Factors leading to the settlement of the Frontier

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Factors leading to the settlement of the Frontier
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Availability of Cheap Land

• Homestead Act 1862
• 160 acres of land free if settled within 5 years

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Railroads

• Government land grants allowed for completion of
  transcontinental routes
• Facilitated movement of goods and people
• Ended frontier isolation

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Discovery of Precious Metals

• Encouraged the adventurous to move West to find
  their fortune

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Destruction of the Buffalo and Confinement of
Native Americans

• obstacles to settlement were removed

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Importance of the Frontier in American Life
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Frederick Jackson Turners Frontier Thesis

• The Frontier had a major role in shaping the
  American character
• It was a safety valve for the discontented
• It promoted individual self-reliance survival,
  inventiveness
• It promoted social equality no class
  distinctions everyone was equal with the same
  opportunities (social mobility)

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• It promoted economic opportunities
• There were resources and land available
• It promoted the growth of democracy
• The West was the first to adopt democratic
  reforms
• Womens right to vote (Colorado Wyoming)
• Direct election of US Senators
• Use of political primaries to choose candidates
  for political office

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Close of the Frontier in 1890

• 1890 Government announced no more unexplored or
  unsettled land existed within the U.S.
• Our foreign policy is then adjusted to promote
  increased foreign trade and expansion of foreign
  markets
• It encouraged many to support a move to obtain
  overseas colonies (a new frontier)
  (imperialism)
• The U.S. began to realize limits in space and
  resources - need to promote conservation of
  resources and immigration restrictions