The Frontier in American History [Paperback]

Frederick Jackson Turner (Author), Wilbur R. Jacobs (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1986

Widely recognized as a classic of American historiography, The Frontier in American History examines the importance of the unsettled West as both idea and physical reality. Turner's essays explore the changing frontier as it moved progressively westward and discuss the contributions of the pioneers in each frontier area to the development of modern American democracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . .sets forth in the clearest possible manner the view of American expansion which has inspired and illuminated all of Professor Turner's work from the beginning. Among all American historians no one has so fully caught the meaning of the frontier in our national development."—American Review of Books "Makes an excellent general presentation of a subject which is insufficiently understood by the average American, yet is so fascinating that any reader will be thankful to have it brought to his attention."—Springfield Republican

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (January 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816509468
• ISBN-13: 978-0816509461
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,470,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book to understand what makes America tick, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Frontier in American History (Paperback)

Although this book is now considered by some to be politically incorrect and by others to have been superceded by later research, it is an important introdction to the ways in which the frontier experience has shaped American culture. From the time of the first European settlements on the East Coast until the 1890s, when Jackson and others first recognized that the American frontier had disappeared, the possibility of farming/mining/foresting new lands had always be a possibility for Americans and an attractant for European immigrants. This was a basis for Americans and other to think of the U.S. as a land of opportunity. An excellent read and a good introduction to a fascinating subject.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly THE best ever explanation of America, March 18, 2003

By 

Karl (England, Great Britain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Frontier in American History (Hardcover)

Current US international policy shows just how brilliant and enduring Frederick Turner's Frontier Thesis really is.

The basic idea is that after the initial explorations by Spain, England, etc., the real colonisation of America was a flight from conditions in Europe (including Ireland and Britain) which led to a European-style culture and settlement of the East Coast.

This led to a second flight from European-like influences into the interior - which simply pulled European-style culture further west. And so it continued until Europe finally reached the West Coast.

There are numerous ramifications of the thesis, including the "force majeur" (might=right) attitude of the settlers towards the Native Americans - with its ominous overtones on the eve of war in the Middle-East.

As far as I understand it, for all the "warts", Turner was looking to UNDERSTAND the American mentality/culture, as shaped by by historical experience, and the Frontier Thesis is a critique, NOT a criticism.

Read this book and gain a whole new, or at least greatly expanded, view of what it means to be an "American".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Thesis that Ended American Isolationism, June 11, 2011

By 

M. Kara "Publius" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Frontier In American History (Hardcover)

The other reviewers offered boilerplate accounts of THE essay that changed American History without mentioning the reasons of its true significance. Frederick Jackson Turner explained how the Frontier purified Democracy as settlers crafted governmental institutions to meet their needs. From the West came suffrage for women, coeducational colleges, direct election of senators, and Social Welfare, as the vastness of the West taught citizens to act collectively when solving problems beyond the capabilities of individual settlers. Rugged individualism remained the ideal, while in practice, government became the agent of change. These purifying affects emerged as prime motivations for Americans to expand Anglo-American civilization beyond the shores of North America after the Frontier closed. Shortly after Turner's address to the American Historical Association in 1893, the Frontier Thesis justified the intellectual argument for American colonization of the Pacific and Caribbean Basins prior to the Spanish American War in 1898. The Frontier Thesis and Turner's following essays influenced U.S. presidents and foreign policy from that time forward including the current "informal empire" that spans the globe. Turner's essays will be a historical Rosetta Stone for young historians deciphering the twists and turns of American foreign policy throughout the twentieth century and beyond.