how accurate was frederick jackson turners thesis about the american frontier
{"Image DocumentName": "Turner\u2019s Frontier Thesis", "Image ImageDescription": "Frederick Jackson Turner, 1893\u2014 The Significance of the Frontier in American History Western frontier shaped the American identity. More democratic, optimistic, and individualistic. The frontier was now closed. In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner delivered a paper titled The Significance of the Frontier in American History. In this paper, Turner outlined his frontier thesis. He believed that the western frontier of the United States had shaped the American character and created a culture of individualism and invention. He believed that the wild and savage nature of the frontier, combined with the civilizing qualities of the people who settled there, created a unique American dynamic. As settlers and their descendants spent more time in the West, they adapted their European sensibilities to the Western realities, becoming more democratic, individualistic, optimistic, and independent of rigid structures. Turner argued that the frontier had now closed, ending an important chapter in United States history. He feared that without the frontier, the United States would change its character back to a more hierarchical, less democratic, and less optimistic and individualistic country. By 1890 the West had largely been settled. Despite the West\u2019s abundance of rangeland and farms, most westerners lived in cities. The character of the West had indeed changed from a region of exploration to an area that was well-mapped, and whose territory was fully claimed. Nevertheless, for many people much of the West remained a region of opportunity and an attractive alternative to the more traditional and hierarchical character of the East. Frederick Jackson Turner.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}