Using a T-chart, identify the claims presented by pro-imperialists using the text

Question

“The Significance of the Frontier in American History”

From the conditions of frontier life came intellectual traits of profound importance. The works of travelers along each frontier from colonial days onward describe certain common traits, and these traits have, while softening down, still persisted as survivals in the place of their origin, even when a higher social organization succeeded. The result is that to the frontier the American intellect owes its striking characteristics. That coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and inquisitiveness; that practical, inventive turn of mind, quick to find expedients; that masterful grasp of material things, lacking in the artistic but powerful to effect great ends; that restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism, working for good and for evil, and withal that buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom—these are traits of the frontier, or traits called out elsewhere because of the existence of the frontier. Since the days when the fleet of Columbus sailed into the waters of the New World, America has been another name for opportunity, and the people of the United States have taken their tone from the incessant expansion which has not only been open but has even been forced upon them. He would be a rash prophet who should assert that the expansive character of American life has now entirely ceased. Movement has been its dominant fact, and, unless this training has no effect upon a people, the American energy will continually demand a wider field for its exercise. But never again will such gifts of free land offer themselves. For a moment, at the frontier, the bonds of custom are broken and unrestraint is triumphant. There is not tabula rasa. The stubborn American environment is there with its imperious summons to accept its conditions; the inherited ways of doing things are also there; and yet, in spite of environment, and in spite of custom, each frontier did indeed furnish a new field of opportunity, a gate of escape from the bondage of the past; and freshness, and confidence, and scorn of older society, impatience of its restraints and its ideas, and indifference to its lessons, have accompanied the frontier. What the Mediterranean Sea was to the Greeks, breaking the bond of custom, offering new experiences, calling out new institutions and activities, that, and more, the ever retreating frontier has been to the United States directly, and to the nations of Europe more remotely. And now, four centuries from the discovery of America, at the end of a hundred years of life under the Constitution, the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history.

—Frederick Jackson Turner, from The Frontier in American History

Answer 1

Here is a T-chart capturing the claims presented by pro-imperialists in Frederick Jackson Turner's text, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History."

| Pro-Imperialist Claims | Supporting Evidence/Explanation | |--------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | The Frontier Shaped American Identity | Turner asserts that the traits developed on the frontier, such as individualism, inquisitiveness, and practical inventiveness, have become defining characteristics of the American intellect. | | Expansion as a Historical Constant | The text notes that movement and expansion have been dominant in American history, implying a natural inclination towards imperialism. | | Opportunity through Conflict and Change | The frontier is described as a place of "new field of opportunity," suggesting that imperialism is a means of achieving progress and growth through conquest and change. | | Freedom from the Past | Turner emphasizes that the frontier allows for a break from societal customs and constraints, indicative of the liberating aspects of imperial expansion. | | Resilience and Mastery over Environment | The claims highlight the American ability to adapt and thrive in new environments, suggesting that through imperialism, Americans can master new territories and cultures. | | The Role of the Frontier in National Development | Turner compares the frontier to the Mediterranean Sea for ancient Greeks, indicating that just as the Greeks thrived through expansion, so too has America through its frontier experiences, suggesting that imperialism is essential for national vitality. | | Decline of the Frontier Marks a New Era | The closing of the frontier and the statement that it "has gone" foreshadows a need for new domains to conquer, implying that imperialism remains a vital part of American identity and future growth. |

This T-chart outlines the pro-imperialist perspective evident in Turner's arguments, showing how the concept of the frontier has been intertwined with American expansionism and the necessity for continued growth beyond its own borders.