Three Frontiers: Some Comparative Studies of Canadian, American, and Australian Settlement

IF, WITH OUR OWN METHODS of the occupation of the frontier, announced Frederick Jackson Turner in 1904, should compare those of other countries which have dealt with similar problems--such as Russia, Germany, and the English colonies in Canada, Australia, and Africa-we should undoubtedly find most results.' Fifty years later, Turner's challenge remains unanswered and his stimulating proposal is only partly and unsystematically explored.' My purpose here is to suggest some of the fruitful results awaiting comparative studies of settlement of regions outside the United States and to examine several such comparisons in Australian and Canadian history. History is the art of comparison, wrote the constitutional historian F. W. Maitland. Through its use we can better evaluate our own national development, judging more accurately our generalizations and testing them against the straight-edge of other experiences. Much historical writing, dominated by a search for a synthesizing theme, has examined frontier settlement within a parochial framework. With such