In Smithsonian Magazine, Nationhood Lab Director Colin Woodard shares the backstory of one of the United States's misguided national origin stories. Frederick Jackson Turner's massively influential and deeply flawed Frontier Thesis, which dominated the teaching and public understanding of American history for half a century after it was first presented at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, was a cul-de-sac of nationhood building
September 15, 2025
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario and NEWPORT, R.I. -- In the United States, Northeastern and Midwestern residents tend to have higher physical, social, mental and financial—i.e., “traditional”—wellness, while Southern residents have report higher “existential” wellness, involving a sense of purpose, fulfillment and community identity, according to a new analysis of survey data from more than 325,000 Americans.
