FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER
This was one of the first scholarly analysis of the history, psychology, and culture of the American Western Frontiersman. It is still considered one of the best.
The railroads that opened up the West are often used as examples of American corporate and entrepreneurial achievement. But private enterprise would not risk the capital for such a visionary and innovative scheme. It was the Federal Government which provided loans to start and paid for every mile of track with huge grants of land along the right of way. Then the Federal government provided the security and conducted numerous wars against the Indians to make the construction and operation possible. Had the Government and President Lincoln not pushed and supported the plan, there would have been no transcontinental railroad.
The era of American imperialism and international expansion was just beginning, and Turner and predicted the political dynamics and the result in this quotation. Note the desirability of an inter-ocean Canal was well understood before TR organized the Panama Canal effort.
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.
