What was Ellis Island?
Q: Who wrote “What was Ellis Island?”
A: Patricia Brennan Demuth (cover)
Q: Who illustrated “What was Ellis Island?”
A: David Groff (cover)
Q: What is the Island of Hope?
A: Ellis Island (1)
Q: What city is Ellis Island located near?
A: New York City (1)
Q: What years did immigrants come to Ellis Island?
A: 1892 to 1954 (1)
Q: Where did most immigrants come from?
A: All over Europe (2)
Q: What was one of the three reasons did immigrants leave their countries?
A: Food was scarce, or there were no jobs, or they were treated badly for their religion (2)
Q: What country was the boy from who said, “America was on everyone’s lips.”
A: Poland (2)
Q: What ocean did the immigrants travel across?
A: Atlantic (2)
Q: How long did it take to travel across the Atlantic to get to America?
A: Seven to ten days (2)
Q: What were the two small islands that the immigrants saw when they entered New York Harbor?
A: Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
Q: What is on Liberty Island?
A: The Statue of Liberty (2)
Q: What is the Statue of Liberty holding?
A: A flaming torch (2)
Q: What was at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
A: A poem (2)
Q: Who ran Ellis Island?
A: The US government (3)
Q: What type of center was Ellis Island?
A: A testing center (3)
Q: What types of immigrants were supposed to be weeded out?
A: The sick and unfit (3)
Q: How many immigrants failed the tests?
A: Over 250,000 (4)
Q: What happened to immigrants that failed the tests?
A: They were not allowed into the United States (4)
Q: What did immigrants that failed the tests call Ellis Island?
A: The Island of Tears (5)
Q: What body of water is the Statue of Liberty located in?
A: New York Harbor (7)
Q: What kind of gift was the Statue of Liberty?
A: A gift of friendship (7)
Q: Who gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
A: France (7)
Q: Who wrote the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
A: Emma Lazarus (7)
Q: What is the name of the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
A: “The New Colossus” (7)
Q: What is the first line of the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
A: “Give me your tired, your poor….” (7)
Q: What year did the poem get inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
A: 1903 (7)
Q: How big was the land that became Ellis Island?
A: A little over three acres (8)
Q: What did the local Native Americans call Ellis Island?
A: Gull Island (8)
Q: Why did the local Americans call Ellis Island, “Gull Island?”
A: Because sea gulls were the only creatures that lived there (8)
Q: What was the name of the farmer that bought the land that would become Ellis Island?
A: Samuel Ellis (9)
Q: When did the U.S. Government become the owner of Ellis Island?
A: 1808 (9)
Q: What was Ellis Island used for?
A: Storing guns (9)
Q: What was the policy for immigration into the U.S. for most of the 1800’s?
A: “Open Door Policy” (10)
Q: Where did 9 out of 10 immigrants come from?
A: Ireland, England, or Germany (10)
Q: How many immigrants did the state of New York admit from 1855 to 1890?
A: Eight million (11)
Q: Where did immigrants coming into the state of New York pass through (before Ellis Island)?
A: Castle Garden (11)
Q: When did the federal government take over control of immigration from the states?
A: 1890 (11)
Q: Where did the landfill for increase the size of Ellis Island come from?
A: The dirt shoveled out to make way for the subways (13)
Q: What day did Ellis Island greet the first immigrants?
A: New Year’s Day 1892 (14)
Q: Who was the first immigrant to step foot on the island?
A: Annie Moore (14)
Q: What country was Annie Moore from?
A: Ireland (14)
Q: How old was Annie Moore when she arrived at Ellis Island?
A: Fifteen (14)
Q: Who did Annie Moore come to America with?
A: Her two younger brothers (14)
Q: What happened to the buildings at Ellis Island only five years after it opened?
A: They burned to the ground (14)
Q: What were the old buildings made of at Ellis Island?
A: Wood (14)
Q: What were the new buildings made of at Ellis Island?
A: Red brick (and stone) (15)
Q: How many people were admitted during the first year of Ellis Island?
A: 450,000 (15)
Q: How many islands is Ellis Island made of?
A: Three (15)
Q: In what year did Ellis Island add a second island?
A: 1898 (15)
Q: In what year did Ellis Island add a third island?
A: 1906 (15)
Q: What year was Annie Moore born?
A: 1877 (16)
Q: What year did Annie Moore die?
A: 1924 (16)
Q: What did officials give Annie when she arrived in Ellis Island?
A: A ten dollar gold piece (16)
Q: What was the name of the ship that Annie Moore traveled on?
A: Nevada (16)
Q: What were the names of Annie Moore’s younger brothers?
A: Anthony and Phillip (17)
Q: How many children did Annie Moore have?
A: Eleven (17)
Q: How old was Annie Moore when she died?
A: Forty seven (17)
Q: How large was Ellis Island when it was complete?
A: 27.5 acres (18)
Q: How many buildings are on Ellis Island?
A: Thirty three (18)
Q: What was the biggest and most important building on Ellis Island?
A: The Main Building (19)
Q: What drove most immigrants to America?
A: Terrible hardship (24)
Q: What country had a famine and natural disasters?
A: Italy (24)
Q: What religious group was attacked in Russia?
A: Jewish (24)
Q: Where was Mary Anti from?
A: Russia (24)
Q: What was the name of the Volcano that erupted in Italy?
A: Mt. Etna (24)
Q: What did families usually move to America in stages?
A: It was difficult to save enough money (26)
Q: What family member usually travelled to America first when a family came in stages?
A: The father (26)
Q: Who said that going to America, “was almost like going to the moon?”
A: Golda Meir (27)
Q: What was the name of the logs were steamship companies recorded immigrants answers?
A: Manifests (28)
Q: What was the rough area at the bottom of the ship called?
A: Steerage (30)
Q: How many immigrants would arrive on a ferry at a time to Ellis Island?
A: A thousand (34)
Q: What was the name of the worst part of the medical checkup?
A: The buttonhook test (38)
Q: What were doctors looking for with the buttonhook test?
A: Trachoma (38)
Q: After the medical test, what test did immigrants have next?
A: The legal interview (39)
Q: What do interpreters do?
A: Translated the languages (41)
Q: Why did some immigrants arrive at Ellis Island and leave with another?
A: Because many foreign names were long and unfamiliar (42)
Q: Why did some immigrants change their own names?
A: To make them more American (42)
Q: What was the right answer the to the question, “Do you have a job waiting for you in America?”
A: No (42)
Q: How much money did immigrants need to bring to America?
A: Twenty or twenty five dollars (43)
Q: When did Ellis Island begin asking the question, “Can you read?”
A: 1917 (43)
Q: What does illiterate mean?
A: “Unable to read or write” (44)
Q: Who would sometimes help immigrants pass their tests?
A: Interpreters (44)
Q: Why did the interpreters sometimes help immigrants pass their tests?
A: Because many of them had come through Ellis Island themselves (44)
Q: How long did the average stay at Ellis Island last?
A: Three to five hours (45)
Q: How long could immigrants that were detained stay at Ellis Island?
A: Days, weeks, or even months (45)
Q: Who paid the fare for “mail order brides?”
A: Future husbands (46)
Q: Where were sick immigrants taken?
A: The Ellis Island Hospital (47)
Q: When did Ellis Island Hospital open?
A: 1902
Q: Where was the most caring place on Ellis Island?
A: The Ellis Island Hospital (47)
Q: Who did one immigrant refer to as, “the ladies in white?”
A: The nurses at the Ellis Island Hospital (47)
Q: How much did treatment at the Ellis Island Hospital cost?
A: Free (48)
Q: Who became instant babies on Ellis Island?
A: Babies born in the Ellis Island Hospital (48)
Q: What did women need before they could leave Ellis Island?
A: A male relative or male sponsor (50)
Q: How many people could sit in the dining room at Ellis Island?
A: A thousand (51)
Q: What was the busiest year on Ellis Island?
A: 1907 (52)
Q: How many newcomers came through Ellis Island in 1907?
A: 1.25 million (52)
Q: How many people could fit into each wire cell?
A: 600 (54)
Q: How many people were often crammed into each wire cell?
A: 1,000 (54)
Q: When was a kosher kitchen put in Ellis Island?
A: 1911 (56)
Q: How many immigrants were deported from Ellis Island?
A: 2% (58)
Q: What was the “grand prize” on Ellis Island?
A: Landing Cards (58)
Q: What was the name of the spot where many immigrants were reunited with family members?
A: The Kissing Post (60)
Q: Where was Regina Rogatta from?
A: Italy (60)
Q: What was the US population in 1820?
A: Ten million (62)
Q: In what year were cars pouring off assembly lines?
A: 1913 (65)
Q: Bridges, skyscrapers and what, were being built by immigrants?
A: Rail lines (65)
Q: Who was the steel tycoon that only gave his workers one day off a year?
A: Andrew Carnegie (65)
Q: What day did Andrew Carnegie give his workers off?
A: The Fourth of July (65)
Q: Who was elected to the mayor of New York City in 1933?
A: Fiorello La Guardia (67)
Q: What is named after Fiorello La Guardia?
A: An airport (67)
Q: Where was William Reinhart from?
A: Germany (68)
Q: What is the view point that cultures blended together as one whole called?
A: The melting pot (70)
Q: How many children worked in 1900?
A: Two million (71)
Q: When did congress make laws banning Child Labor?
A: 1916 (71)
Q: Who was a photographer at Ellis Island?
A: Lewis Hine (71)
Q: What were the factories called where immigrants worked for very low wages?
A: Sweatshops (72)
Q: What did children of immigrants receive in America that they often could not afford in their own
countries?
A: School (73-74)
Q: Where was Andrew Carnegie born?
A: Scotland (75)
Q: What kind of factory did Andrew Carnegie work in as a boy?
A: Cotton factory (75)
Q: What was one of Andrew Carnegie’s favorite causes?
A: Opening libraries (75)
Q: In what year did World War I begin in Europe?
A: 1914 (76)
Q: When did the United States join in the fighting for World War I?
A: 1917 (76)
Q: How many immigrants came through Ellis Island in 1918?
A: 29,000 (76)
Q: When did prejudice against immigrants begin?
A: After World War I (77)
Q: When did congress pass the Emergency Quota Act?
A: 1921
Q: What is a quota?
A: A limit on how many immigrants could enter the U.S. each year (77)
Q: How many immigrants were allowed in to the U.S. after the Quota Act was passed?
A: About 350,000 (77)
Q: How many immigrants were allowed into the U.S. in 1924?
A: About 165,000 (78)
Q: Where were immigrants tested after the new immigration laws were passed?
A: U.S. embassies (79)
Q: When was Ellis Island closed?
A: November 12, 1954 (81)
Q: How many immigrants passed through Ellis Island?
A: Twelve million (81)
Q: What was the immigration island on the West Coast?
A: Angel Island (82)
Q: Where was Angel Island located?
A: San Francisco, CA (82)
Q: What was Angel Island’s nickname?
A: “The Ellis Island of the West” (82)
Q: How many immigrants came to Angel Island between 1910 and 1940?
A: One million (83)
Q: Where did most of the immigrants come from to Angel Island?
A: Asia (China) (83)
Q: When was the California Gold Rush?
A: 1848-1855 (83)
Q: What did immigrants from China build?
A: The railroads (83)
Q: What happened to Ellis Island after 1954?
A: It became a ghost town (84)
Q: Which president declared Ellis Island a historic site?
A: President Lyndon Johnson (85)
Q: When did President Johnson declare Ellis Island a historic site?
A: In 1965
Q: When did Ellis Island open to the public for tours?
A: In 1976
Q: Which president set up a special group to restore Ellis Island?
A: President Ronald Reagan (90)
Q: Who raised over $150 million to restore Ellis Island?
A: Lee Iacocca (91)
Q: When did the Ellis Island restoration begin?
A: 1984 (91)
Q: When was the ceiling installed in the Great Hall?
A: 1917 (92)
Q: How many tiles needed to be replaced in the Grand Hall?
A: 27 (92)
Q: How long did it take to restore Ellis Island?
A: Eight years (93)
Q: Where did Gold Meir settle?
A: Milwaukee, Wisconsin (94)
Q: When did Ellis Island reopen it’s doors?
A: September 10, 1990 (96)
Q: How many people visit Ellis Island each year?
A: Two million (97)
Q: How many Americans out of ten can trace their family history back to Ellis Island?
A: Four (100-101)