US BORDER & AMERICAN IDENTITY – COLOR
REVISION SHEET
1. Expansionism & Manifest Destiny
Expansionism is the 19th-century belief that the United States had to expand westward.
Manifest Destiny (1840s): the belief that this expansion was justified and divinely ordained.
Consequences: Mexican-American War (1846–1848), territorial growth, displacement of
Native Americans.
2. The Frontier & The Wilderness
The Frontier was the moving border between settled land and western territories.
Frederick Jackson Turner (1893) argued that the Frontier shaped American identity:
individualism, independence, self-reliance.
The Wilderness symbolized both danger and opportunity. It was a space to conquer and
control.
3. The Trail of Tears
In the 1830s, under President Andrew Jackson, Native American tribes such as the
Cherokee were forcibly removed.
Thousands died during this forced migration to the West.
It represents the dark side of Manifest Destiny.
4. Immigration, The New Colossus & Ellis Island
The New Colossus (1883), written by Emma Lazarus, is engraved on the Statue of Liberty.
Quote: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'
Ellis Island (1892–1954) processed over 12 million immigrants, mainly from Europe.
It symbolizes hope, the American Dream, and the idea of the US as a nation of
immigrants.
5. Immigration Policies & Trumpism
1920s: quota laws restricted immigration, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Modern debates focus on border security and national identity.
Under Donald Trump: border wall project, stricter immigration enforcement.
