American democracy’ history: turner’s thesis essay

The Turner Thesis claimed that American democracy was formed out of the American Frontier, whereby the process had a great impact on the natives. The interaction with the people at the frontier resulted in the adoption of moderate culture, democracy, and violence towards the people of color. In his analysis of Turner’s article, Ridge observed that American democracy was never brought in the country, but instead, it developed in the forests; and every time the locals interacted with the foreigners in the frontier, new ideals were acquired.

The “ principle function” of the frontier in American history was that through the American frontier, liberty was established since Americans were freed from the hands of Europeans who had taken over all major societal activities, especially in economics and politics.

Additionally, the American frontier did away with dysfunctional customs and traditions that had threatened the American Dream. There was no need for the militias, religion, aristocrats, and the rich in the frontiers because they simply played a negative role since they interfered with individual fulfillment in the sense that they threatened individual liberty and security. In this regard, the frontier land was expected to be free for anybody, and the idea of charging taxes was against societal ideals.

Americans had to forge a unique identity for them to achieve the much-needed civilization that would spark economic and political development. Through this, citizens would be given full power and authority to domesticate the wild animals. With time, many people moved from the exterior to the interior, making some people move to towns, but the conflicts between man and nature existed. As the generations became more American, they built autonomy and intolerance to oppression. Unfortunately, these developments never had a good effect on the community because people became more violent, individualistic, and distrustful of the authority, which is a characteristic of the American culture.

The frontier served a great purpose of transforming the American culture from the animalistic nature to what it currently presents. For instance, people were able to adapt to new things in society, leading to the domestication of plants and animals. Through this, people learned to be independent, whereby they were expected to be self-sufficient in the sense that they produced goods that satisfied their needs. Instead of subscribing to the ideas of scientists, Americans decided to live their lives without forming the government.

However, community-based organizations were formed to resolve the local problems that faced the locals. In this case, no person was supposed to be superior, but instead, people were considered equal, and both genders were allowed to enjoy their lives. Through the frontier, the current democratic ideas were developed, and the idea of egalitarianism was established whereby people were expected to be provided with certain inherent rights and freedoms. In modern society, human rights organizations are always concerned with the government’s attempt to deny individuals their basic rights, such as the right to free will.

Additionally, the process of selecting leaders is always based on democracy whereby the majority should have their way, but the minorities must be represented. Turner’s thesis had a great impact on the lives of many Americans in the sense that they started demanding for their rights when the regime mistreated people based on their race, social positions, and ethnicity. It was clear that an individual had the right to do as he or she wishes, and the only role of the government was to provide an enabling environment to ensure individual fulfillment.