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Ellis Island
Molloy College
Belinda Badillo








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Immigration to the United States is a demographic phenomenon that has been a major
source of population growth and cultural change throughout the history of the United States.
Ellis Island has become Americas symbol of immigration. It brought upon new comers striving
to achieve a better life in the land called America. Immigration is Americas story, it is the birth
place of the nations strengths and uniqueness. It established the idea that people from all over
the world can come and coexist together. Ellis Island brought about many kinds of people from
all over with different customs.

Four out of ten Americans can trace their heritage through Ellis Island. Like the statue of
Liberty, it has been a powerful symbol to generations of immigrants. Ellis Island opened in 1892
during the industrialization in the United States and it drew eager workers from dozens of
foreign nations. Ellis Island hit its peak of Immigrants passing through in 1907, with more than
one million people coming through its doors. Its decline began after World War 1, when
Congress created restrictions on immigration, representing the attitudes of a society that grew
wary of foreigners. After 1924, Immigration slowed down and Ellis Island was no longer of any
use. It was closed in 1954.

Many people believe Ellis Island was the first to receive immigrants but it actually was
not. There was a fort on the Southwest Battery in Manhattan, Castle Clinton, named after a
presidential candidate. This was an area for entertainment for a time period after the war. Soon
after, this area became a landfill causing a connection to Manhattan. Two problems came about
as a result of this location. The land was a small area that connected to the streets of Manhattan

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and it was difficult to manage the number of immigrants. Also it was threat to new immigrants;
as immigrants entered the streets of Manhattan many were sought out as targets and robbed of
what little possessions they had on their backs or in their pockets (Fisher, 1986).

Since it was unsafe for immigrants 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. It
welcomed new comers with medical facilities and an area where they could change currency.
The amount of immigrants entering the United States grew dramatically. The immigration
process was now too large for New York State to undertake. Between 1880 and the 1900, nine
million immigrants entered the country, It was the biggest number of arrivals of immigrants in
any twenty-year period (Cunningham, 2003). This alarmed many Americans, so a strict
immigration law was implemented.

This was a change made by Washington for two reasons, one to quiet society who
objected to the continuing unregulated flow of newcomers and also to deal with the corruption of
the process, especially in New York. New York is where most of the immigrants landed. The
United States Government took over the process. This marked the transition of immigration from
state to federal control. The need for a larger space 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. It contained facilities
for medical treatment, a bank, luggage area, food, tickets for transportation, bathhouses and
dormitories. Shortly after its completion a fire emerged burning most of the buildings to the

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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. Ellis Island is a
27 acres Upper New York Bay, about one mile south west of the tip of Manhattan
(Cunningham, 2003).

During the years of its use Ellis Island exhibited some of the best aspects of the
United States, but also some of its worst. Ellis Islands records verified that there was class
system among the immigrants. Immigrants who could afford a first or second class ticket on the
ships from Europe were briefly inspected aboard the ship and were allowed to pass directly into
the United States. Only the poor were required to undergo an inspection at Ellis Island. The
poor immigrants were called Steerage passengers because they traveled in the lowest levels of
the ships near the steering.

In 1907, the peak year of immigration, more than 1,150,000 immigrants were admitted
through Ellis Island. The station could not accommodate everyone in a single day, so some
immigrants waited as long as four days on ships in the harbor. Then they were shuttled by ferry
to Ellis Island, where they would have to wait several more hours before there was room for
them in the main building. One out of five immigrants had to spend long anxious days or weeks
in detention or quarantine until they could be processed and until officials were satisfied that
they met all the requirements (Jacobs, 1990). Even though the processing was tough,
nonetheless, they were happy and excited to be in America, nothing could compare to what they
left behind, America, symbolized opportunity. It may be difficult for many of us who live

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comfortably in America today to understand the reasons why someone would just get up and
leave their home to travel far to an unknown place, but some of these immigrants were forced to
leave. Some were forced to leave their homes because of war, famine, religious or political
prosecution. As if the journey to America wasnt scary enough for immigrants there were men
who tried to take advantage of their vulnerable situation. These men waited outside for
immigrants to try and rob them out of the few possessions they owned or the little money they
had. These were the types of risks these immigrants were willing to face.

After the war ended, the United States Made new rules for entering the United States.
Immigrants had to prove themselves in order to enter into the United States, they 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 wouldnt bare the
financial burden of new entries. Due to the new processing method Ellis Island began receiving
fewer immigrants. Ellis Island was ordered to close in 1954 by president Eisenhowers
attorney General Herbert Brownell ( Cannato,2010). Immigration removed the last remaining
immigrants on November 12, 1954 and finally abandoned it on March 15, 1955 when the
General Services Administration assumed control (1955-65). A non-profit organization The
Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island foundation was founded in 1982 and raised $170 million dollars
for the restoration and preservation of the island (Jacobs, 1990). The foundation has restored the
main building at Ellis Island and created the Ellis Island Museum which opened in September,
1990. It was the largest restoration and preservation project in American history.

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Today, the United States is again experiencing great waves of immigration, this time with
people from Asia, African nations, Latin and Central America (Cannato, 2010). Changes in
immigration laws, entry procedures, and transportation technology means that people can now
entering through airports and not processing stations like Ellis Island once did. The museum at
Ellis Island is historic, it is a monument to all Americas immigrants and their rich cultural
heritage. The experience of walking through those gates to a hopeful new world lives on in the
families memories of many Americans. The immigrants who passed through Ellis Island have
left a fascinating history of their experiences in letters to relatives and in stories passed down
through the generations. Their stories are now memorialized in the museum. Ellis Island will
always be a constant reminder that this great nation has a long history that accepted new comers
and help created the nation we see today.












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References

Cannato, Vincent J. American Passage: The History of Ellis Island. New York: Harper
Perennial, 2010.
Cunningham, John T. Ellis Island: Immigration's Shining Center. Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
Fisher, Leonard Everett. Ellis Island: Gateway to the New World. Holiday House, 1986.
Jacobs, William Jay. Ellis Island: New hope in a new land. Simon and Schuster, 1990.