Frederick Jackson Turner

Frederick Jackson Turner
Frederick Jackson Turner (1861–1932) was an influential American historian best known for his "frontier thesis," which argued that the American frontier played a crucial role in shaping the nation's character and democratic institutions. He presented this idea in his essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" (1893), emphasizing the impact of westward expansion on American development. Turner believed that the frontier fostered individualism, innovation, and democracy, marking a key distinction from European influences. His work had a lasting influence on historical scholarship and American identity, though it has also been critiqued for overlooking the role of Native Americans and other groups.

Author's Books:


INTRODUCTION. The trading post is an old and influential institution. Established in the midst of an undeveloped society by a more advanced people, it is a center not only of new economic influences, but also of all the transforming forces that accompany the intercourse of a higher with a lower civilization. The Phœnicians developed the institution into a great historic agency. Closely associated with... more...

PREFACE In republishing these essays in collected form, it has seemed best to issue them as they were originally printed, with the exception of a few slight corrections of slips in the text and with the omission of occasional duplication of language in the different essays. A considerable part of whatever value they may possess arises from the fact that they are commentaries in different periods on the... more...