Statue Of Liberty: New York's Greatest Gift To America

Over twelve million immigrants infiltrated the United States of America from 1892 to 1954 through a small island in New York Harbor called Ellis Island. Throughout the years, Ellis Island served as a gateway for

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 story “The New Colossus” it talks about the Europeans wanting to come to America and pursue the American dream. They had the belief that the Statue of Liberty, in this story she is called The Mother Of Exiles, is asking the countries to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States, she was the golden door to America, offering refugee to those who were seeking freedom.

In its long and illustrious history, New York City (NYC) has gone through tremendous change. From a small trading post on the tip of Manhattan Island, to the greatest metropolis in the world, NYC has continued to evolve over time. One period in particular that had more degrees of change than many others, was 1860 to 1865. The lives of the residents of the great port city would be completely changed forever.

Ellis Island, which was an immigration station, opened in 1892. Ellis Island was a place where Immigrants from all over Southern and Eastern Europe, Greece, Serbia and Hungary to name a few came to have a chance at getting into America. Immigrants came to Ellis Island for many different reasons such as war, drought, famine, religion, and political and economic oppression. Although coming to Ellis Island was one step closer to freedom, the immigrants still had many more obstacles to face. The immigrants had to face numerous medical inspections, and also legal inspections to make sure they were fit to come to America.

The Statue of Liberty embodies American independence and freedom. These principles are the foundation of this nation and give its citizens hope for a progressive and promising future. The immigrants who saw the Statue of Liberty from their ship hoped to live out the “American dream”, which also promised a future full of opportunity. The symbolic torch Lady Liberty holds signifies the light of freedom, however, the broken chain lying around her feet depicts our shameful and repressive past. She stirs the citizens of this nation to be guided by her torch of freedom and warns them never to recede back into subjugation. The American people have the right to pursue the American dream, because of the independence and freedom Lady Liberty personifies. The modern meaning of the American dream produces images of the suburbs, two perfectly behaved children, and a Prius parked in the garage. Unfortunately, this materialistic and shallow dream guides the way Americans live today. In contrast, the American dream, faithful to the principles of our founding documents, ensure equality reaches every suburb, city, countryside, child, man, and woman. America’s standards have lowered and the nation has become too content with their counterfeit American dream. Money can now buy artificial happiness that does not last. However, justice and liberty remain and cost nothing because our predecessors paid for it with their blood and lives. The American dream our forefathers envisioned and Lady Liberty

The State of New York is famous for its amazing city (New York City), shops, and

When- This immigration station was not functioning until January 1, 1892. In the year of 1907 Ellis Island reached its peak of most immigrants with over 1.25 million immigrants coming into the U.S. through Ellis Island. This gateway lasted from 1880 to 1924.

Plans were created for a new building and the design was based on French Renaissance Revival architecture.  On December 17, 1900, the new fireproof building was opened the facility could barely handle the quantity of immigrants arriving. When arriving at the station, immigrants ' physical health was evaluated by doctors at the top of the large flight of stairs coming into the main building of the immigration station then the doctors would thoroughly check the immigrants for sickness and mental problems. If the subject was sick or had a disease, mark them with chalk but some just erased the mark to go directly to the immigration line. The ill  were sent to a hospital until they recovered; and if they had problems with their background status, they were held in the detention center until they could prove they were suitable to enter the country. Many families were separated because of they were detained for further evaluation or were sent to the opposite city. It is estimated that almost 40% of all US citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors back to Ellis Island. The Europeans immigrating to the USA came for similar reasons of that of their Asian counterparts, such as fleeing from war, poverty, and religious persecution. 5,000 to 10,000 people were processed through the immigration station every day. Although the immigrants appeared similar to those born in the US, they still faced discrimination for their

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.

New York City is the largest and one of the oldest cities in the United States, having been 'rediscovered' by Henry Hudson in 1609 while working for the Dutch East Indies Company. New Amsterdam, as it was then known, was settled in 1614 by Dutch fur traders and became the most important port in America. (Reed, 2011) The two rivers flowing on each side of Manhattan grant easy access to the ocean, and Henry Hudson remarked that the harbor was the best natural harbor he had ever seen in the world. For hundreds of years the city has been at the epicenter of world trade, and immigration to the new world. Millions of immigrants have filled the streets of New York, from Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and elsewhere.

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!

The Statue of Liberty was originally a gift to the United States from France, back in the late 1800's. The massive structure is one of

The statue would have died if not for the valiant efforts of Joseph Pulitzer, who through his magazine, the World, helped raise the much needed funds for the pedestal. Though the French had graciously granted us the statue free of charge, the Americans still had to pay for the pedestal upon which the statue was to rest. He stated that the statue was to be a symbol of unity, freedom, and the ideals that so many of them had fought for to acquire their very own independence. Pulitzer?s campaign of criticism was just what the statue needed. His actions helped to raise funds from the rich and the middle class. In a couple of years, the US had enough money to form the pedestal.

New York was once called the “melting pot.” Why? Many from different places with different races and religions traveled to New York to try and camouflage in with others. In order to do so, it required drastic changes. It could have meant changing their name, hiding their accent, adapting to new food or new music. As you may see, for one to be a New Yorker, they were to melt their traits into the New York culture for them to be equivalent to others. Now days, New York attracts people worldwide like a magnet. Unlike the past, people remained with their culture. That is why New York has become so diverse. As a result of that, in 2000 the census for New York State was 18,976,457 people, making New York the third largest state. Not only has the population grown, but also as of 2000, New York has a total of 62 countries! Let us travel back in time to about 3500 B.C.E. to learn the origins of New York’s people, which include the discussion of eight different groups of immigrants.