References on the Significance of the Frontier in American History

Excerpts from the Preface: The frontier interpretation as developed in American historiography has been of considerable influence on discussions of present conditions in the United States, and there is need for a convenient key to the scholarly studies relating to the subject. Furthermore, the recent critical reexamination of the tenets and ramifications of the interpretation deserves summarization. As indicated by the title, this bibliography is devoted primarily to citations of articles and books that constitute specific considerations of the significance of the frontier in American history. In essence, it is a summarization of the more important interpretative writings which preceded or stemmed from Professor Frederick Jackson Turner's famous essay on the subject. The main manifestations of the frontier interpretation in popular discussion and writing and representative articles containing material on analogous conditions in other countries have also been included. With a view to utility, the citations are extensively annotated. Quotations from prefaces and texts indicate the point of view of the authors, and quotations from reviews afford evaluations. The chronology, it is believed, will also be of service in showing the development of the interest in the frontier interpretation on the part of scholars.