America's Frontier Heritage (Histories of the American Frontier Series) - Softcover

Billington, Ray Allen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826303102 ISBN 13: 9780826303103

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 1975

Synopsis

The hypothesis advanced in Frederick Jackson Turner's famous 1893 essay, The Significance of the Frontier in American History, has been debated by three generations of scholars. The pioneering experience, Turner suggested, accounted for some of the distinctive characteristics of the American people: during three centuries of expansion their attitudes toward democracy, nationalism and individualism were altered, and they developed distinctively American traits, such as wastefulness, inventiveness, mobility, and a dozen more.

After opening with a summary of the appearance, acceptance, and subsequent dismissal of the theory, the author carefully defines the "frontier" and reviews recent evidence on its political, social, and economic characteristics. He discusses the compulsion to migrate and examines other behavioral patterns and traits in his explanation of how and why pioneers moved west. His extensive bibliographic notes constitute a remarkable guide to the literature of many disciplines dealing with the frontier concept.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

This thought-provoking book by the leading authority on Turner presents the results of modern research in history and the behavioral sciences, concluding that in many ways the Turner hypothesis is a valid one.

About the Author:

Ray Allen Billington (1903-81) trained several generations of western historians and published numerous books on American frontier history, including America's Frontier Heritage (UNM Press).

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 1975
• ISBN 10: 0826303102
• ISBN 13: 9780826303103
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320