The American Frontier: Richard White's 'The Middle Ground'
Cultural, diplomatic, economic, military, political, and social factors, or a combination of these features, frequently drive history. Oklahoma Humanities Pulitzer Prize Centennial Series on The American Frontier reflects the influence of individuals on the historical process during the development of the American West.
On September 15, David Fennema, Ph.D will present on The Middle Ground.
In 1992, the book became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history. Richard White offers an alternative to the traditional interpretations of Fredrick Jackson Turner known as the “The New Western History.” His purpose is to examine Indian/white relations within the context of accommodation and common purpose rather than conquest and assimilation. The Middle Ground, or pays d’en haut as the French knew it, was both a physical place and a region of colliding cultures. Located between the Allegheny River in the east, the Mississippi River in the west, and the Ohio River to the south, this vast region included many tribes of Indians. In the second half of the seventeenth century, the French arrived. They came to trade and worked to cultivate the friendship or at least an economic partnership with the natives. This process involved an accommodation or middle ground where both groups either absorbed or tried to understand the cultural, diplomatic, economic, political, and social institutions of each other. In the late 1700s the British acquired the region. They, too, soon learned of the necessity of accommodation when dealing with these tribes. The advent of aggressive
American backwoods settlers late in the eighteenth century brought a violent and destructive contest for the land, ending the existence of a Middle Ground. Personal relationship in the wilderness of the Middle Ground underpinned events of this era.
More in this series:
Across the Wide Missouri by Bernard DeVoto
Presenter John Morris, Ph.D.
The Way West by A. B. Guthrie
Presenter: Bruce Treadaway
Nov. 1, 5:30 p.m.
Son of the Wilderness by Linnie Marsh Wolfe
Presenter: Margery Kingsley, Ph.D.
Dec. 6, 5:30 p.m.
The Son by Philipp Meyer
Presenter: Rebecca Jacobs-Pollez, Ph.D.