Dbq Turner's Frontier Thesis

In the early 1800s as the United States of America began to expand west, fur trapping became a career choice for many men. One of the most iconic fur traders is Peter Skene Ogden, a Canadian was one of the most widely traveled in the Far West region. Due to his exceptional leadership, traveling, mapping, and fur trading skills; he was cause for the development of many civilizations that would later develop into cities. Although his main focus was trapping, Peter Ogden through diligent work, was paving a way for settlers to know what they were going to encounter out west. Through all the experiences that he encountered and the skill set that he demonstrated, shows why he was such a successful fur trader.

(Foreword to the Fourth Edition, Joseph J. Ellis, xi). Morgan explains the colonists as a “quarrelsome, litigious, and divisive lot” (Morgan, 5). He also describes

His thesis suggests that the colonist’s low expectation of work, knowledge of work, attitude of nobility, poor health, attitude of military operation, high expectation of the country, and the fact that these colonists were simply the wrong type of people for the frontier all contributed to the labor problem. Morgan’s article is convincing because all the points he makes are backed up with evidence and examples. Morgan probably did not see this labor problem as an exceptional part of America’s history. He also concludes his argument by mentioning that once the colonists gave up on the Indians, they soon went to African slaves. Morgan most likely did not perceive early America as exceptional because of this.

Throughout the seventeenth century, conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was rampant and constant. As more and more Europeans migrated to America, violence became increasingly consistent. This seemingly institutionalized pattern of conflict begs a question: Was conflict between Europeans and Native Americans inevitable? Kevin Kenny and Cynthia J. Van Zandt take opposing sides on the issue. Kevin Kenny asserts that William Penn’s vision for cordial relations with local Native Americans was destined for failure due to European colonists’ demands for privately owned land.

DBQ - Democracy in Colonial America Essay In Colonial America there was a work in progress, with democratic and undemocratic features. In this essay the information provided will back up the thesis of the democratic features and a show how some rules were an independent work in progress. Equality, the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities, was a democratic feature in America .

The harsh conditions the Indians underwent “encouraged the emigration of rural laborers from Mexico to the southwestern part of the United States” (New York: American Geographical Society, 1923). Diaz intervention in the administration of justice sided with the indians (162). He was aware that a large majority of territory was taken from the indians and so, made negotiations with corrupt companies which profited off of these lands. Part of this plan was to give the Indians sale on easy payment terms, irrigation, and education (Eder, 35). Indians were part of the rural population, they had their land taken from them and therefore were repressed.

Countless citizens in the 1840s and 1850s, feeling a sense of mission, believed that Almighty God had “manifestly’’ destined the American people for a hemispheric career. They would spread their uplifting and ennobling democratic institutions over at least the entire continent. Land greed and ideals—“empire’’ and “liberty’’—were thus conveniently conjoined. 14. What political party cost Henry Clay the popular vote in the state of New York, & what is ironic about Polk’s election in 1844 regarding this party’s position on Texas?

De’ Crevecoeur has a very positive perspective on the fact that the frontier played an important role in the formation of American identity. He explains that as people came from Europe, they came from being slaves to the government and not being able to have anything for themselves. People came to America to follow their dreams and to be something successful instead of the unsuccessful lives they had in their homeland. He feels that the main reason they came, was to seek freedom. Crevecoeur sees these immigrants as taking action into their lives and wanting to be something more than they ever thought they could being ruled the way they were in their old country.

In their writing, Frederick Jackson Turner and Jack London provide benchmarks for how facing the frontier affects man and his ability to survive. However, the authors themselves could not have been more different in their approach to the subject. Frederick Jackson Turner credits the American frontier as the one main focus in shaping the American character. In The Significance of the Frontier in American History, Turner expresses “The result is that to the frontier the American intellect owes its striking characteristics.” (Turner 1136).Turner felt that the hardship of the frontier molded all American’s characteristics and made them more adept to overcome adversity.

They believed that the government, local leaders, and the states should play a more active roll in bringing about a fair economy, raising the living standards for all Americans, and directing the vast American resources toward the problems facing America on a personal level. Reforms occurred on federal, state, and local levels. On a federal level reforms consisted of women's suffrage, lowering taxes on imports, prohibiting alcohol, regulating package of foods, sales of drugs, conservation of the environment, and regulating trusts. On a state level reforms consisted of reorganization and reduction of ruling bodies due to corruption, regulation of child labor, creation of power and sewer systems. Although many reforms were made during this period, we will be more concerned with those dealing with children in this paper.

The pursuit of self-gratification and preservation forms only a minute part of this concept. Promotion of personal liberties and control in the various aspects of an individual’s life and situation has been a major part of American history since its very dawn. Individualism first appeared in America in the early 17th century with the arrival of the Pilgrims, a people facing religious persecution in their home country of England. While they did indeed band together as a group under a common cause, their fight for the ideals of personal liberty was an individualistic one.

The contrasts between the American West and East in the nineteenth century range from a new start to the adventure of the living in the Wild West. The east had become overcrowded and did not allow much opportunity for people of lesser wealth. “In 1893, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner gave a celebrated lecture, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” in which he argued that on the western frontier the distinctive qualities of American culture were forged: individual freedom, political democracy, and economic mobility. The West, he added, acted as a “safety

1.Compare and contrast the characteristics and influences of the three major sections of the United States by the mid 19th century. As the United States developed through time, the Northeastern, Western, and Southern regions began to be independent and did not rely on each other as often as in the beginning of the country’s development. As history progresses, the Northeast, West, and South had similar and contrasting viewpoints, characteristics and influences concerning the economy, territory, and the overall well being of the population. Throughout the mid 19th century, the Northeastern, Western, and Southern sections of the United States influenced each other greatly.

During the “Gilded Age” period of American history, development of the Trans-Mississippi west was crucial to fulfilling the American dream of manifest destiny and creating an identity which was distinctly American. Since the west is often associated with rugged pioneers and frontiersmen, there is an overarching idea of hardy American individualism. However, although these settlers were brave and helped to make America into what it is today, they heavily relied on federal support. It would not have been possible for white Americans to settle the Trans-Mississippi west without the US government removing Native Americans from their lands and placing them on reservations, offering land grants and incentives for people to move out west, and the

The frontier is the raw uncharted and undeveloped land in America. When America was founded individuals claimed land. Some argue that the frontier impacted the American identity such as De Crevecoeur, Quinney, and Turner. J. Hector ST. John De Crevecoeur was an author who wrote the Farmer Letters.