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American West 1890s—A Pivotal Decade
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John Mix Stanley
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Frederick Jackson Turner
“The Significance of the Frontier in American History” American Historical Association Chicago, July 12, 1893 “Frontier thesis”
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American Frontier Thesis
American Frontier not European Tradition Values Democracy Individualism Nationalism Expansion Development
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End of Frontier Census of 1890 Frederick Jackson Turner Frontier gone
Closed first period of American history Watershed of history
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End of Frontier Native Americans
Prior to 1850s Native Americans independent nations After 1850s annihilation of Native Americans Buffalo American policies Break up of tribal lands Reservations
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End of Frontier The Cowboy Open-range stockman Homestead Act of 1862
Restricted public lands Fenced land Railroads
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End of Frontier The Farmer Severe droughts Overproduction Low prices
Sharp decrease in Western migration Scare timber Little water Agricultural technology
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End of Frontier The Miner Dominant industry since 1849
Metal values decline Termination of federal purchases Mining technologies
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End of Frontier Panic of 1893
Failure of Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Borrowed heavily for infrastructure Cut profits Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 repeal
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End of Frontier National Economy National rather than sectional
16,000 business bankrupt (1893) Mining industry Lumber industry Industrialization of the West
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End of Frontier National Politics Populists Rural unrest
Against capitalist exploitation For federal regulation of industry Rural unrest Transportation Land Money
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End of Frontier Socio-cultural Shifts Rise of urban centers
West demographics More women and children Safe place of civilization and culture Romanticism becomes Realism
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American Frontier McVeigh, Stephen. “The American West in the 1890s—a Pivotal Decade.” The American Western. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, Print.
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