Changes

[[Image:DEMOCRATIC.JPG|thumb|390px|Turner's frontier made for democracy]]

[[Image:DEMOCRATIC.JPG|thumb|390px|Turner's frontier made for democracy]]

==Origins==

==Origins==

Benjamin Franklin can be compared favorably with Turner as a promoter of the idea of the significance of the West in the shaping of American character. Franklin used the words frontier and West interchangeably and generally equated both of them with free land. He believed that the West was decisive in producing the phenomenal population growth of the society of his day and its "middle-class agrarianism." His frontier-inspired ideas had a demonstrable effect on public events and contributed to the coming of the American Revolution. Americans eagerly gave wide currency to Franklin's ideas. His political and diplomatic exertions contributed considerably to insure that the West would be a part of the new nation he was helping to create.<ref>James H. Hutson, "Benjamin Franklin and the West". ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 1973 4(4): 425-434. 0043-3810 </ref>

Benjamin Franklin can be compared favorably with Turner as a promoter of the idea of the significance of the West in the shaping of American character. Franklin used the words frontier and West interchangeably and generally equated both of them with free land. He believed that the West was decisive in producing the phenomenal population growth of the society of his day and its "middle-class agrarianism." His frontier-inspired ideas had a demonstrable effect on public events and contributed to the coming of the American Revolution. Americans eagerly gave wide currency to Franklin's ideas. His political and diplomatic exertions contributed considerably to insure that the West would be a part of the new nation he was helping to create.<ref>James H. Hutson, "Benjamin Franklin and the West". ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 1973 4(4): 425-434. 0043-3810</ref>

Writers such as [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] had speculated on the importance of the west, and [[Theodore Roosevelt]] wrote a full-scale history of the Tennessee frontier that argued the experience formed a new "race" -- the American people. Turner drew on his knowledge of evolution, and his own research into the fur trade frontier.  He first announced his thesis in a paper entitled "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," delivered to the [[American Historical Association]] in 1893 at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  The thesis dominated much of scholarship until the 1960s. It was then challenged by the "New Western Historians," who ignored its valid conclusions but instead charged that it ignored ethnic minorities and women and was too praiseworthy of the pioneers.

Writers such as [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] had speculated on the importance of the west, and [[Theodore Roosevelt]] wrote a full-scale history of the Tennessee frontier that argued the experience formed a new "race"—the American people. Turner drew on his knowledge of evolution, and his own research into the fur trade frontier.  He first announced his thesis in a paper entitled "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," delivered to the [[American Historical Association]] in 1893 at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  The thesis dominated much of scholarship until the 1960s. It was then challenged by the "New Western Historians," who ignored its valid conclusions but instead charged that it ignored ethnic minorities and women and was too praiseworthy of the pioneers.

==Evolutionary model==

==Evolutionary model==

===Women===

===Women===

The legal status of women in the 19th-century trans-Mississippi West has drawn the attention of numerous interpreters, whose analyses fall into three types: 1) the Turnerian Frontier Thesis, which argues that the West was, among other things, a liberating experience for women and men; 2) the reactionists, who view the West as a place of drudgery for women, who reacted unfavorably to the isolation and the work in the West; and 3) those writers who claim the West had no effect on women's lives, that it was a static, neutral frontier. The history of Montana shows that the Turner thesis best explains the improvement in women's status in Montana and the achievement of suffrage in 1914.<ref> Judith K. Cole, "A Wide Field for Usefulness: Women's Civil Status and the Evolution of Women's Suffrage on the Montana Frontier, 1864-1914". ''American Journal of Legal History'' 1990 34(3): 262-294 </ref>

The legal status of women in the 19th-century trans-Mississippi West has drawn the attention of numerous interpreters, whose analyses fall into three types: 1) the Turnerian Frontier Thesis, which argues that the West was, among other things, a liberating experience for women and men; 2) the reactionists, who view the West as a place of drudgery for women, who reacted unfavorably to the isolation and the work in the West; and 3) those writers who claim the West had no effect on women's lives, that it was a static, neutral frontier. The history of Montana shows that the Turner thesis best explains the improvement in women's status in Montana and the achievement of suffrage in 1914.<ref>Judith K. Cole, "A Wide Field for Usefulness: Women's Civil Status and the Evolution of Women's Suffrage on the Montana Frontier, 1864-1914". ''American Journal of Legal History'' 1990 34(3): 262-294</ref>

==Impact of thesis==

==Impact of thesis==

Turner's thesis quickly became popular among intellectuals, as well as spokesmen for the west. It explained why the American people and American government were so different from Europeans.  It sounded an alarming note about the future, since the U.S. Census of 1890 had officially stated that the American frontier line (separating the more-settled and lighty settled zones) had broken up. The idea that the source of America's power and uniqueness was gone was a distressing concept for some intellectuals. Some talked about overseas expansion as a new frontier; others (like [[John F. Kennedy]]) called for a "new frontier" of achievement. Despite criticism, Turner's theory entered its second century "in remarkably good shape."<ref> Limerick (1995) p 697</ref>

Turner's thesis quickly became popular among intellectuals, as well as spokesmen for the west. It explained why the American people and American government were so different from Europeans.  It sounded an alarming note about the future, since the U.S. Census of 1890 had officially stated that the American frontier line (separating the more-settled and lighty settled zones) had broken up. The idea that the source of America's power and uniqueness was gone was a distressing concept for some intellectuals. Some talked about overseas expansion as a new frontier; others (like [[John F. Kennedy]]) called for a "new frontier" of achievement. Despite criticism, Turner's theory entered its second century "in remarkably good shape."<ref>Limerick (1995) p 697</ref>

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==

* [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106262124 Billington, Ray Allen. ''Land of Savagery / Land of Promise: The European Image of the American Frontier in the Nineteenth Century'' (1981)]

* [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106262124 Billington, Ray Allen. ''Land of Savagery / Land of Promise: The European Image of the American Frontier in the Nineteenth Century'' (1981)]

* Bogue, Allan G.  ''Frederick Jackson Turner: Strange Roads Going Down.'' (1988) along with Billington (1973), the leading full-scale biography

* Bogue, Allan G.  ''Frederick Jackson Turner: Strange Roads Going Down.'' (1988) along with Billington (1973), the leading full-scale biography

* Bogue, Allan G.  "Frederick Jackson Turner Reconsidered," ''The History Teacher,'' Vol. 27, No. 2 (Feb., 1994), pp. 195-221 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/494720 in JSTOR]

* Bogue, Allan G.  "Frederick Jackson Turner Reconsidered," ''The History Teacher,'' Vol. 27, No. 2 (Feb., 1994), pp.&nbsp;195–221 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/494720 in JSTOR]

* Cronon, William. "Revisiting the Vanishing Frontier: The Legacy of Frederick Jackson Turner," ''The Western Historical Quarterly,''  Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr., 1987), pp. 157-176 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-3810(198704)18%3A2%3C157%3ARTVFTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G online at JSTOR]

* Cronon, William. "Revisiting the Vanishing Frontier: The Legacy of Frederick Jackson Turner," ''The Western Historical Quarterly,''  Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr., 1987), pp.&nbsp;157–176 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-3810(198704)18%3A2%3C157%3ARTVFTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G online at JSTOR]

* Cronon, William, George Miles, and Jay Gitlin, eds. ''Under an Open Sky: Rethinking America's Western Past'' (1992)  

* Cronon, William, George Miles, and Jay Gitlin, eds. ''Under an Open Sky: Rethinking America's Western Past'' (1992)  

* Etulain, Richard W. ''Does the Frontier Experience Make America Exceptional?'' (1999)  

* Etulain, Richard W. ''Does the Frontier Experience Make America Exceptional?'' (1999)  

* Jensen, Richard. "On Modernizing Frederick Jackson Turner," ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 11 (1980), 307-20. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-3810(198007)11%3A3%3C307%3AOMFJTT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in JSTOR]

* Jensen, Richard. "On Modernizing Frederick Jackson Turner," ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 11 (1980), 307-20. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-3810(198007)11%3A3%3C307%3AOMFJTT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in JSTOR]

* Lamar, Howard R. ed. ''The New Encyclopedia of the American West'' (1998), 1000+ pages of articles by scholars  

* Lamar, Howard R. ed. ''The New Encyclopedia of the American West'' (1998), 1000+ pages of articles by scholars  

* Limerick, Patricia Nelson. "Turnerians All: The Dream of a Helpful History in an Intelligible World," ''The American Historical Review,'' Vol. 100, No. 3 (Jun., 1995), pp. 697-716 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(199506)100%3A3%3C697%3ATATDOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 online at JSTOR]

* Limerick, Patricia Nelson. "Turnerians All: The Dream of a Helpful History in an Intelligible World," ''The American Historical Review,'' Vol. 100, No. 3 (Jun., 1995), pp.&nbsp;697–716 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(199506)100%3A3%3C697%3ATATDOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 online at JSTOR]

* Limerick, Patricia Nelson, Clyde A. Milner, and Charles E. Rankin, eds. ''Trails: Toward a New Western History'' (1991)  

* Limerick, Patricia Nelson, Clyde A. Milner, and Charles E. Rankin, eds. ''Trails: Toward a New Western History'' (1991)  

* Milner, Clyde A., II ed. ''Major Problems in the History of the American West'' 2nd ed (1997), primary sources and essays by scholars

* Milner, Clyde A., II ed. ''Major Problems in the History of the American West'' 2nd ed (1997), primary sources and essays by scholars