By 1900, most historians agree the Western Frontier of America was closed. Can you explain three reasons why they have concluded this?

The boundary was officially closed in 1890 by the Census Bureau, which meant that no new lands could be found.

The major historian Frederick Jackson Turner is credited with creating the concept of the frontier, which has an almost legendary quality.

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The primary driver behind the conquest of the West had been the growth of the railroads.

These discoveries could lead to the extraction of enormous amounts of resources.

Historians generally agree that the Western Frontier of America was closed by 1900 due to several key factors:

1. Settlement and Expansion: By 1900, most of the land in the Western Frontier had been settled and developed. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged westward migration and land ownership, leading to the establishment of farms, ranches, towns, and cities across the frontier. As settlers moved in and claimed land, the vast open spaces of the frontier gradually disappeared, marking the end of the era of westward expansion.

2. Decline of the Frontier Line: The U.S. Census Bureau used the concept of the "frontier line" to track the westward movement of settlement. By 1890, the Census Bureau declared that the frontier line no longer existed, as settlement had reached the Pacific Coast and there was no longer a discernible line separating settled from unsettled territory. This symbolic declaration marked the official end of the Western Frontier era.

3. Economic and Technological Changes: The closing of the Western Frontier was also influenced by economic and technological changes. The completion of transcontinental railroad lines in the late 19th century facilitated transportation and trade, making it easier for people and goods to move across the country. Additionally, advances in agricultural technology, such as mechanized farming equipment, increased productivity and efficiency, allowing for more intensive land use and further consolidation of settlement in the West.

These factors, among others, contributed to historians' consensus that the Western Frontier of America was effectively closed by 1900. The frontier had been transformed from a vast and untamed wilderness into a settled and increasingly interconnected region of the United States, marking the end of an era of expansion and the beginning of a new phase in American history.