42. "American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West.
The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American
settlement westward, explain American development."
- Frederick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History, 1893
The above quote is from an influential work published by a historian reflecting on the
significance of the western frontier in American history at a time when the frontier had come to
an end. Read the quote and write a paragraph explaining how the author links the physical and
human geography of the United States to the development of a national character. (10 points)