Daniel Bogert "Frontier Thesis"

In class we have talked about how a landscape can help shape someone's identity. Frederick Jackson Turner in his paper "the Significance of the Frontier in American History" argued that the frontier shaped the identity of our entire country. Many of our ideals and values can be traced back to the time when men lived on the frontier. Because pioneers found themselves in a harsh new landscape they had to adapt and learn to take care of themselves. There was no society or culture to fall back on at the time. They learned to rely on themselves. This helped produce the American character of rugged individualism. Also the frontier encouraged those with an adventurous spirit to move out west. Even after settling, many pioneers got restless and packed up to go even farther into the frontier. This constant search for adventure is still characteristic of many modern Americans.