Ellis Island
Where the real journey begins!
What was Ellis Island?
When immigrants first arrived to New York, they docked at the Ellis Island
Immigration Station.
How would you describe Ellis Island?
According to If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island by Ellen Levine, the
text says, “Ellis Island was like a miniature city for immigrants. There were
waiting rooms, dormitories for over a thousand people, restaurants, a hospital,
baggage room, post office, banks to change foreign money, a railroad ticket
office, medical and legal examination rooms, baths, laundries, office areas for
charities and church groups, and courtrooms.”
Dormitories
Ellis Island - The Process
Imagine you are an immigrant traveling to
America. Imagine how excited and happy you
would feel once your long journey is about to
end. You finally made it to Ellis Island!
Yes, immigrants were extremely excited to
arrive at Ellis Island, but their real journey was
only beginning. Before they could enter
America, there were stops they had to pass
through at the Immigration Station.
Remember, there were thousands of
immigrants arriving at the same time. That’s
one long line to wait on! It could take many
hours, or even days, just to exit the boat.
Ellis Island- The Process
1. Baggage Room
2. Stairways to the Registry Room (known as the Great
Hall)
3. Medical Exam
4. The Great Hall
5. Legal Inspection
6. Money Exchange
7. Journey’s End- “The Kissing Post”
First Obstacle at Ellis Island:
Medical Examination
Who examined the immigrants at Ellis Island?
Doctors examined the immigrants before they even realized it! When
immigrants walked up the stairs to the Great Hall, doctors were watching them
in what was called the “six second medical exam”. The doctors wanted to see if
immigrants limped or showed any other signs of health problems such as
difficulty breathing.When they reached the top, the doctors looked at their skin,
throat, hands, and scalp in a two or three minute examination. Children older
than two had to walk by themselves. All immigrants were asked their names to
see if they could hear and speak.
Medical
Close Analysis
Fair
or ExaminationUnfair?
● The “Six Second Medical Exam”
● Two to three minute examinations
Let’s Pretend.. You’re an Inspector at Ellis Island!
Your job is to inspect each person that enters Ellis
Island. Your boss tells you about a very contagious eye
disease called trachoma. Your job is to make sure no one
with this disease enters the country. You are asked to use a
metal button hook to roll your eyelids back to see if the
immigrants have this disease.
That seems painful!
As an inspector, why might you have used this
tool?
Your first task as an inspector!
A little girl approaches you with eyes that are all red. One
of the signs of trachoma is red eyes. Would you let her
stay? Why or why not?
Let’s think...
As an inspector, are you getting the whole story
about this little girl just by looking at her for a
few seconds?
What else may have caused her eyes to be red?
A True Story
According to Ellen Levine, one child had been sick on board
ship, and had cried so much that her eyes were sore. She
was almost sent back home but after three days of rest, she
was allowed to stay.
Remember to always consider MULTIPLE sides of a
situation.
Ellis Island- Detainment vs. Deportation
Detained- keep (someone) in official custody, typically for
questioning
Deportation- to send out of the country by legal
deportation
Reasons for Detainment
● Illness or disease
● Mental capacity
● Misinterpretations
of language
● Women and children
traveling without male
Reasons for Deportation
●
●
●
●
Contagious diseases
Had committed crimes in their old country
Had the promise of a job
If you were not able to support yourself or
your family
● Had certain mental or physical problems
that would keep you from being able to work
Language Barriers
Imagine you are an immigrant at Ellis Island
and you do not speak English. What kind of
difficulties do you think you may encounter?
What is your name?
According to the website, Ellis Island: America’s Gateway,
Andrjuljawierjus, Grzyszczyszn, Koutsoghianopoulos, and
Zemiszkicivicz are a few of the names that Ellis Island inspectors had to
decipher from handwritten manifests. The inspector's prime task was to
question new arrivals to verify information already recorded in the
ships' manifests; however, scores of immigrants contend that in the
process their names were changed or simplified. Though these changes
have never been verified, stories of immigrants receiving new names as
they stood behind an inspector's desk on Ellis Island are part of
America's oral tradition.