Ellis Island
Sandra Schneider
Molloy College
Ellis Island
In the Upper New York Bay stands a green lady holding a torch, one of the most famous tourist attractions today. Ellis Island the “home of the free” a place where millions of immigrants from across the globe came to start their new lives in America. Although most people know that much about Ellis Island many don’t know how this land came to be.
History tells us that many types of people inhabited the island and as a result the island has changed names over the years. One of the first documented residents on the island was the Indians. The Indians referred to the island as Gull Island or Oyster Island because the major source of wild life that flourished there during that time period (Fisher, 1986). The Indians eventually sold the land to the Dutch West India Company who then went on to sell the land to one of the New Amsterdam colonists (Fisher, 1986). In 1964 the British took over the land utilizing it for hangings of criminals, most of them were pirates (Fisher, 1986). The land eventually purchased by a man named Samuel Ellis in the 1700’s, a merchant by trade. The Ellis family held on to the property until the 1800’s when they sold it to the New York States federal government.
During this time the New York federal government was purchasing land because there was a threat from the British to invade New York City. As a result, New York City was in the process of building military forts for protection along Manhattan. Fort Gibson was the name of the fort that was built on what is today known as Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the only trademark of its existence lay’s beneath the famous Statue of Liberty.
Many people believe Ellis Island was where freedom for immigrants first began but the truth is it was not. There was a fort on the Southwest Battery in Manhattan, which was changed to the name Castle Clinton, named after a presidential candidate. This property served as an area for entertainment for a time period after the war. Soon after this area became a landfill causing a connection to Manhattan. After some time elapsed in the 1840’s this property was used as an immigration center. Two problems arose as a result of this location. Because this land was a small area that connected to the streets of Manhattan, it was difficult to manage the vast number of immigrants. In addition, this resulted as a threat to new immigrants; as immigrants entered the streets of Manhattan many were sought out as targets and robbed of what little possesions they had on their backs, in some cases even murdered (Fisher, 1986).
With a threat to new comers it was essential to move the immigration entrance to a safer place. In 1855 Castle Garden opened and served as the new home to immigrants. A system was set up to welcome new comers with medical facilities and an area where they could change currency. The amount of immigrants entering the United States grew dramatically sending a red flag to the government that the immigration process was now too large for New York State to undertake. The United States Government took over the process. New laws were passed restricting the vast number of immigrants entering the United States. Any individual considered mentally unstable or who couldn’t support themselves were turned away. The Chinese and Japanese were band because they worked for wages that were so minimal it would affect employment for others currently working for fair wages. It was clear to the government that immigration was growing at a rate so fast the current location posed insufficient to safely manage the immigrants. More appropriate facilities were needed to accommodate these individuals.
The result for a larger and more sufficient facility resulted in the building of what is today known as Ellis Island. It took six years to build Ellis Island until it was open in 1892 and another five years of construction to complete. It was protected by land and sea. The property was spacious enough to set up separate facilities for medical treatment, a bank, luggage area, food, tickets for transportation, bathhouses and dormitories. Sadly, very shortly after its completion a fire emerged burning most of the buildings to the ground. It took another three years to get Ellis Island up to speed again and functioning but still not completed. After several years of rebuilding the facility was running again.
The new immigration process was finally underway. Immigrants from all over the world were so happy to see they reached the USA. Reaching Ellis Island should have been a glorious triumph, but as many told their stories upon arrival to Ellis Island we know this was not necessarily true. After reading several books about the arrival to the Island numerous immigrants stated in their stories that they sat in the vessel they shipped from for days without setting foot on the island. Those that appeared wealthy were required minimal attention and pasted through the immigration process relatively quickly. The less fortunate immigrants sat for days in their boats awaiting permission to set foot on the island. Many spoke about the uncleanliness of these boats after traveling for weeks and how hungry and thirsty they were.
Once granted permission to exit their ships onto the island the rigorous process began. One immigrant explained “ if one of the doctors suspected that something might be wrong with a newcomer, that person’s clothing was marked in chalk with a symbol standing for a particular disorder” (Sandler, 2004, p. 30). Those who were marked with chalk were sent to a hospital or locked cage where they would wait until they could be placed on a return ship back where they originated. Immigrants that were demeemed as mental ill, crippled, and diseased were denied entry.
Even though the process was exhausting and for many demoralizing many stated that once granted entry onto American soil all those emotions quickly disappeared. Immigrants who reached their destination wrote home to family explaining that even though the experience was grueling it was worth leaving behind the sufferage from their own country to finally be free.
During World War Two the boats making entry to Ellis Island significantly decreased as the threat of the Germans in the waterways deterred many from sailing to America. After the war ended the United States Made new rules for entering the United States. Immigrants had to prove they could read and write in a language and were given tests to confirm this. They also needed to have at least twenty-five dollars in American Currency to gain entry (Jacobs, 1990). The new rules were set up to ensure that the American people currently living in here wouldn’t bare the financial burden of new entries. In the early 1920’s the United States Congress also added new rules establishing quotas of how many people from each country would be allow entry into the USA. Due to the decrease in numbers or immigrants the United States Coast Guard were trained here. The rules for entering the USA grew stronger and the need for such a large facility decreased.
In 1954 the facility closed its doors leaving Ellis Island to crumble. In the 1970’s congress decided to use money to rebuild this piece of history. A museum was built and exhibits are on display depicting the stories of the seventeen million immigrants who entered passage to the USA from 1892 until it’s closing in 1954 (Jacobs, 1990). Today Ellis Island is one of the most frequented attractions in New York by all who come to visit and live here.
References
Fisher, L. E. (1986). Ellis Island Gateway to the New World. United States of America: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Jacobs, W. J. (1990). Ellis Island New Hope in a New Land. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Sandler, M. W. (2004). Island of Hope. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Sandra Schneider
Molloy College
Ellis Island
In the Upper New York Bay stands a green lady holding a torch, one of the most famous tourist attractions today. Ellis Island the “home of the free” a place where millions of immigrants from across the globe came to start their new lives in America. Although most people know that much about Ellis Island many don’t know how this land came to be.
History tells us that many types of people inhabited the island and as a result the island has changed names over the years. One of the first documented residents on the island was the Indians. The Indians referred to the island as Gull Island or Oyster Island because the major source of wild life that flourished there during that time period (Fisher, 1986). The Indians eventually sold the land to the Dutch West India Company who then went on to sell the land to one of the New Amsterdam colonists (Fisher, 1986). In 1964 the British took over the land utilizing it for hangings of criminals, most of them were pirates (Fisher, 1986). The land eventually purchased by a man named Samuel Ellis in the 1700’s, a merchant by trade. The Ellis family held on to the property until the 1800’s when they sold it to the New York States federal government.
During this time the New York federal government was purchasing land because there was a threat from the British to invade New York City. As a result, New York City was in the process of building military forts for protection along Manhattan. Fort Gibson was the name of the fort that was built on what is today known as Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the only trademark of its existence lay’s beneath the famous Statue of Liberty.
Many people believe Ellis Island was where freedom for immigrants first began but the truth is it was not. There was a fort on the Southwest Battery in Manhattan, which was changed to the name Castle Clinton, named after a presidential candidate. This property served as an area for entertainment for a time period after the war. Soon after this area became a landfill causing a connection to Manhattan. After some time elapsed in the 1840’s this property was used as an immigration center. Two problems arose as a result of this location. Because this land was a small area that connected to the streets of Manhattan, it was difficult to manage the vast number of immigrants. In addition, this resulted as a threat to new immigrants; as immigrants entered the streets of Manhattan many were sought out as targets and robbed of what little possesions they had on their backs, in some cases even murdered (Fisher, 1986).
With a threat to new comers it was essential to move the immigration entrance to a safer place. In 1855 Castle Garden opened and served as the new home to immigrants. A system was set up to welcome new comers with medical facilities and an area where they could change currency. The amount of immigrants entering the United States grew dramatically sending a red flag to the government that the immigration process was now too large for New York State to undertake. The United States Government took over the process. New laws were passed restricting the vast number of immigrants entering the United States. Any individual considered mentally unstable or who couldn’t support themselves were turned away. The Chinese and Japanese were band because they worked for wages that were so minimal it would affect employment for others currently working for fair wages. It was clear to the government that immigration was growing at a rate so fast the current location posed insufficient to safely manage the immigrants. More appropriate facilities were needed to accommodate these individuals.
The result for a larger and more sufficient facility resulted in the building of what is today known as Ellis Island. It took six years to build Ellis Island until it was open in 1892 and another five years of construction to complete. It was protected by land and sea. The property was spacious enough to set up separate facilities for medical treatment, a bank, luggage area, food, tickets for transportation, bathhouses and dormitories. Sadly, very shortly after its completion a fire emerged burning most of the buildings to the ground. It took another three years to get Ellis Island up to speed again and functioning but still not completed. After several years of rebuilding the facility was running again.
The new immigration process was finally underway. Immigrants from all over the world were so happy to see they reached the USA. Reaching Ellis Island should have been a glorious triumph, but as many told their stories upon arrival to Ellis Island we know this was not necessarily true. After reading several books about the arrival to the Island numerous immigrants stated in their stories that they sat in the vessel they shipped from for days without setting foot on the island. Those that appeared wealthy were required minimal attention and pasted through the immigration process relatively quickly. The less fortunate immigrants sat for days in their boats awaiting permission to set foot on the island. Many spoke about the uncleanliness of these boats after traveling for weeks and how hungry and thirsty they were.
Once granted permission to exit their ships onto the island the rigorous process began. One immigrant explained “ if one of the doctors suspected that something might be wrong with a newcomer, that person’s clothing was marked in chalk with a symbol standing for a particular disorder” (Sandler, 2004, p. 30). Those who were marked with chalk were sent to a hospital or locked cage where they would wait until they could be placed on a return ship back where they originated. Immigrants that were demeemed as mental ill, crippled, and diseased were denied entry.
Even though the process was exhausting and for many demoralizing many stated that once granted entry onto American soil all those emotions quickly disappeared. Immigrants who reached their destination wrote home to family explaining that even though the experience was grueling it was worth leaving behind the sufferage from their own country to finally be free.
During World War Two the boats making entry to Ellis Island significantly decreased as the threat of the Germans in the waterways deterred many from sailing to America. After the war ended the United States Made new rules for entering the United States. Immigrants had to prove they could read and write in a language and were given tests to confirm this. They also needed to have at least twenty-five dollars in American Currency to gain entry (Jacobs, 1990). The new rules were set up to ensure that the American people currently living in here wouldn’t bare the financial burden of new entries. In the early 1920’s the United States Congress also added new rules establishing quotas of how many people from each country would be allow entry into the USA. Due to the decrease in numbers or immigrants the United States Coast Guard were trained here. The rules for entering the USA grew stronger and the need for such a large facility decreased.
In 1954 the facility closed its doors leaving Ellis Island to crumble. In the 1970’s congress decided to use money to rebuild this piece of history. A museum was built and exhibits are on display depicting the stories of the seventeen million immigrants who entered passage to the USA from 1892 until it’s closing in 1954 (Jacobs, 1990). Today Ellis Island is one of the most frequented attractions in New York by all who come to visit and live here.
References
Fisher, L. E. (1986). Ellis Island Gateway to the New World. United States of America: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Jacobs, W. J. (1990). Ellis Island New Hope in a New Land. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Sandler, M. W. (2004). Island of Hope. USA: Scholastic Inc.