American Culture

Chapter 4 - The Frontier

Heritage
American Frontier
American Frontier
The Impact of the American Frontier (1)

 The ‘frontier’ has not existed for more than

100 years, but it’s effects are still present
today
 The frontier was very important in shaping
American values (see previous lessons)
 Many people associate the image of the
frontier as a symbol of being a true American
(especially used by some Presidents)
The Impact of the American Frontier (2)

 The popular image of the frontier was of

cowboys (heroes) fighting Indians (villains)
 In truth, the Indians (Native Americans) were
mistreated (killed, abused, displaced)
 Today, there is more awareness of what
really happened during the settlement of the
frontier
The Impact of the American Frontier (3)

 The “frontier” existed from the 1600s until ~1890 as

settlers spread from east to west across the
American continent
 On the frontier life was generally harsh khắc nghiệt
(the wild west)
 The settlers- dân định cư believed it was their
“manifest destiny” định mệnh hiển nhiên to control all
of the land
 Displaced native Americans were placed into
reservations – vùng đất dành cho người anh điêng
The Impact of the American Frontier (4,5,6)

 Many Americans are still inspired by the frontier

culture
 This was responsible - for many of today’s
American values
e.g.
– Hard work – cutting down forests, building towns and cities
– Competition – gold rush, land rush
Life on the frontier was seen as an example of these values
in their purest form
The Impact of the American Frontier (7)

 Individualism, Self-Reliance and equality of

opportunity were all important attributes for
people on the frontier
 The value of “Individual freedom” also
developed at this time, probably because
there was no “establishment” to control what
people could do
 Many people in western states still value
individual freedom very highly.
Self-Reliance and the Rugged
Individualist (8,9)

 People on the frontier had to be self-reliant, there

were no comforts
 People had to build their own houses, make their
own clothes, hunt etc
 This has become an ideal of the American hero – A
rugged individualist
 A man who has become tough by living on the
frontier – usually unmarried, skilled at fighting,
protector of others
Self-Reliance and the Rugged
Individualist (10,11,12)

 There are 2 basic types of heroic rugged

individualists:
– Pre-civil war (~1860) – Man against the wilderness e.g.
Daniel Boone
 A man who could survive in the wilderness, not remembered
for his fighting ability
– Post-Civil war (~1860-1890) – Man against man e.g.
Cowboys in the Wild West
 Wilderness has been conquered – fighting for control of
remaining lands. Few laws, frequent violence. Heroes are able
to win fistfights, gunfights against many enemies. Typically
good v evil
Self-Reliance and the Rugged
Individualist (13)

 Wild west heroes are typically lawmen and

gunfighters of the time e.g. Jesse James,
Wyatt Earp
 They had a bigger influence on American
ideas of heroism than earlier frontier heroes
 Wild west heroes have inspired many movies
“Westerns”
American Macho Heroes (14)

 Movies and TV have helped to shape the idea of

“macho” Male strength
 Most American heroes in movies/TV demonstrate
their strength through physical violence
 The western macho hero has been modernized –
soldiers, detectives, policemen (cops and robbers)
 These “heroes” dominate most of American
entertainment
 Today, there are also many female heroes
American Macho Heroes (15,16)

 The idea of the rugged individualist has been

criticized as simplistic
 It overlooks the role played by cooperation in the
settlement of the frontier and the role played by
women
 It also puts too much importance on the use of
violence to solve problems
 People did use guns, but not as much as portrayed
in movies – where violence has gradually increased
American Macho Heroes (17)

 There has been a lot of concern about the impact of

the violence in movies on young people
 Many young people have become used to violence
 The problem has escalated recently – High-School
shootings, inner city gangs etc
 However, this problem has spread to normally
peaceful suburbs
American Macho Heroes (18,19,20)

 Americans have the right to “bear arms” which is

granted by the constitution
 There are many guns in the US today (200 million)
 Ownership increased after September 11 (up to
~50% of households)
 Reflects a tendency for American to “take the law
into their own hands”
 There is a big debate about whether there should be
stricter controls on gun ownership
Inventiveness and the Can-Do Spirit
(21,22,23)

 Self-reliance encouraged inventiveness to solve everyday

problems and deal with new situations
 Many people have been impressed at the frontier persons
ability to invent
 This inventiveness spread throughout the population and
became a national characteristic
 Also lead to the belief that any problem can be solved (can-do)
 Provided a sense of optimism about themselves and their
country
 Politicians use the imagery of the frontier to inspire their people
Equality of Opportunity (24,25)

 The frontier was an expression of equality of

opportunity in it’s purest form
 People treated each other as equals because the
present was more important than the past (family
backgrounds were ignored)
 This offered a new beginning for people who wanted
to advance themselves
 People would often move west after a failure to start
again
 There was always a need for workers on the frontier
Equality of Opportunity (26, 27)

 The gap between the rich and the poor was not a
great on the frontier as in the East
 People dressed and acted alike, and tended to mix
socially
 The American Frontier provided the right conditions
for the development of frontier values
 As the country expanded westward, these Frontier
values gradually became American national values