Bellwrite: What is a frontier? How do you think America's ever-shifting frontier shaped American's identity? How does the lack of a frontier affect modern Americans' sense of identity?
We discussed the meaning of frontier, both literally and metaphorically. We saw that as the frontier advanced across the North American continent, the seeds of local self-government were continually sown and cultivated in newly emergent settlements which grew into towns and eventually into industrialized cities. Thus, the American democratic Spirit was continually renewed and kept alive. A student suggested that when America ran out of new land, this impulse to renew the spirit of democracy and liberty was expressed through America's international affairs.
We saw that frontiers are associated with progress and advancement. Perhaps our modern America has a technological frontier. How might that shape our identity?
We considered the image of European celebrity Benjamin Franklin preferred by the French: the image of Benjamin Franklin in a fur cap. Why did they prefer this image of "Americans" and why did Franklin oblige them by intentionally cultivating this image?
Next we considered a painting of young Joseph Smith kneeling in prayer in the Sacred Grove. What is the argument of such an image? Joseph Smith was a frontier prophet, someone who had reached the edge of religious "civilization" and was stepping beyond into the unknown future. Why is he portrayed as a frontier farmboy? To show how he was untainted by the confines of religious preconceptions, of traditional religious dogma.
No homework.
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