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Ellis IslandFrom Europe
to “The Golden Door”
America’s Premier Immigration Station
1890 – Federal Government establishes Bureau of Immigration & selects Ellis Island as site of new immigration station for port of New York
1892 – Ellis Island opens it doors January 1 1897 – Fire destroys original wood
buildings 1900 – Ellis Island re-opens in its present
Beaux-Art style
100 Million Americans Can Trace Ancestry to Ellis Island
12 Million pass through from 1892 – 1954
Peak years from 1892 – 1924 11,747 processed on one day 1907 Quotas begin to restrict immigrants
1924 Used as detention center for enemy
aliens 1943 Closes doors 1954
Saving Ellis Island
1965 – Taken over by National Park Service
1974 – Restore Ellis Island committee formed
1983 – Restoration begins 1990 – Ellis Island Immigration
Museum opens September 10 1992- Ellis Island Centennial
First Wave of Immigration
1830s / 1850s – Northwestern Europeans flee starvation, feudal governments & social upheaval from the Industrial Revolution. They came here from:
Ireland Germany Scandinavia As well as China
Second Wave of Immigration
A “Flood-Tide” from Eastern & Southern Europe
Fleeing burdens of high taxes, poverty & overpopulation, oppression & religious persecution
Second Wave of Immigration
A Monumental Decision
Leaving Family & Friends
Maybe to Never See Them Again
& Begin a New Life in America
The Ship’s Manifest
Before Boarding Ship, Each Passenger was Subjected to De-Lousing & Questioning
A Series of 29 Questions were Asked Answers were Written on the Ship’s
Manifest In English Documenting Information for
Genealogists Today
The Ship’s Manifest
Leaving Europe for America
$12.00 Ticket
10-14 Day Journey
3rd Class Steerage
Crude Conditions
Onboard Ship
End of the Journey “Give Me Your
Tired, Your Poor. Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free, The Wretched Refuse of Your Teeming Shore… “
We'll take your trash!!
Arrival At Ellis Island Transferred from
Ship to the Island via Ferry
Sometimes Waiting for Hours to be Moved
And Reach the Golden Door to America
Welcome to America!
The Waiting Room
The Great Hall
The Waiting Is Over Now began a series of tests that
would determine your fate Only 2 % were sent back 2% of 12 Million Would you like to have 2% of $12
Million Dollars?
The Inspection Line
The Medical Exam Medical Inspectors
watched the people & marked them with chalk
The exam was frightening & embarrassing
Many varied ailments could send you home
Chalk Marks Used at Ellis Island
X – Suspected Mental Defect Circled X- Definite Signs of Mental Defects B – Black C- Conjunctivitis CT – Trachoma E- Eyes F- Face Ft- Feet
G- Goiter H- Heart K- Hernia N- Neck L- Lameness P- Physical & Lungs PG- Pregnancy SC- Scalp S- Senility SI- Special Inquiry
The Eye Exam Eyes were special
treatment Each person had
their eyes examined, usually with a hook to flip them up.
They were looking for Trachoma
Trachoma & Fauves
Trachoma & Fauves were the 2 main diseases that would send you home
Fauves is a skin fungus
Trachoma is a version of “Pink Eye”
The Questions Asked a Series of
29 Questions The Same as Were
Asked Before Leaving Europe
To See if Your Story Remained the Same
The Mental Exam Immigrants who
Looked “Out of the Ordinary” Were Given Mental Exams
If You Failed the Exams (3 Chances), You Were Deported
Or Sent to DC to Become a Congressman
Making it Once All the
Testing Was Done, You Were Allowed to Leave the Island & Become an American
Or Become a “Bird of Passage”
The Streets Are Paved with Gold
I came here believing the streets were paved with gold.
I found out the streets weren’t paved at all,
And I was expected to pave them!
Nativist Resistance
Too Many Undesirables
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 effectively ends Chinese immigration
A growing Nativist movement grips the nation
WWI & the Russian Revolution promotes Xenophobia
Limiting Immigration
Quota system instituted in 1922
Limits immigrants to a percentage of ethnic group already in the U.S.
Favors “desirable” immigrants over others
America, The Melting Pot
Our Unique Blend of Ethnicity has Resulted in a New & Distinct Culture Amongst the Nations of the World
Are We Really a Melting Pot?
Or More Like A Tossed Salad?
Ethnic Diversity Builds a Nation
Every Culture Contributed
To Make Us What We Are Today
Tracing Your Family History
www.ellisisland.org Search Passenger
records Add a Relative’s
Name to the “Wall of Honor”
The End