Ellis Island Research Paper

Ellis Island was 'the door to America' which was opened on January 1st, 1892. Immigrants came here from their countries to stay in ours. It was a major immigration station for the United States from 1892 to 1943. It has been part of the Statue of Liberty since 1965. Between 1880 and 1900 9 million immigrants arrived in America, which was the largest number of arrivals in a 20 year period. The immigrants mostly stayed in the New England areas, such as New York and Massachusetts. This alarmed older Americans, because they feared that the country and system would fail because of the new 'impurities' in the land. In other words the shift in nationalities. The first immigrants to come to Ellis Island were from Ireland, Germany,

In the late 1800s , America became the land of new opportunities and new beginnings and New York City became the first landmark for immigrants. New York City was home to Ellis Island, the area in which migrants were to be handed for freedom to enter the nation. Living in New York City gave work and availability to ports. In time the city gave the chance to outsider's to construct groups with individuals from their nation , they were classified as new and old settlers. Old outsiders included Germans, Irish and, English. The new outsiders incorporated those from Italy, Russia, Poland and Austria-Hungary. In 1875, the New York City populace was a little 1 million individuals contrasted with the 3,5 million it held when the new century

Nativism comes about in times when the US economy is low and their is a higher unemployment rate. Alot of times, citizens who have lived in the US and who are primarily white, feel that it is unfair that an immigrant who is not of this land have a job that belongs to another white man. With events like the Great Depression and WWI, nativism was a mental disease that was being spread amongst the white race. The nativistic belief caused for the passage of so many unfair and unconstitutional laws that prevented the success of immigrants and even push a lot of them out. The sad reality of it is that white Americans were the ones who dragged in so many immigrants to begin with which showed the world that the US is a land of opportuntity. So on behalf of a hypocritical country, the truth for many years to come will be demonstrated to students of all races throughout all colleges that offer Asian American Studies. The Asian Americans deserved to be noticed for the harsh conditions they faced in the past and it is not something that can be brushed away by the government. With people like Ancheta, and Sanchez, the world can forever be informed of past and it will never be

“The immigrants who arrived in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were very different from the predominantly Protestant, northern European immigrants who came to America in the early to mid-1800s” (Laura Leddy Turner “Were Immigrants Discrimination in the late 1800s and Early 1900s?”). A cause for the immigrants to move to the U.S is “...either because of a crisis or forced removal by an outside force” (What are causes and effects of immigration, Reference). Some countries that people immigrated from are farther away than just Mexico that isn’t too far. “Between 1880 and 1924, about 25 million new immigrants came to the United States. Many came from countries in southern or eastern Europe such as Italy, Russia, Hungary, Greece, and Poland.” (Immigrants in America). Those individuals that immigrated from those countries are mainly who are being disrespected to. What also doesn’t help is the diseases people are being judged by, not just where they lived or what they have

Different immigrants had a different view about Ellis Island. Some saw it as a police station and others saw it as a palace. One woman stated that there is one thing she would never forget about Ellis Island and that was that while the immigrants waited in these long lines, they were given donuts and milk, the woman believed that this was the nicest thing that the people of Ellis Island could have done for them. Ellis Island had many hospitals for immigrants who didn't quite pass the health test, they had disease hospitals that were built in 1911. There were so many sick immigrants though that the hospitals were expanded twice within 9 years, this took up 1/3 of the island.

To say that immigrants in America have experienced discrimination would be an understatement. Ever since the country formed, they have been seen as inferior, such as African-Americans that were unwillingly brought to the 13 colonies in the 17th century with the intention to be used as slaves. However, post-1965, immigrants, mainly from Central and South America, came here by choice. Many came with their families, fleeing from their native land’s poverty; these immigrants were in search of new opportunities, and more importantly, a new life. They faced abuse and Cesar Chavez fought to help bring equality to minorities.

Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac and Europe and America by David Ignatow possess similar components regarding the American Dream. For example, both works include dreams, experiences, and disappointments of earlier generations. The poems differ within their similarities though through how the narrator feels towards their ancestors doings. To begin, Ellis Island discusses the dreams of two Slovak children who became the narrator’s grandparents. Lines nine through eleven state, “...tall woman, green / as dreams of forests and meadows / waiting...” The tall woman referred to represents the Statue of Liberty which stood proudly and greeted boats as they sailed to Ellis Island. At first sight, the monument became the “...answerer / of dreams” (16-17), for

The term “nativism” is appealed for ethnic, religious, cultural or racial reasons. It is also referred as discrimination based on where you come from. The upsurge of nativism was caused mainly by immigration in the 1920’s. The substantial inflow of new immigrants into new regions petrified most of the population. These people were known as “Nativist” who are opposed to immigration. Nativists always spoke against immigration and used propaganda to persuade the public. If convincing others wouldn’t work, then they would use violence to threaten the immigrants who were here. Many reasons as to why nativists disliked immigrants was due to fear. Some of the reasons were economic situations since nativists believed that the immigrants would take jobs away from their residents or overload the government if they are unable to be responsible for themselves. Immigrants were

Ellis Island and Angel Island presented an opportunity for success. People that wouldn't normally have a chance to succeed got to come to America and start a new life. Carl L Bankston talks about the travel to Ellis Island, “Doctors took one glance while immigrants go to the second floor. This was known as the "Six-Second exam" (Bankston, Carl L, 179). Rebman also talks about Coded Chalk Marks, she says, “A chalk mark drawn on the shoulder of an immigrant’s jacket or on his lapel indicated a wide variety of abnormalities. This system of coded chalk marks quickly identified immigrants needing further examination. Illness and medical problems were the most frequent causes of deportation. More than a dozen letters were used to indicate possible problems; for example, B: back, CT: trachoma, E: eyes, H: heart, L: lameness, Pg: pregnancy, Sc: scalp, X: suspected mental illness (a circled X meant definite signs of mental disease had been observed)” (Rebman, 24).

In the late 19th century, millions of people immigrated to America to escape the hardships in their countries. They adapted to these changes by making the best of a difficult situation. Although they escaped famine and unemployment, the immigrants faced many challenges upon their arrival, including racism, poverty, and health issues.

Ellis Island was an immigration station that was used during the years of 1892-1954 which is approximately 62 years. Throughout those 62 years more than 12 million immigrants entered through Ellis Island. Immigrants came from places like Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe In Europe there were… amount of people etc. Many immigrants from different countries went through Ellis Island to find a new life to live in the U.S. At Ellis Island there were a bunch of workers that all performed tasks to help the immigrants get into the country safely.

Today, New York City is the most populated city in the United States. New York City, NYC, is made up of five boroughs including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Ellis Island, the first immigration station, and the statue of liberty are both located in New York. Immigrants went for more freedom in the 1800s and for economic and other opportunities back then and even now. Since NYC is such a large city, there are more job opportunities which draws people to the city. Also, there are an abundance of attractions and much more cultural diversity. All of these factors contribute to the reason the population is a whopping 8.538 million people!

        Ever since the United States was founded, immigrants have been arriving on its soil.  The first white inhabitants of the U.S. were immigrants from Europe.  They came for many reasons, such as religion and opportunity.  As the country grew and became more prosperous, it became more enticing to foreigners looking for opportunity.  This continued into the 20th century and finally during the 1920’s, the United States began to restrict immigrants from coming to their country, mostly for cultural and economic reasons.  Even the immigrants that were allowed in during the 20’s faced many hardships such as religious persecution, racism, and xenia phobia.  One of the major groups of immigrants during that

There was so many people from different countries wanting the same thing as we did. Ellis Island was covered with long lines of people waiting for inspection. This consisted of examination by a doctor and an interview with an inspector. If a doctor saw you as sick, you would have to stay at Ellis Island until you were well again. While with an inspector, immigrants were expected to answer questions like where they were from, whether they had relatives in America or not, how much money they had, could they read or write in any language, and if they had jobs waiting for them in America or not. Most Italian immigrants had to speak to the inspector through a translator because they did not know any English. I could many Italians “refer to the island as L'Isola delle Lacrime: The Island of Tears" (Grossman, 1993). We were amongst the lucky ones that did not get sick and have to be sent back to or homeland. We only had to wait about twelve hours before being passed and were able to stay and start a new life. While many Italian immigrants scattered across the states, my family felt as if it was in our best interest to stay close.

As Immigrants would come through Ellis Island and other places with a gleaming amount of hope, they would experience something totally different on the other side. Inside the US was this feeling of Anglo-Saxon superiority and therefore immigration was frowned upon in may areas. An immigration officer from this time period cited “early economic opportunity came to an end” as one of the major things that affected immigrant life. They [immigrants] were left to find day jobs working at the first opportunity that presented itself and then return to the tenement. Out of this pattern grew an extreme feeling of isolation. Immigrants lived in their own communities, socialized with their own, and slept with their own. Nativist feelings from the american-born community were real and present and ultimately the belief was to sleep, eat, and work for someone else and be content.