Frederick Jackson Turner said, "American democracy was born of no theorist's dream; it was not carried in... the Mayflower to Plymouth. It came out of the American forest, and it gained new strength each time it touched a new frontier."
When European settlers came to America, they were presented with physical conditions that necessitated the change of many of their key concepts of social infrastructure. The frontier had no need for imperial loyalty or standing armies, no basis for harsh generational conflicts or centuries-old territorial disputes.
The resources were plentiful, and the land seemed to stretch forever into the hills and forests of fantasy. The technology of modernity met the savage constraints of living self-sufficiently without the backdrop of massive, heaving empires and frameworks of commerce. The necessity of creating new values in the face of the American land formed the American mindset.
The frontier mindset has defined American ideals of exploration, advancement of humanitarianism, and aggressive egalitarianism. The means by which these ends were pursued are moral questions for another time, but the influence and origins remain clear.
America was born from the forests and rivers. America grew up with mountains and plains. America became strong with coal and iron. America perseveres with the spirit and imagery of The Land.
Background Image: Guillaume Piolle. Soleil couchant sur le Vercors. .jpg file, 12 July 2006.
Frederick Jackson Turner. The Significance of the Frontier in American History