Ellis Island: The Gateway to America

Ellis Island, the portal for immigrants to access a developed, prosperous land, the United States of America, and seek opportunity that would they would otherwise not discover in their home country. Opened in 1892, the island was the gateway for foreign people across the globe to enter salvation from their native country. With this new structure set in place, Americans had mixed feelings on immigration. The two conflicting ideas of immigration in this time period can be demonstrated through two poems: “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. While both literary works highlight the ideal “American dream” and personify the Statue of Liberty, they differ in the fact that they have different points of view on immigration.

Immigrants needed money to come to America. Sometimes they would get their money from 'loan sharks'. Loan sharks are unlicensed lenders who will lend you money when no one else will. They often target unemployed people, immigrants, or lone parents. The loan sharks would lend the immigrants money and they would recollect it along with a little profit from interest. Other times immigrants would get money from family already living here. Ellis Island could be heaven for one family, and hell for another. Many people were sent out, no matter what their age. Families were broken apart because some members would be sent back, and some were allowed to stay.

Immigration through out the late 1800’s and early 1900’s created nativism throughout the United States. Millions of immigrants flocked to the United States trying to find a better way of life to be able to support their families. Industrialization in the United States provided a labor source for the immigrants. Native born Americans believed immigrants were a “threat to the American way of life” (ATF chapter 11) Social and economic fault lines developed between natives and immigrants, through out the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, going unnoticed until the late 1920’s when the Sacco and Vanzetti case brought awareness of issue to much of the United States.

Since the founding of the United States of America, immigrants have always been welcome to pursue for a better life on the soil of the United States, which is known for freedom and also called the land of the free. The symbol of liberty on Ellis Island called The Statue of Liberty, which was gifted to the country from France, has an engraved sonnet by the famous American poet Emma Lazarus which writes, "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddle masses yearning to breathe free..." Which defines the country and opens the arms of the United States to immigrants. With the country opening its arms, the number of immigrants entering United States soil have increased immensely. With such a vast number of immigrants attempting to gain access into the

The migration of European settlers and culture to North America is an often examined area. One aspect of this, however, is worthy of deeper analysis. The conquest of North America by Europeans and American settlers from the 16th to 19th centuries had a profound effect on the indigenous political landscape by defining a new relationship dynamic between natives and settlers, by upsetting existing native political, economic and military structures, and by establishing a paradigm where the indigenous peoples felt they had to resist the European and American incursions. The engaging and brilliant works of Andres Rensendez and Steve Inskeep, entitled respectively “A Land So Strange” and “Jacksonland”, provide excellent insights and aide to this analysis.

Ellis Island, which was an immigration station, opened in 1892. Ellis Island was a place where Immigrants from all over Southern and Eastern Europe, Greece, Serbia and Hungary to name a few came to have a chance at getting into America. Immigrants came to Ellis Island for many different reasons such as war, drought, famine, religion, and political and economic oppression. Although coming to Ellis Island was one step closer to freedom, the immigrants still had many more obstacles to face. The immigrants had to face numerous medical inspections, and also legal inspections to make sure they were fit to come to America.

In the poems on America many of the writers write about love for a certain view of this country.

Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac and Europe and America by David Ignatow possess similar components regarding the American Dream. For example, both works include dreams, experiences, and disappointments of earlier generations. The poems differ within their similarities though through how the narrator feels towards their ancestors doings. To begin, Ellis Island discusses the dreams of two Slovak children who became the narrator’s grandparents. Lines nine through eleven state, “...tall woman, green / as dreams of forests and meadows / waiting...” The tall woman referred to represents the Statue of Liberty which stood proudly and greeted boats as they sailed to Ellis Island. At first sight, the monument became the “...answerer / of dreams” (16-17), for

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, America had an overwhelming number of immigrants arriving through Ellis Island. The goal for them was to try and recommence a new life and encounter freedom. They dealt with struggles in their home countries such as high taxes and famines. They left everything they knew to come to America to come through the Golden Door not acquiring what they expected.

Ellis Island is a small island located in the Upper New York Bay. Angel Island is the largest island in the San Francisco Bay in the state of California. Ellis Island served as a national immigration station from 1892-1924. Angel Island was an immigration station from 1910-1940. Both Islands helped America grow by opening their doors to the world. Immigrants who came to America now had a chance to achieve their own dreams and to start new lives. The country was new, the government was rising up and it gave immigrants an opportunity to succeed. Life was still going to be hard but people now had a chance to accomplish their dreams. Some immigrants came to America because other governments were failing or because they saw potential in

Who- President Benjamin Harrison dedicated this island and gateway in 1890. Samuel Ellis was the islands owner and manager and named it Ellis Island. The Federal Government bought this island from the state of New York. The more earlier immigrants came from many countries

According to History.com, “it is estimated that close to 40% percent of all U.S citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors of Ellis Island.” This information is important because it shows you how big of a role Ellis Island played in U.S immigration. Ellis Island was important to many immigrants because it meant freedom, new possibilities, and a new life.

Today, New York City is the most populated city in the United States. New York City, NYC, is made up of five boroughs including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Ellis Island, the first immigration station, and the statue of liberty are both located in New York. Immigrants went for more freedom in the 1800s and for economic and other opportunities back then and even now. Since NYC is such a large city, there are more job opportunities which draws people to the city. Also, there are an abundance of attractions and much more cultural diversity. All of these factors contribute to the reason the population is a whopping 8.538 million people!

In the very beginning, there are a bunch of people going through security, doing wellness checks, background checks, etc., to try and come into the United States through Ellis Island, a tiny island off the coast of New Jersey. The movie specifically centers on two Polish women, Ewa Cybulska and her sister Magda. Magda was taken away suddenly as she was deemed too sick to be allowed in, suspected to be lung failure. Ewa got through to the background check portion, but was sent away as she was “unescorted” and had nowhere to go, mostly because her uncle

There was so many people from different countries wanting the same thing as we did. Ellis Island was covered with long lines of people waiting for inspection. This consisted of examination by a doctor and an interview with an inspector. If a doctor saw you as sick, you would have to stay at Ellis Island until you were well again. While with an inspector, immigrants were expected to answer questions like where they were from, whether they had relatives in America or not, how much money they had, could they read or write in any language, and if they had jobs waiting for them in America or not. Most Italian immigrants had to speak to the inspector through a translator because they did not know any English. I could many Italians “refer to the island as L'Isola delle Lacrime: The Island of Tears" (Grossman, 1993). We were amongst the lucky ones that did not get sick and have to be sent back to or homeland. We only had to wait about twelve hours before being passed and were able to stay and start a new life. While many Italian immigrants scattered across the states, my family felt as if it was in our best interest to stay close.