The Frontier Thesis is a theory constructed by Frederick Jackson Turner, summarizing the importance of the open frontier to America. His theory is popularized and continually referenced in history classes — but they don’t tell his full story. The 1800s were a time of extreme sexism, and Turner was no exception to this. Women were basically ignored in his construction of the thesis and he focused almost exclusively on how the frontier, and its closing, would affect men.
While it is true that at the time women contributed very little economically, they had extremely important roles that could alter the outcome of his thesis. In modern America, women play a very vital role in all aspects of the country. This can impact his thesis completely. The economic anguish he predicted shifts because women are able to step in and take on roles to stimulate the economy that Turner did not foresee. It makes an entire portion of his thesis almost void due to his avoidance of women, especially in a future sense.
Another part of his thesis that has been since criticized is Turner’s persistence that the West makes people rugged and promotes individualism. This statement completely ignored the women that were generally confined to the home and did not get such benefits from the frontier. In fact, many times women were forced to move out west with their families with no say in the matter, only to be continually confined in their roles. While it may have created ruggedness for a short while for men, eventually many towns failed which created boomtowns and destroyed the short-lived feeling. By ignoring the women of America, Turner successfully shot his own thesis in the foot. There are many aspects of his thesis that can be seen and called upon today, however many of his arguments are maybe void due to his failure to acknowledge women.