Week 3 Reflection Narrative Paper

Jonathan Nguyen

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

RST 242: Nature and American Culture

Dr. Jacob Fredericks

February 4th, 2024

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The American frontier is a concept that holds a sense of mysticism and sparks

imagination. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the United States was a young country

aiming to expand its territories westward. However, I define the frontier as the border separating

two countries. There have been many frontiers throughout the history of the United States. One

of the most famous frontiers was the frontier created after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 which

gave the U.S. a massive area of land to explore and settle. This frontier had been previously

unexplored and mostly uninhabited by Europeans. The photo shown below depicts a different

type of frontier. It shows the U.S.-Mexico border where people waited along the border wall to

have their claims for U.S. citizenship processed.

The main concept presented by Turner’s Frontier Thesis is that the hardship that the

United States people underwent by exploring the frontier made them stronger since they became

more independent and resourceful. Turner emphasized the strength and “rugged individualism”
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that Americans gained from the frontier and that this promoted the development of democracy.

However, Turner failed to acknowledge that Native Americans already inhabited the “frontier”

long before the Europeans had arrived which brings the validity of his argument into question. In

Nature’s Nation, Obie expands upon this idea by stating that, “In America, a landscape depleted

of wood from a forest, a low tobacco harvest from overused soil or the end of a vein of iron ore

could also be remedied by a fresh start in the western wilderness” (Opie, 1998, p.116). This

reveals that the United States had become too small for the rapidly growing population and that

resources were becoming scarce. As the population continued to grow, “from 4 million in 1790

to 17 million in 1840,” (Opie, 1988, p. 115) so did the settlers’ insatiable appetite for land and

resources. Some “looked on the West as a source of untapped wealth, ready and waiting for

single-minded businessmen” (Opie, 1998, p.159). The West promised economic prosperity and

high standards of living which was very attractive.

My definition of the frontier is different from Opie’s description of westward expansion.

Opie described the frontier as the border between civilized American states and the “wild west”

which was filled with obstacles and uncertainty. I would not like to live on the western frontier

during the 19th century because I would feel too much pressure to establish a livelihood for

myself and my future generations. The unpredictability and riskiness of exploring the frontier is

not something that I would personally prefer to experience. However, I would enjoy the

adventure aspect of exploring the frontier. Exploring nature has significant benefits as one can

find peace of mind and develop an appreciation for the natural world. For example, my family

loves traveling to new places such as the Caribbean because we enjoy experiencing landscapes

that we do not get to see in Illinois such as vibrant blue oceans and breathtaking mountains.
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References:

Fallon, P.T. (2023). An aerial image shows people waiting along the border wall to surrender to

US border patrol agents to have their claims processed [Photograph]. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2023/may/11/us-mexico-border-photos-title-42

Opie, J. (1998). Nature's nation: An environmental history of the United States. (pp.114-185).