The American Frontier was considered one of the last great opportunities of theUnited States. Its whole existence made America what America was intended to be, a land to start over, a new ground which for many would result in the eventual expansion and diminishing of the frontier. Many arguments arouse around the 1890's to whether this great opportunity was coming to a close. These arguments brought about a lot of controversy for the time and even for the present day. In "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" written in 1893 by Frederick Jackson Turner several points are called upon to show the existence of this frontier was discontinued.The first of these points was that ...view middle of the document...
His duty being to survive, but not realizing that he is creating from this wilderness into what is nowAmerica.His second point of argument he contrasts the American frontier with that of theEuropean one, "the European frontier - a fortified boundary line running through dense populations... The most significant thing about the American Frontier is that it lies at the hither edge of free land." He means that to Europeans, the frontier is nothing but a border between population and dense populations, an area where cities meet the rural areas. To Americans, however this frontier was the mark between "America" and the wilderness. It was intended to Americanize this area. " The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization. It finds him a European in dress.....and puts him in the birch canoe.....He must accept the conditions which it furnishes..... Little by little he transforms the wilderness, but the outcome is not the old Europe.....The fact is, that here is a new product which is American. To learn about this advance is to learn about how our way of life today was effected by how this Americanization occurred.I can not say I fully agree with the statement mentioned because it is far too loose a subject to say that this was the only factor involved in such evolution of "the American way of life". A lot more had to play into it, a lot more than survival. Sure it did influence a great deal, but the main influence was most probably the instinct of the human individual that kept him on this road. It is say that it is our course in nature to create an organized society. Because of our intelligence it will happen if we give it enough time and because of the factors involved; environment, inhabitants, and survival, that we became what is this so called " American way of life"The third point argued stated that the frontier differed for each profession or trade that each occupation had its own area of advancement. Each passed in successive waves across the continent. He states there are several levels of these frontiers. They consist of the trader's frontier, the miner's frontier, and the farmer's frontier. The trader's frontier had the most impact on the advance of the other frontiers. "The records of various NewEngland colonies show how steadily exploration was carried into the wilderness by this trade... The Ohio, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Platte, the lines of western advance were ascended by traders. They found the passes in the Rocky Mountains, and guided Lewis and Clark, Fremont and Bidwell. The trading post had left the unarmed Indian tribes to the mercy of those tribes who had purchased weapons from the traders. Thus this advance of traders was welcomed by many Indian societies in hope of keeping up with their fellow tribes. The Indian trade pioneered the way for civilization."the buffalo trail became the Indian trail, and this became the trader's 'trace'; the trails widened into roads, and the ro...
