Historians have different approaches to interpreting history. Frederick Jackson Turner praised the frontier by saying that it is a "social leveler" and a "safety valve" while other historians, such as Drinnon, believed that the West wasn't as important as the industrialized area. Turner's perspective of the frontier isn't accurate because he only points out the positive aspects of the frontier.

After the Civil War, big corporations came to dominate much of American business, and in process, to define American life. The challenges of the frontier did not make the farmers independent. Instead, it made the piqued Westerners form their own party to receive the government's aid. The farmers wanted to 16:1 ratio of silver to gold; inflation rather than deflation; and government control over big corporations.

Turner believed that the frontier had always held out the promise of a fresh start and free land. However, the "fresh start" turned...