Once in
America, most immigrants entered the country through
a place called Ellis Island, which is in New York.
Ellis Island opened to immigrant processing and passage
on January 1, 1892. The first building that was built
for the immigrants to enter burned down, so a new
building, made of brick and limestone was built. This
building was even busier and served as many as a half-million
immigrants a year. Between 1900 and 1914, years immigration
rates reached one million people per year. Because
Ellis Island was so busy, the federal government expanded
the facility from three acres to 27 acres. The size
of the building was increased as well, adding a third
story. Over time, this one building grew to 33 total
buildings.
Forty percent
of U.S. citizens can trace their family’s ancestory
to Ellis Island. Between the years 1900-1924
there were days that more than 10,000 people passed
through the processing building at Ellis Island. More
than three-quarters of these people were allowed to
enter the U.S. within a few hours, but there were
immigrants that did not make it past Ellis Island.
More elite and
wealthy passengers on the ships were allowed almost
immediate entry into their new country. But
those on the lower levels of the ships, who were usually
of the peasant class, were given more thorough inspections.
They had to travel from the initial landing
zones to the actual Ellis Island where this processing
occurred. The barges they road on during this trip
were freezing cold in winter and stifling in summer.
They lacked toilet facilities and proper medical attention
if needed. There were occasions where these passengers
were left on these barges for days while they waited
to disembark at Ellis Island.
Are
you a classroom teacher?
Click
here for a guide to using this resource in your
classroom
