HIST 301G(F) Westward Expansion in American History
For historians of the United States, the Anglo-American settlement of the West has been a critical lens for viewing the development of the nation. But historians have never reached any consensus on what the process of westward expansion, or the influence of the West as a region, has meant to American history. Did the frontier build American character, as Frederick Jackson Turner argued in 1893? Did it establish patterns of conquest that shaped American policy toward other parts of the world, as some current historians would argue today? Has the West been an exceptional place or representative of the nation at large? How should we even define "the West" or "the frontier"? These are some of the questions we will explore as we survey the historiographical trajectory on the subject from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Format: seminar. Requirements: class participation, weekly writing, short essays, and a final paper. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20). Restricted to History majors.