The
Ellis Island Building
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Ellis Island Immigration Process:
Fast Fact
Sheet
Fast, fun facts for kids about the Ellis Island immigration center:
Location: New Jersey side of Upper New York
Bay,
U.S.
What was the process? A medical and legal
inspection
Who went through the process? Steerage and
third class passengers - 1st and 2nd class
passengers did not
Who was the first immigrant to be processed?
Annie Moore
Who was the last immigrant to be processed?
Arne Peterssen
How many immigrants were processed? 15
Million
Where did the inspections take place? the
Registry Room (or Great Hall)
Ellis Island History Facts for kids: Immigration Acts
Congress passed the
Immigration Act of 1882 which was the first comprehensive
immigration law to restrict immigrants from Europe. This was
followed by the Immigration Act of 1891 which regulated immigration
even further.
Steps
Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids: The Steps
Interesting facts and information about each of the steps undertaken
by passengers who disembarked from their ships at the piers in New
York Harbor. The First and Second Class passengers were not required
to undergo the inspection procedure - they were quickly checked on
board then went straight to customs and into the United States. Only
those who were extremely sick or with legal issues were referred to
Ellis Island.
Steps Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids Only 2% of
immigrants were refused entry to the United States and
Deported
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Arrival: Steerage, or third
class passengers, had to undergo the inspection
procedure. The stream of immigrants was endless - up to
10,000 people in a day. The procedure and method of
testing new immigrants had to be fast. Up to 850 staff,
including interpreters, worked in the center.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Piers: The migrants were
transported from the piers by ferries or barge to Ellis
Island where everyone would undergo a legal and medical
inspection.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Labels: Every immigrant
was labeled with their name and the name of the ship on
which they arrived.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Baggage Room: Immigrants
entered the main building through the baggage room where
they left their trunks, suitcases and baskets to be
claimed after the tests.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Families Separated: The men
were separated from the women and children.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Stairway to the Great Hall:
Although the immigrants did not know it inspection began
as they climbed the steep flight of stairs and into the
great hall of the Registry Room. Doctors would make an
initial inspection looking for signs of a medical
problem or disability and checking whether anyone was
wheezing, out of breathe, coughing, scratching,
shuffling or limping.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Chalk Marks:
If a problem was detected (in roughly 2 out of 10) in
the initial medical inspection their coat lapel or shirt
marked with a letter code in colored chalk to indicate
the problem. The doctors developed a code to indicate 60
problems that warranted more investigation.
"H" for
heart problems
"K" for hernias
"Sc" for scalp problems
"X" for mental disability
"Pg" for pregnant
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Physical or mental examination
rooms: Those with chalk marks were segregated to
await further medical tests in the physical or mental
examination rooms. Those suspected of having a
contagious disease was set aside in a cage apart from
the rest of the immigrants.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Medical problems: The type of
medical problems that caused concern were cholera, favus
(scalp and nail fungus), insanity, tuberculosis,
epilepsy, and trachoma, a highly contagious eye
infection that could cause blindness and death.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Hospital: If a medical
problem was curable, immigrants were sent to the
island's hospital
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Deportation: Those with
incurable or disabling ailments were excluded from entry
and returned to their port of departure at the expense
of the shipping line on which they arrived. Only 80,000
immigrants (2%) were barred from entry to the Untied
States for diseases or defects - an extremely small
proportion
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Great Hall: The immigrants
were then herded into the Registry Room (or Great Hall)
where the verbal inspections took place.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Legal Inspection:
Inspectors used a list of 32 questions to determine if
an immigrant should be admitted to America. These
included their identity, place of origin, occupation,
financial status and their planned destination in the
United States. Inspectors rejected any immigrant with a
criminal record
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Detention in Dormitories:
People were detained on Ellis Island for a variety of
reasons. Some were sent to the hospital, women and
children on their own would be detained until their
safety was guaranteed by the arrival of a telegram,
letter, or a ticket from a relative in the United
States. Others were waiting for confirmation of their
status.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Stairs of Separation:
After inspection, immigrants descended from the Great
Hall down the "Stairs of Separation" so called because
they marked the parting of the way for many family and
friends with different destinations. Immigrants were
either sent to the island's hospital and detention rooms
or were granted entry into the United States.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Baggage Reclaim: After passing
the tests and inspections people were allowed to reclaim
their baggage.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
Money Exchange: Laws passed in
1909 required each immigrant to have at least $20 before
they were allowed to enter America. In the money
exchange area immigrants exchanged foreign currency for
dollars, and purchased any train tickets they needed
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
The Exit and the Kissing Post:
The Kissing Post was the name given to the exit from
Ellis Island. It was where many happy reunions were made
between immigrants and their welcoming relatives.
Ellis Island
Immigration Process Steps:
New Americans: Most of the new
Americans took a ferry to New Jersey to begin their
journeys to the destinations in the United States. The
remaining immigrants boarded the ferry to Manhattan,
only one mile away, to begin their new life in
New York City.
Steps Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids
Ellis Island Immigration Process
for kids:
US Immigration Laws
The article on
US
Immigration Laws History provides facts,
immigration statistics and a timeline from 1800's to
the present. For facts about immigration from Japan,
China and Asia refer to the
Angel
Island Immigration Station.
Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids
Interesting facts about the Ellis Island Immigration Process are detailed below. The history of
the Ellis Island Immigration Process is told in a factual sequence consisting of
a series of short facts providing a simple method of relating the
history and events of the Ellis Island Immigration Process. For
additional information refer to
Ellis Island Facts and
History.
Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 1: Over 15 million immigrants to the
United States were inspected at the center between
1892 and 1954.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 2:
The two federal agencies responsible for processing the
immigrants were the United States Public Health Service
and the Bureau of Immigration
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 3: The first immigration processing
center was opened on January 1, 1892 but was destroyed
by fire on June 15, 1897. During this 5 year period over
1.5 million immigrants were tested.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 4: After
the fire, a Temporary Immigration Center was set up at the
old Barge Office on the Battery, Manhattan, New York was
used as a temporary immigration station whilst a new
immigration building was built. The new, massive
three-story building opened for processing immigrants on
January 1, 1902.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 5: The Immigrants: 96% of immigrants
arriving in New York traveled by sailing vessel from
Europe to New York, the voyage took anything from 1-3
months. Traveling by steamship took 10 days.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 6: The Immigrants: European immigrants
made the decision to move to America were attracted by
an abundance of land & plenty of work, booming
industries and a higher standard of living. They grabbed
the opportunity to escape religious intolerance and
political tyranny. The
Statue of
Liberty became the symbolic landmark of freedom for
all European immigrants on the last leg of their journey
from Europe to Ellis Island and a new life in the United
States of America. The immigrants dreaded the tests that
awaited them...
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 7: Most immigrants booked passage in
steerage or third class, the cheapest accommodation in
crowded and unsanitary conditions.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 8: Only 80,000 immigrants were barred
from entry to the United States for diseases or defects
- refer to US
Immigration Laws History
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 9: The Alien Contract Labor Law of 1885
excluded all immigrants who took a job in exchange for
passage.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
Fact 10: The Immigrant Quota Act of 1921 and
the
National Origins
Act of 1924 limited the
number and nationality of immigrants allowed into the
United States, effectively ended the era of mass
immigration into New York
Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids
Push and Pull Factors
For visitors interested in the subject of immigration
refer to our website on
Push and Pull Factors
of Immigration which provides details of why people left their
homes in various countries and moved to the United
States.
Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids - President Benjamin Harrison Video
The article on the Ellis Island
Immigration Process provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Benjamin Harrison video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 23rd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1893.
Ellis Island Immigration Process
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Interesting info with the Ellis Island Immigration Process for kids and schools
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Summary of the Ellis Island Immigration Process in US history
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The Ellis Island Immigration Process, a major
event in US history
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Benjamin Harrison Presidency from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1893
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Fast, fun, interesting facts about the Ellis Island
Immigration Process
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Benjamin Harrison
● Benjamin Harrison Presidency and Ellis Island
Immigration Process for schools,
homework, kids and children |