3.5: Frederick Jackson Turner: “The Signiscance of the Frontier in American History” (1893)

A Guided Journey through Key Documents, 1865-present
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3.5 Frederick Jackson Turner: “The Signiscance of the Frontier in American History” (1893)
Historical Context
Guiding Questions
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Abstract

Frederick Jackson Turner was a leading historian at the turn of the century. He presented this essay outlining his Frontier Thesis at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. As the title indicates, the piece focuses on Turner’s assessment of the role the frontier had on American society. Building on this idea, then, the “closing” of the frontier raised important questions about the nation’s future and its expansion not only in North America, but overseas as well.

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