History 1053
Process or Place?
• ■Turner thesis
• Frederick Jackson Turner 1893, “The significance of the frontier in American History” His explanation
behind the book became known as the Turner Thesis.
• Argued nobody knows hows to frontier. The frontier made us unique and different.
• Its what changed us from europeans into Americans
• Central most important thing in American History in his view.
• ■Process: expansion, democracy
• This helped spread democracy
• Beginning in the colonial period, along the applachian mountains was the frontier.
• it was the operation line between settlement, and uncivilized wilderness.
• Every generation was moving further west.
• This was a westward movement that brought civilization to the wilderness.
• this was also the process of spreading democratic institution.
• the frontier is where we learned to govern ourselves.
• without the protection and guidance of England, Democracy would have never flourished.
• mayflower compact was the first article of self govt rules.
• every generation reinvented, and help perfected the political institution.
• the frontier was the land of unlimited opportunities for everyone!
• frontier was a safety valve- it takes off the excess pressure so does the society does not over
pack.
• There were never class revolutions because we had the west to bleed into
• never mentioned indians.
• ■Ended 1890
• as of 1890 the frontier was closed.
• the first chapter of american history comes to an end.
• the safety valve is now shut.
• Turner never asked the question, but everyone questioned who read “what do we do now?” “whats to
become of us?”
• Discontinuity between the past and the present.
• book published in 1893
• he shaped the way of tons of millions of americans understood their past.
• not until 1980s, did someone want to rethink this.
• this was taken as fact and truth until 1987.
• Limerick thesisPatricia limerick, “the legacy of conquest”
• calls turners conclusions into question
• its an alternative to what the frontier was and the significance.
• the frontier was a place at a specific place and a specific time.
• the american West after the civil war.
• the themes of this place were conquest and economic development.
, • white americans and black americans were only the last people to move into this region to
compete for recourses with Native americans.
• she mentioned the indians who have lived and competed with fought with other indian groups
to control resources.
• americans were on the last group to come into this area to compete with the people who are
already there.
• Economic development- one group comes in and conquers over another group, and then
develops the recourses for wealth. (mining for example)
• ■Place: conquest, economic development
• ■Still continuing
• Native american and mexicans, and chinese have been pushed aside and NOW whites control this
region.
• Now different groups of white people are competing for resources.
• (urban people vs rural, industrialists vs. oil tycoons)
• she is stressing the continuity of the frontier.
• the process never ended and it is still going on, we are still competing for resources.
• ■Synthesis
• came around in 90s
• takes the best of Turner’s and Limerick theory
• this theory is accepted my recent historians
• multiple frontier experience. This frontier is relative to time, and place, and a its an
exclusionary process.
• this is not a land of unlimited opportunity.
• Different people going to different parts of the american west at different times brings it into a
more clear focus.
•
Multiple Frontiers
• ■Mining
• usually the first white american settlements anywhere across the west.
• the availability of mineral wealth attracted people into these regions.
• white-spanish americans came into the area and pushed out indians to mine for wealth.
• Turner noted we moved west because we found coal in western virginia, tenesseee, and the carolinas.
• Coal was valuable since it was an efficient energy source.
• 4 state area where lead and zinc were in abundance in that area, is where mining lead since the metals
were important for industrialization.
• 1840’s california gold rush of 1849
• this attracted many americans, mexicans, and chinese and canadians.
• everyone rushed to california for gold.
• Mining soon became dominated by large corporations since large machines were made to do the mining
job.
• gold was found in southern nevada, colorodo, and then south dakota, and then in alaska. people were
moving from place to place to find gold.
• the mining fro
frontier
ntier actually moved, east and tthen
hen north.
• one of the most prominent businesses in the camps were the saloons and the broffels.
• many women in these mining camps were originally sex trade workers.
