The 'Gateway to America' and the Ellis Island Immigration museum.
Ellis Island was once called the 'Gateway
to America' and between 1982 and 1954 over 12 million immigrants were
processed through the principal federal immigration station on the island.
A far cry from today's immigration channels, as prospective immigrants
embarked on ships to make the long journey from their homelands to their
new home in America. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens
can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island.
In it's early years, when the greatest number of immigrants
entered the country, Ellis Island mirrored the nation's generous additude
and open door policy. After passage of immigration laws in the 1920s,
it was used more for 'assembly, detainment, and deporting aliens,' and
symbolized a closing door.
Immigrants were required
to pass a series of medical and legal inspections before they could
enter America. The actual experience of going through inspection or
detainment on Ellis Island was often nerve wracking.
Those who did not pass these inspections were returned to their country of origin on the boats that brought them here.
Even though only 2% of those coming to America were turned away at Ellis Island, that translated to over 250,000 people whose hopes and dreams turned to tears.
Nearly
every day for over two decades (1900-1924) the Registry Room teemed
with hopeful arrivals waiting to be inspected and registered by Immigration
Service officers. As the tide of immigration swelled, sometimes over
10,000 people would file through this space in a single 24-hour period.
For most immigrants, this great hall epitomized Ellis Island.
Here they encountered the complex demands of the immigration laws and
an American bureaucracy that could either grant or withhold permission
to land in the United States.
In 1954, Ellis
Island closed and was virtually abandoned until 1965 when President
Lyndon Johnson added it to the Statue of Liberty National Monument under
the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The restoration of Ellis
Island began in 1983 and the immigration museum opened in 1990, with
the building being restored to the period of 1918-1920.
Ellis Island exists today as a testament to the vital importance of immigration in shaping America and to the millions of people who passed through its doors.
Visit the Official
web site for Ellis Island and the Immigration museum.
If you would like to find out more about Ellis Island and the Immigration museum, including the American Immigrant Wall of Honor and the Statue of Liberty, then please visit the official web site, which has many detailed accounts and original photographs of the period, located at http://www.ellisisland.org.