Frederick Jackson Turner

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/frederick-jackson-turner

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Frederick Jackson Turner born?November 14, 1861
2. When did Frederick Jackson Turner die?March 14, 1932 (age 70)
3. Where was Frederick Jackson Turner born?Portage, Wisconsin, USA
4. What is the career?Historian and professor
5. Who was Frederick Jackson Turner?Frederick Jackson Turner was a historian born in 1861 who studied how America grew and changed.
6. What is the Frontier Thesis?Turner's Frontier Thesis says that moving westward helped shape America’s democratic, individualistic, and innovative spirit.

Frontier Thesis: Turner's argument that the continuous process of westward expansion and settlement was the defining experience that forged American democracy, individualism, and innovation.
Historiography: The study of the writing of history, including its methods, assumptions, and the evolution of historical interpretation.
American Exceptionalism: The belief that the United States is unique and holds a special place among nations due to its history, ideals, and global role.
Westward Expansion: The 19th-century movement of settlers and pioneers across the North American continent, particularly into territories west of the Mississippi River.