The Empirically Significant Frontier Spirit

SchiffGold’s commitment to gold arises from a strong belief in individual liberty, which is almost synonymous with what it means to be American. While personal independence from government overreach is informally a core American trait, it arose from unique historical circumstances that separated America from most other independent new nations. The American founding was ideologically extremely focused on individual liberty because it was responding to an obvious push in the other direction from the British government. The right to split off from the mother country could only be validated if individual rights put governmental control into the back seat. Rather than dying off after the revolution, the American frontier kept this spirit alive for years to come. A recent paper highlights how rather than naturally loving liberty, the American experiment gave a unique opportunity for a new kind of culture to be formed. The authors of “Frontier Culture: the Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States” found a unique way to measure time spent on the frontier and its present day cultural effects. 

The concept of the American Frontier is a unique part of our formation and history, both in scale and concept. The authors wanted to isolate the effect of time spent as a “frontier region” on the present day culture and politics of a region, to crystallize some of the unique elements of being American. They kept their focus to the time from 1790 to 1890, as 1890 was when the frontier was officially closed. The US government kept track of where the frontier line was for that period, so the authors defined something as on the frontier if it were within 100km of the frontier line and had under 6 people per square mile. This meant that frontier outposts and other areas with high population would be ruled out. Rural areas within more firmly established American territory were not included in this estimate as well, because the authors did not want to mistakenly think that rural effects were “frontier effects.” The mindset of those out in new territory was hypothesized to be different from the rest of Americans, but the authors wanted to make doubly sure they were seeing this effect only. 

The overall population of Americans was already liberty-focused and individualistic, but the group that chose to move to the frontier was even more independent. There is very little information available about the population of the time, but names were recorded with even more regularity than they are today in the census. While the current census does not record information on every household, the old style of the census did, allowing names to serve as the basis of an ingenious method for cultural observation. The relative frequencies of uncommon names were much higher in people who chose to move to the frontier than the general population, which typically serves as a marker of individuality or nonconformity. This stands in stark contrast to countries like Switzerland where there is a national list of names that are allowed for children. The people drawn to the frontier cared less for societal approval or community than the ability to make their fortune through hard work. The individualism of those on the frontier increased even more once they already got there. For better or for worse, they relied almost entirely on themselves, and saw how much they were capable of when they devoted themselves tirelessly to working the land. While this assumption could be drawn from historical accounts, it is confirmed by name analysis, which shows that families who have children and then spend time on the frontier tend to name their children even more unique names than they did before. This study confirms quantitatively the powerful effect of westward expansion on the values of individual settlers. 

Much more than just a historical fact, the amount of time that a place spent on the frontier has a strong effect on culture today. Places that spent a significant amount of time on the frontier are far more likely to stand against redistribution of wealth and government overreach. These same counties are likely to have lower property tax rates than counties that quickly shifted from frontier to developed. Time spent fending for themselves made settlers fiercely protective of what they had earned. They could see much more directly the fruit of their labor than someone who worked in an office in an already developed area. The benefits of exchange would later reach them, but the mindset they had earned through battling nature and themselves would never be erased. The American frontier has forever left its mark on our culture and politics, and stands as a reminder of the freedom and responsibility that makes this country unique.