American frontier
Expanding nation's edge
The American frontier was the westward-moving edge of European-American settlement from colonial times through the late 19th century.
It defined a cultural identity built on expansion, self-reliance, and conflict with indigenous peoples.
The frontier officially "closed" in 1890 when the census found no clear line of unsettled territory.
The term evokes romanticized images of pioneers, cowboys, and wilderness—the spirit of the American frontier.
Remote highlands wilderness dweller
- trapperOne who catches animals
- scoutOne who reconnoiters
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
- buckskinTanned deer pelt
fur trader · Daniel Boone · Davy Crockett · Kit Carson · Sacagawea · Lewis and Clark · backwoodsman · pathfinder
Spreading in sunset's direction
- manifest destinyObvious, inescapable fate
- land grabRapid territorial acquisition
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
settlement · migration · conquest · exploration · expedition · California · Texas · Great Plains
Pioneers' covered convoy
- covered wagonCanvas-roofed pioneer vehicle
- settlerOne who colonizes territory
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- colonistPerson inhabiting new territory
emigrant · prospector · outpost · trading post · fort · stockade · prairie schooner · oxen
1803 territorial acquisition
- Gold RushHistoric prospector migration
- Oregon TrailEmigrant route westward
- Manifest DestinyBelief in justified American expansion
- Indian WarsColonial-era indigenous conflicts
Wounded Knee · Little Bighorn · Alamo · Sutter's Mill · Donner Party · Homestead Act · Indian Removal Act · Trail of Tears
One who colonizes territory
- cabinSimple wooden dwelling
- sod houseDwelling made from turf
- farmsteadFarm with residence
- plowTool for turning soil
livestock · crops · fencing · barn · acreage · land grant · tillage · harvest
Not domesticated
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- Great PlainsCentral North American grassland
- forestTree-dense ecosystem
remote · rugged terrain · vastness · wildlife · buffalo · natural landscape · unexplored · virgin land
mountain man
Remote highlands wilderness dweller
- trapperOne who catches animals
- scoutOne who reconnoiters
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
buckskin · fur trader · Daniel Boone · Davy Crockett · Kit Carson · Sacagawea · Lewis and Clark · backwoodsman · pathfinder · rifleman
westward expansion
Spreading in sunset's direction
- manifest destinyObvious, inescapable fate
- land grabRapid territorial acquisition
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
colonization · settlement · migration · conquest · exploration · expedition · California · Texas · Great Plains · Rocky Mountains
wagon train
Pioneers' covered convoy
- covered wagonCanvas-roofed pioneer vehicle
- settlerOne who colonizes territory
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
colonist · emigrant · prospector · outpost · trading post · fort · stockade · prairie schooner · oxen · provisions
Louisiana Purchase
1803 territorial acquisition
- Gold RushHistoric prospector migration
- Oregon TrailEmigrant route westward
- Manifest DestinyBelief in justified American expansion
Indian Wars · Wounded Knee · Little Bighorn · Alamo · Sutter's Mill · Donner Party · Homestead Act · Indian Removal Act · Trail of Tears
settler
One who colonizes territory
plow · livestock · crops · fencing · barn · acreage · land grant · tillage · harvest · cultivation
untamed
Not domesticated
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- Great PlainsCentral North American grassland
forest · remote · rugged terrain · vastness · wildlife · buffalo · natural landscape · unexplored · virgin land · isolation
- American placesNew York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco
- Cooper novelsHawkeye, Homeward Bound, Wyandotte, Alice Munro, Mohicans
- Mark TwainSamuel Clemens, pen name, pseudonym, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn
- Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase, Louisiana Territory, 1803, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte
- Southeastern tribesCherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Natchez
American frontierEastern Seaboard
US Atlantic coastal region
urban centers · metropolis · New England · coastal settlements · Philadelphia
frontier, America, American, Americans, Americana, frontiersman, Americanize, Americanized, Americanizing