Synopses & Reviews
This masterful biography examines the life and legacy of Frederick Jackson Turner. Best known for his 1893 essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" -- the most enduring explanation of our national development -- Turner was a leader in establishing the field of western American history and in shaping the broader history discipline. Placing Turner's ideas in the context both of his own times and of current historiography, Allan G. Bogue elucidates his far-reaching influence as thinker, scholar, mentor, and teacher.
Born in 1862, Turner grew up in Portage, Wisconsin. In the course of his career as history professor at the University of Wisconsin and at Harvard, he achieved unparalleled success. Initially his frontier thesis made no significant impact, but in time it -- and his theory on sectionalism -- established him as the founder of a new school of thought.
Weaving together accounts of Turner's personal and professional life, Bogue addresses intriguing questions: Why did Turner fail to produce that great work of substantive research on which he labored for more than half his career? And why have his ideas inspired so much debate and controversy, even to this day?
Bogue's reinterpretation of Turner's life masterfully weighs the historian's successes against his failures, his strengths against his shortcomings. Elegantly written and exhaustively researched, this book is a significant contribution to western history, American studies, and the history of ideas.