jan 1, 1890 - End of the Frontier

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In 1890, the Census Bureau announced the end of the frontier, meaning there was no longer a discernible frontier line in the west, nor any large tracts of land yet unbroken by settlement. This news had a terrific psychological impact on many Americans. For the first time in history, America was without a frontier. The frontier was a part of American national identity. The ideal of an ever-pioneering spirit with eternally new wildernesses to conquer was the American heroic myth, felt by all and expressed in literature and art. With the end of the frontier, the romance of the West was over.

The frontier had also represented a sort of escape mechanism for Americans. With the frontier gone, the possibility of escape into the wilderness to create a new life and even a new identity was gone as well, and people felt as though their power to shape their lives had diminished.

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