László Zsolt Zságer: The Cultural Narrative of the Frontier and its Significance in American History

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Out of all American cultural narratives, the narrative of the frontier and the way it has been interpreted in American history has been the most persistent and versatile. In the beginning, the frontier was seen as the meeting point between savagery and civilization (farming frontier, mining frontier, trading frontier, etc.), then served as the basis for American expansionism as well as the containment of European powers, and later for imperialistic aspirations. After that, the horizontal extension of the frontier was replaced by a vertical one at the onset of the development of urban areas. In the second half of the 20th century, the frontier was relocated to areas where Communism set its feet. In the decades of the space race the outer space became the new frontier. Later the advancement of the frontier manifested itself in the elimination of barriers obstructing the flow of goods, capital and resources as well as in the export of democracy and American institutions to regions where populations are believed to be oppressed.