In reading history, people often form attitudes which affect their future actions. Historians thus have the opportunity to persuade and influence a wide audience. Frederick Jackson Turner was particularly persuasive, largely because of his eloquent style. This study of Turner's rhetoric reveals the ways in which he influenced a broad spectrum of Americans and the means by which he did so. Letters to Turner, to his family, and other primary source material are analyzed and his oratorical career is also described in detail from his high school experiences to his univ. activities. The influence of Robert M. La Follette is treated in some detail. Examples of Turner's oratory includes: "The Power of the Press."

In the 46 years between 1886 and 1932, Frederick Jackson Turner left his indelible stamp on the theory, practice, and profession of American history. These three essays - "The Significance of History", "The Frontier Thesis" and "The Sectional Thesis" - demonstrate Turner's erudition, eloquence and foresight.

This book contains four essays by and about Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932), the Wisconsin-born historian whose ideas and writings have had such a profound impact upon the way Americans view their past, and their place in the world. It is a book not only for the scholar and teacher (who will find it both useful and incisive), but also for the mythic "general reader" who wants to broaden and enrich his aquaintanceship with Turner and the celebrated Frontier Thesis. In addition to essays by Turner and by Martin Ridge of The Huntington Library and the late Ray Allen Billington, the book is illustrated with photos from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.