Frederick Jackson Turner Quotes
The West is now closed.
The first Native American to become a General Officer. Appointed by President Grant in 1869
In 1844 the United States had designs on the Oregon territory north of the Columbia River which was claimed by England as being a part of Canada. American politicians were split with the administration leaning towards yielding America's claim. Others urged a strategy which was later emulated by Israel in its settlements of occupied territory.
before there were railroads in the West
This was the beginning of the Jeffersonian effort culminating in the Corps of Discovery and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Presidential, confidential memoranda to the Congress were more common then than now when they have become a rarity.
Shabonee in a warning ride reminiscent of Paul Revere, warned many white settlers of an impending attack by unfriendly Indians. He also gave an eyewitness account of the Battle of Tippecanoe which propelled Harrison to the Presidency. The U. S. Navy named a ship in his honor in the 1940s. Several schools are named for him also.
Frederick Jackson Turner was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his anti-Indigenous "Frontier Thesis". He trained many PhDs who became well-known historians. He promoted interdisciplinary and quantitative methods, often with an emphasis on the Midwest. His best known publication is his essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History", the ideas of which formed the Frontier Thesis. He argued that the moving western frontier exerted a strong influence on American democracy and the American character from the colonial era until 1890. He is also known for his theories of geographical sectionalism. During recent years historians and academics have argued frequently over Turner's work; all agree that the Frontier Thesis has had an enormous effect on historical scholarship.
