Does the Frontier Experience Make America Exceptional? (Historians at Work)

Richard White's essay compares and contrasts how Turner and Buffalo Bill Cody interpreted the closing of the West at the end of the 19th-Century. White sees these narratives as having some elements in common but ultimately offering competing narrative explanations. In her essay Glenda Riley notes that Turner clearly ignored women from his story of the Frontier and outlines what he may have missed as a result. Martin Ridge focuses on the influence of Turner's thesis and characterizes Turner as sort of the high priest of American exceptionalism. Finally, Donald Worster notes that historians have essentially dismissed Turner's theory since the 1950s and considers what appropriate interpretation should be offered. Worster argues that historians should return to the interpretation offered by Walter Prescott Webb, who considered the West as an evolving place separate from what was happening in the big cities on each coast.

I have always considered Turner's "Frontier Thesis" to be the prime example of historiography when it comes to introducing the concept to students. From talking to students it is clear that the Frontier Thesis has not been taught in schools for years, which is a shame because since the thesis so eminently debatable, as this collection of essays proves, it remains the perfect way of making students aware that what we teach as history is a collection of arguments rather than the "true" story of what "really" happened. As such, this volume is a useful source of alternative theories as well as insights into the strengths and weaknesses of Turner's ideas.