Frontiers: Post to Modern

The history of the United States’ and American landscapes are convoluted, violent and often misunderstood. Recent readings help to solidify this notion and make understood the intricate stories that were unfolding all over the Western hemisphere during this pivotal time in human history.

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Growing up as a child in the United States, I remember being taught mainly of the United States’ conflicts abroad and at home. The history lessons were U.S.-centric, singularly focused and therefore misleading – at least they only taught a small portion of the whole story. By using the term “singularly focused” I mean that the lesson plans described the United States’ independence was the most important event to everyone in the world of the time. While it probably did rock many corners of the world, it was interesting to read Herbert E. Bolton’s Wider Horizons of American History that helped to put the event in context of what else was taking place in the world – much of which was in the Americas. Bolton downplays the American Revolution by stating,  “Then came the American Revolution. This too was by no means a local matter. It lasted half a century – from 1776 to 1826 – and it witnessed the political separation of most of American from Europe” (19-20).

Bolton does an excellent job of explaining the revolutions that occurred throughout the Americas during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, what preceded them, and how they were interconnected.  His explanations show that the frontier was not simply a border moving across the country with time, but rather pockets of intense fighting and political upheaval.  

Frontiers are interesting places of study because they are often where cultures smash together - often violently for resources and political power. Walter Prescott Webb helps us envision these frontiers as dangerous places full of political strife in The Great Frontier. New ideas and economic principles came from the frontiers of the Americas. For instance, Europe was richer than ever before due vastly to resources coming from American frontiers. There was so much money that national banks had to be set up. Commodities were circulating faster than precious metals, which meant that eventually money would be scarce. People would soon need a substitute for gold and silver (235-6). Obviously, this would become the paper currency that we know and love today. Furthermore, John Law established the idea of credit, but he was ultimately ruined by watering his stock – also a new concept.

Many think of frontiers as a distant phenomenon in human history – a place that represented a different world, one of mystery, danger, wildness and adventure to the unknown. However, Brian Davis helps us understand that modern frontiers may well exist, and be a lot closer than we think.  American frontiers exist today in the remnants of old industrial cities where abandoned water fronts and large warehouses possess their own environmental constraints, problems and opportunities. They are places where danger lurks in the form of crime, falling debris and dilapidated structures. These are often places of political disfigurement and at locations in cities where cultures clash. As designers, the modern frontier possesses great challenges but also vast opportunity to provide economic and environmental rejuvenation in these areas.