The Frontier in American History

About this book

In 1893, the young historian Frederick Jackson Turner read a paper that changed the writing of American history. The census of 1890 had announced that there was no longer a frontier line of unsettled land, and Turner argued that the frontier, the moving edge of settlement westward over three centuries, had shaped American character: its individualism, practical energy, restlessness and democracy were born from the constant rebuilding of society in the wilderness. This book collects that essay with his later studies of the West, the Ohio Valley, the Middle West and the place of the pioneer in American life.

Context and significance

Turner (1861–1932) published the collection in 1920. His 'frontier thesis' has been criticised for ignoring the Native Americans, women and the violence of conquest, but it remains one of the most debated ideas about the United States. The great journey westward is recorded in The Journals of Lewis and Clark.

About the author