Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Donna Haverty-Stacke
Second Advisor
jonathan.rosenberg@aol.com
Academic Program Adviser
Karen Kern
Abstract
Using Paul Cohen’s methodological approach in History in Three Keys, this thesis examines the construction and debunking of the myths of manifest destiny, the rugged individual frontiersman, and the “noble savage” Native American in the writing about, experience of, and representation of the settlement American West. First, it analyzes the evolution of the historiography from Frederick Jackson Turner to William Cronon. Then it examines the experiences of four families (the Grices, Grahams, Deems, and McCormicks) who settled in Iowa and Nebraska from 1850 to 1880. Lastly, it surveys various popular cultural celebrations of the West. Through this triple lens, this thesis shows how the experiences of settlers at times diverged from these myths, yet also sometimes bolstered them, revealing how American society defined itself as a nation through the settlement of the West.
Recommended Citation
Kooper, Kelly E., "Rewriting the Frontier: The Impact of Collective Memory on the Mythos of Western Settlement" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1307
Included in
Cultural History Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Genealogy Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Oral History Commons, Social History Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, United States History Commons
