Now the truth is that the American frontier of history
has many a local habitation and many a name. And this is why it
lies somewhat indefinite under the blue haze of the years, all
the more alluring for its lack of definition, like some old
mountain range, the softer and more beautiful for its own
shadows.
The fascination of the frontier is and has ever been an undying
thing. Adventure is the meat of the strong men who have built the
world for those more timid. Adventure and the frontier are one
and inseparable. They suggest strength, courage,
hardihood--qualities beloved in men since the world
began--qualities which are the very soul of the United States,
itself an experiment, an adventure, a risk accepted. Take away
all our history of political regimes, the story of the rise and
fall of this or that partisan aggregation in our government; take
away our somewhat inglorious military past; but leave us forever
the tradition of the American frontier! There lies our comfort
and our pride. There we never have failed. There, indeed, we
always realized our ambitions. There, indeed, we were efficient,
before that hateful phrase was known.
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