In my contribution I explore the concept of "frontier" in relation to the history of U.S. literature frpm three points of time: 1928 when it was discussed in The Reinterpretation of American Literature as a governing statement for the national, literary discipline-to-be; 1955, when Robewrt E. Spiller forwarded the idea of the second frontier of U.S. Literature; the 1990s when "la frontera" or "the borderland" was recognized as significant for literary change. Out of the three points of time I will discuss the "frontier" as a metaphor for both continuity and change and argue that because of its dichotomous applicability it has become a usable and unusable concept for the institution of U.S. literature both in its domestic development and in its relation to other literatures of the world.