Question

In The Significance of the Frontier in American History, Frederick Jackson Turner wrote:

"The frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history."

Source: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/turner

How did advocates of expansionism react to Turner's frontier thesis?

They argued Americans should move from rural areas to expand the nation's new frontier—the cities.
They argued Congress should enact new protections for America's natural resources to rebuild the frontier.
They argued Americans should seek new lands overseas as a "safety valve" to help release popular discontent.
They argued Americans should turn away from the culture of the American West and embrace European culture.

Answer 1

Expansionists responded to Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis by promoting overseas expansion as a new 'safety valve' for economic and social pressures, reflecting a continuation of the American spirit of growth and innovation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Advocates of expansionism reacted to Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis with proposals for new directions of American growth, since the domestic frontier, which Turner argued shaped American character, no longer existed. Turner's thesis considered the frontier as 'the meeting point between savagery and civilization' and posited that the frontier was a safety valve for overpopulation and discontent, forging the American identity through individualism and democracy. With the closure of the frontier, one response from expansionists was to push for overseas expansion as a new outlet for American energy and a way to continue the dynamic of growth ingrained in the nation's character.

These advocates of expansionism argued that Americans should seek new lands overseas as a continuation of the 'safety valve' concept. They posited that new territories would serve as a release for economic pressures, overpopulation, and social discontent that had previously been mitigated by the western frontier. This sentiment drove the country to adopt policies that promoted foreign expansion, including pursuing influence in outlying islands and neighboring countries, establishing trade relations, and building an interoceanic canal. These policies aimed to find new markets and to maintain the distinctive political culture and innovative spirit that Turner and others felt were essential to American identity.

Contrary to Turner's thesis, modern critics argue that his perspective downplays the complexities of the West, particularly the contributions and agency of Native Americans, and the roles of families, communities, government, and commerce. Thus, while expansionists found new impetus in Turner's ideas, the historical view of frontier's role in American development has since evolved to acknowledge these complexities.