How The Frontier Shaped The American Character, by Ray Allen Billington

Students could use the Billington article as an introduction to studying the New Nation, The West or as a part of a culminating activity either for a unit on The West or the year of study. There are connections to Winthrop’s “city upon a hill” as well as Hoover’s “rugged individualism”. The article may need to be excerpted because of its length or it could be divided up among the students in a jigsaw approach. Students could identify the characteristics and research for examples, in history, that either support or refute Turner’s thesis. The concept of American exceptionalism doesn’t start with Turner, nor does it end there, and the relevance of the thesis today could be a great topic of discussion or structured debate.