ELLIS ISLAND
The Immigrant Experience
The New Immigration
• Immigration continued at a
high rate.
– From 1850s-1870s, more
than 2 million per decade
– 1880s - Five million.
– 1882 alone, nearly 800
thousand
• Until the 1880s most
immigrants integrated into
American society
relatively easily  Why?
New Immigrants
• Integrated differently. Why?
– Were swarthier, more Jewish, more Orthodox
Christians
– Poorer and not used to democratic governments
– More illiterate
– Did not come looking for farming opportunities
 Came looking for work, and were
comfortable living in cities working industrial
jobs.
New Immigrants
• Lived together in mini-cities
within cities.
– Consequences?
• Americans began to fear that
US a dumping ground for
Europe’s refuse.
Annual Immigration, 1860–1997
Southern Europe Uprooted
• Southern and Eastern Europeans left for a
number of reasons:
– Europe crowded
– Also, persecutions in Europe drove some out.
Pogroms in 1880s in eastern Europe.
• 60 Million Europeans abandoned the old
continent in the 19th century  Half to US.
• “America Fever” developed in Europe
Southern Europe Uprooted
• Railroads, industries and states
actively recruited immigrants
• Eastern European Jews
• “Birds of passage”
• Tensions between immigrants
and children.
Jewish Bagel Peddler
Immigrants
• In 1860 the resident
population of the U.S. was
31.5 million people. Between
1865 and 1920, close to 30
million additional people
entered the country.
• These people were fleeing
crop failures, land and job
shortages, rising taxes and
famine. Some were also
escaping religious or
political persecution.
Characteristics of the “New Immigrant”
•
•
•
•
•
From Southern and Eastern Europe
Many young males
Many Catholics and Jews
Mostly unskilled agricultural laborers
Little money or education
“I once thought to write a history of the
immigrants in America. Then I discovered
that immigrants WERE American history.”
--Oscar Handlin
Push and Pull Factors
Push Factors (Get OUT!)
•
Economic decline in Europe
1.
2.
3.
Effect of Industrial Revolution
Rising populations, decreasing death rate
More people + fewer resources = TROUBLE!!
•
Political and Religious Persecution in
Eastern Europe
1.
2.
3.
Legal restrictions on Jews
Pogroms=violent mob attacks
Other ethnic minorities
Pull Factors
• The Lure of Life in America (Work, land, and LIES!!)
– “That was the time, you see, when America was known to
foreigners as the land where you’d get rich. There’s gold on the
sidewalk– all you have to do is pick it up!”-Lithuanian immigrant
Journey Across the Atlantic
Steerage on the SS Pennland 1893
Steerage Conditions
•Crowded, unsanitary, little
food, enclosed! –Journal 3
The Island
• Ellis Island served as the
portal for a majority of
new immigrants from
1892 till it closed in
1954.
• More than 12 million
immigrants were
processed here.
Unloading and Baggage
Stairs of Separation
• As the immigrants
walked up the staircase,
U.S. Public Health
Officials watched them
for signs of a number of
illnesses.
The Great Hall
Time For Inspections
Medical Inspections
Medical Exams
• The Inspector would take
about 7 seconds to
determine if the immigrant
had any infectious diseases.
• Some would be sent back
and some detained in
quarantine.
• Only two percent of the
arriving immigrants were
excluded from entry.
Legal Inspections– Registry Hall
The Final Inspection
Journal Entry 4
Cafeteria
• Here immigrants were
served their first “taste of
America”.
• They were often
introduced to new
dishes—such as ice
cream.
Dormitories
• Immigrants that were
detained for medical or
other reasons stayed in
these rooms, tightly
packed with rows of bunk
beds.
The Kissing Post
• After immigrants were
approved for admission,
they would walk down
the stairs to meet their
loved ones.
• This area became known
as the kissing post.
Final Destination
• Only one third of the immigrants who came
to the United States through Ellis Island
stayed in New York City. Most scattered
across the country.
• Immigrants were given tags to pin to their
hats or coats. The tags showed railroad
conductors what lines the immigrants were
traveling and what connections to make to
reach their destinations.
Ethnic Enclaves
• 2/3 settle in urban
centers (community,
familiarity)
• Newspapers, customs,
food, churches, clothing
“Here no one goes to bed on an
empty stomach because one
Pole will save another, if he
can.” –Polish immigrant
Urban Living Conditions
• Immigrants often lived in buildings abandoned by
middle-class residents and converted into
multifamily units.
• These tenements soon became identified as
“slums”.
• Many families would cram into spaces only meant
for a few.
• Many immigrants tended to settle with others from
the same country creating the ethnic
neighborhoods and sections that can still be found
in many big cities today.
Urban Living Conditions
• Outside the tenements, raw sewage and
garbage littered the streets.
• Contagious diseases raged in such
conditions.
• Babies were especially susceptible.
• In NYC, in one district of tenements, six out
of ten babies died before their first birthday.
Living Conditions
5 cents a spot
Tenement Living
120 rooms for 1231 people
60% die before 1st birthday
Journal Entry 5
Working Conditions
Immigrants Seek Industrial Jobs
1. High supply/high demand
2. Prefer to agricultural work
3. 80% unskilled workforce
Struggling Families
Child Labor
Journal Entry 6
Immigration From Asia
Immigration from the East
1. Gold Rush and Railroad Work pulled
Chinese to America.
2. Worked for less pay which created
conflicts.
Exclusion Act: Shutting the Doors on the
Chinese
• Depression
A. Blamed Chinese for 1870s
Depression.
B. Mob Violence
C. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
1. Prohibited immigration for 10
years
Angel Island: The Ellis Island of the
West
• Angel Island
1. Angel Island Immigration Station
(1910)
2. Harder to get into America
3. Detained
Other Asian Groups Immigrate to the
United States
• Chinese Exclusions Act created shortages.
1. Korea, Philippines and Japan
2. Gentlemen's Agreement
Immigration from North and South
• Immigrants From Mexico
1. Cheap Labor
2. Faced Discrimination
• French Canadians
1. Faced Discrimination
Americans’ Treatment of
Immigrants/Nativism
Motivation For Nativism
• Fear, hostility, and suspicion
• Prejudices based on race,
ethnicity, religion
• Old Immigrants vs. New Immigrants
“The immigrants are an invasion of venomous reptiles…longhaired, wild-eyed bad-smelling, atheistic, reckless foreign
wretches, who never did a day’s work in their lives.” –from a
newspaper editorial
• Some similarities to today (i.e. jobs)
The ‘Golden Door’ Slams Shut
• Literacy tests to prevent
‘inferior races’
• Call for laws restricting immigration
– 1921 Dillingham Bill sets quotas
Journal Entry 7