Image courtesy of ellisisland

1. FOR MANY OF OUR ANCESTORS, ELLIS ISLAND WAS THE FIRST PLACE THEY LANDED WHEN THEY CAME TO THIS COUNTRY. Image courtesy of ellisisland.org

2. GET MORE INFO OFF THE NET http://www.historychannel.com/ellisisland/main.html VISIT YHE HISTORY CHANNEL FOR MORE INFOR MATION ABOUT ANY TOPIC IN CHAPTER SEVEN

3. During that time, over 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island.  http://www.ellisisland.org/ LOOK IN ELLIS ISLAND PORT OF NEW YORK RECORDS SEE IF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS WERE PASSENGERS With permission from Scholastic.com

4. ELLIS ISLAND WAS AN IMMIGRANT PROCESSING CENTER, LOCATED IN NEW YORK CITY. IT WAS OPEN FROM 1892 UNTIL 1952.  http://www.historychannel.com/ellisisland/main.htmlCLICK TO VIEW VIDEO

5. DID YOU KNOW? • DURING A SPAN OF 6 DECADES. THAT IS 60 YEARS, ELLIS ISLAND WELCOMED 71% OF ALL IMMIGRANTS. • NEARLY 25% OF ALL AMERICANS CAN TRACE THEIR ANCESTRY BY WAY OF ELLIS ISLAND.

6. WITH ALL OF THEIR BELONGINGS IN BASKETS AND SACKS, FAMILIES CAME TO THE U.S. SEEKING A NEW LIFE, FREEDOM, AND FORTUNE.  • WHAT WAS IT LIKE? MEET AN IMMIGRANT FROM POLAND! • ILL MEET A YOUNG BOY WHO CAME TO AMERICA FROM POLAND WITH HIS FATHER.  YOUR TASK IS TO FIND OUT WHY SEYMOUR WAS NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE ELLIS ISLAND WITH HIS FATHER.  CLICK TO HEAR MY STORY

7. LADY LIBERTY WOULD FACE THE OCEAN WITH A GREETING AND A PROMISE.  THE SEVEN SPIKES IN THE STATUE'S CROWN STAND FOR SEVEN LIBERTIES:  CIVIL, MORAL,  NATIONAL, NATURAL, PERSONAL, POLITICAL, AND RELIGIOUS. • SEE A "LIVE" PICTURE OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY (http://www.libertystatepark.com/LIVE%20CAM%20STATUE%20OF%20LIBERTY.htm) • TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY (http://www.nyctourist.com/liberty3.htm)

8. LADY LIBERTY "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,  The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.  I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

9. ELLIS ISLAND WAS A SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR MANY WHO FACED WAR, EXTREME POVERTY, RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION, OR LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES AT HOME. 

10. IMMIGRANTS SHOWED THEIR PASSPORTS AND CHECKED IN AS A FAMILY.  RANDOMLY, BAGS WERE CHECKED

11. "I REMEMBER MY GRANDFATHER ALWAYS TELLING ME HOW HE KNEW HE COULD BE RICH IN AMERICA BECAUSE HE SAW RICHES IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF ELLIS ISLAND. HE FELT THAT IF THEY LET THE POOR IN SUCH A GORGEOUS HALL THEN LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY WOULD BE WONDERFUL." Courtesy: Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/CMP

12. WITH IMAGINATION AND ACTIVE ROLE PLAYING,MR. OLEARY’S U.S. HISTORY CLASSES CAN TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO EXPERIENCE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO IMMIGRATE TO A STRANGE LAND. 

13. THE YEAR IS 1907.  ALL ABOARD TO AMERICA  WHERE THE STREETS ARE  PAVED WITH GOLD!

14. IT'S VERY CROWDED ABOARD SHIP!

15. MOST IMMIGRANTS BOARDED A SHIP AT A EUROPEAN PORT AND WERE THEN DIRECTED TO THE SHIP'S STEERAGE.  THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE COULD NOT AFFORD FIRST CLASS OR CABIN PASSAGE. 

16. IN 1910 A STEERAGE TICKET COST BETWEEN $10.00 TO $35.00.  STEERAGE WAS NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT, VERY CRAMPED, OFFERING LITTLE LIGHT, VENTILATION OR PRIVACY.    AT WORSE, IT CONDEMNED INDIVIDUALS TO 10-15 DAYS OF TOTAL MISERY. Courtesy: Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/CMP

17. NAME TAGS AND PASSPORTS NEED TO BE CHECKED • IMMIGRANTS WAITED IN THE GREAT HALL CALLED THE HOLDING AREA. THIS IS WHERE IMMIGRANTS WAITED BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT STATION. MANY NEVER MADE IT PAST THIS STATION AND WERE DEPORTED.

18. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PASSENGERS CRAMMED INTO A SMALL AREA.  THEY SLEPT IN NARROW BUNKS OFTEN THREE HIGH, AND ALL SHARED ONE BATH.  THE SINK FAUCETS OFTEN DID NOT WORK (SO NO RUNNING WATER).

19. YOU HAD TO HAVE A MEDICAL EXAM BEFORE ENTERING THE COUNTRY • THIS MEDICAL STAFF MEANT BUSINESS.  IF THERE WAS THE SLIGHTEST CHANCE THAT AN IMMIGRANT'S HEALTH MIGHT THREATEN ANY AMERICAN'S HEALTH, THAT PERSON WAS REJECTED! 

20. MEDICAL INSPECTION If a doctor found any indication of disease, he marked the shoulder or lapel of an immigrant's clothing with chalk: "L" for lameness, "E" for eyes, for example.

21. CHILDREN WOULD OCCUPY THEMSELVES WITH MARBLES OR DOMINOS.  MANY GOT SICK, MANY DIED ON THE SHIPS.  TYPHUS AND CHOLERA SEEMED TO BE OF THE MORE COMMON ILLNESSES.

22. THE MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANTS WHO SAILED TO AMERICA WERE GREETED BY THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.  THE STATUE WAS A GIFT FROM FRANCE IN 1884.  FREDERIC BARTHOLDI DESIGNED AND SCULPTED THE STATUE.  HE DECIDED TO MAKE THE STATUE A SYMBOL OF LIBERTY. 

23. Landing on Ellis Island http://www.internationalchannel.com/education/ellis/audiowav/galeta.wav

24. CITIZENSHIP • Interactive quiz (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/quiz/citizenship1/1.html)

25. IMMIGRANTS TELL INSPECTORS THEIR SKILLS SUCH AS TEXTILE WORKER, FARMER, WELDER, CARPENTER, HOUSEKEEPER, SEAMSTRESS, OR TAILOR.  INSPECTORS ACCEPT OR REJECT THE IMMIGRANTS BASED ON THEIR ABILITIES. Inside Ellis Island

26. Detention • During the peak years of immigration, detention on Ellis Island ran as high as 20% for all immigrants inspected • A detainee's stay could last days or even weeks.

27. WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE? • THE IMMIGRANT’S DESTINATION IMMIGRANTS CHOOSE THEIR FAMILY'S DESTINATION FROM  A LARGE CHART.  TRAIN TICKETS ARE PURCHASED. MANY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO GO WHERE THEY WANTED TO OR WHERE THEY HAD RELATIVES.

28. Deportation An immigrant's nightmare! IMMIGRANTS THAT DID NOT PASS SKILLS OR MEDICAL EXAMS WERE ESCORTED TO THE DEPORTATION STATION.   ONE INAPPROPRIATE ACTION, GESTURE, OR COMMENT COULD PREJUDICE A CLEARANCE OFFICIAL AGAINST YOU.  ONE WISECRACK JUST MIGHT GET YOU DEPORTED FROM THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU HAVE DREAMED OF LIVING!

29. WHY DID IMMIGRANTS SETTLE IN CITIES? MANY IMMIGRANTS CAME TO AMERICA WITH LITTLE MONEY TO BUY FARMS OR EXPENSIVE FARMING EQUIPMENT. OTHERS SETTLED IN CITIES BECAUSE AMERICAN AGRICULTURE WAS FAR DIFFERENT FROM WHAT MOST HAD BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO IN EUROPE. SOME, CAME TO AMERICA TOO LATE TO ACQUIRE FREE OR CHEAP LAND. OTHERS MOVED TO CITIES FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. MANY IRISH OPTED FOR AN URBAN LIFE BECAUSE THEY ASSOCIATED FARMING WITH THE ENGLISH LANDLORDS WHO HAD PERSECUTED IRISH TENANT FARMERS. IMMIGRANTS, PARTICULARLY JEWS, SETTLED IN URBAN AREAS BECAUSE THEIR FOREBEARS HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED VIBRANT CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS, AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT MANY OF THE NATION'S LARGEST CITIES.

30. ALTHOUGH MANY IMMIGRANTS DID MIGRATE TO RURAL AMERICA AND WORKED ON FARMS, MORE OF THE MAJORITY SETTLED IN CITIES. IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS, IN FACT, WERE HIGHEST IN FOUR OF THE LARGEST CITIES AT THE TIME (NEW YORK, BOSTON, PITTSBURGH, AND CHICAGO). FURTHERMORE, FIVE OUT OF EVERY SIX IRISH AND RUSSIAN TRAVELERS, THREE OUT OF FOUR ITALIAN AND HUNGARIAN IMMIGRANTS AND SEVEN OF TEN ARRIVALS FROM ENGLAND, EVENTUALLY SETTLED IN THE NATION'S GREAT CITIES.