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What happened to Ellis Island after it was closed?

What is the American Family Immigration History Center?

Why is Ellis Island so important?

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Which countries did the immigrants come from?

How did they get to the United States?

Why did they decide to make the journey?

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In the early 1900s, people thought immigration was slowing down, but it was still increasing. Therefore, the government made new laws and rules to control who could come to the USA. As a result, Ellis Island was used less and less as an immigration station. Ellis Island closed as an immigration station in 1954.

However, President Johnson wanted to keep Ellis Island because he appreciated the contributions immigrants made to life in the United States.

Today, if you go to New York, you can take a ferry to Ellis Island and visit the immigration museum. You can learn more about the immigrants who arrived and their memories of their stay. You can feel what it was like for immigrants on Ellis Island.

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What did it mean to travel “steerage”?

Which tests did the immigrants have to pass?

What happened on the stairs of separation?

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Many immigrants who came to the USA arrived in Ellis Island before they could begin their new life.

There was another immigration center on the West Coast in California called "Angel Island". Many people from Asia came to the USA across the Pacific Ocean through Angel Island. However, why did so many people from Europe come to the USA through Ellis Island?

You can see that New York is right next to the Atlantic Ocean. Ellis Island was right in the middle of the New York Habor. The best way for Immigrants from Europe to get to the USA was to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

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The third-class passengers with the cheapest tickets had to travel steerage. The steerage class was the area were you could feel the ship's heavy movement the most. It was so crowded, so dark, so unsanitary that it was like a nightmare.

There steerage passengers were the ones who had to undergo different tests at Ellis Island before they were allowed to enter the country.

Please watch the video for more information about the steerage class. Skip ahead and start watching the video from 3:50 mins.

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How did the people feel when they left their home country?

What difficulties did they encounter on the journey?

What challenges did they face as they started a new life in the USA?

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Before leaving their home countries and starting their journey to the USA, the people had to choose what they would bring from home. They could only bring what they could carry. Many people chose to bring both practical things, such as blankets and clothes, as well as things that reminds them of their family, such as family heirlooms.

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When they arrived at Ellis Island, the immigrants left their bags and other belongings in the baggage room until their inspection was done.

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How did the people from Europe get to Ellis Island?

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How did the people from Europe get to Ellis Island?

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Until the late 1800s, the most common way to cross the thousands of miles across the ocean between North America and other continents was in a sailing ship. This trip was months long, expensive and very dangerous.

Then, steamships were invented, and they changed how people traveled. Steamships made the journey to the United States faster, cheaper, and safer. This meant more people could make the trip.

These steamships, along with more problems happening worldwide, caused a big increase in the number of people moving to the USA.

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Back to the roots - Family roots in other countries

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Back to the roots - Family roots in other countries

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The United States is a country of immigrants. Today more than half of the American people are their descendants!

You can see what that means if you visit the American Family Immigration History Center. Visitors can search millions of ships' passenger lists, discover their connections to Ellis Island and find out more about their personal family story.

You can also explore the American Immigrant Wall of Honor outside the national Museum of Immigration with almost one million names. Each name stands for an immigrant who had a dream. Immigrants who came before Ellis Island, through Ellis Island but also recent immigrants are represented on this wall.

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The American government wanted to check that they were healthy and had enough money to survive in America. So first, they had to do many tests.

The immigrants went up stairs to the registry room. On the stairs to the registry room, they were checked for illness. People with medical problems who failed the physical test were marked with a letter written on their back. They had to be tested more. Therefore, those immigrants went through more medical examinations. If they were too sick, they were sent back to their home countries.

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The registery room was also called the Great Hall because it was so big.

If the immigrants passed the physical test, they had to pass the legal test at the Great Hall. They needed to answer around 29 questions in a talk with the officers.

Some people did not speak English and therefore interpreters helped them with the questions. The people had to answer many different questions, such as their full name, their job, whether they can read and write and how much money they have. Their answers were compared to their written answers they gave when they bought their tickets for the ship. That way, the government made sure the people were telling the truth about who they were.

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When they were done in the Great Hall, they went down the stairs of separation Those free to go went down one side, and those who failed the tests went down another.

The immigrants who did not pass the physical test or legal test had to stay on Ellis Island. If their situation did not change, they were sent back to Europe, which happened to 2 in 100 unlucky people.

That way, families were broken up and some people never saw their relatives again. This is the reason why Ellis Island was nicknamed "island of tears".

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Those immigrants who had passed the tests changed their money for American dollars at the exchange desk. They bought train tickets for their final destination: New York or another part of the USA. It was the start of a new life!

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Click on the map to find out which countries in Europe many immigrants were coming from.

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Ellis Island is a special symbol of the American culture and New York continues to be influenced by its immigrants' traditions, customs and foods. You can explore the city's history by trying different kinds of food, for example pizza and pasta in Little Italy, Asian food in Chinatown or you can have a great time in Irish pubs and restaurants in Woodside.

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Why did people from Europe come to the USA?

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Why did people from Europe come to the USA?

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What makes someone want to leave their country and move to a new one they don't know? The reasons for choosing to move to a different country are called push and pull factors.

Push factors = reasons why people decide to leave their current country (things pushing them away).

During the time of Ellis Island, common push factors around the world were: poverty, not enough jobs or too low wages, not enough food, natural diasters such as earthquakes, war, and religious persecution.

Pull factors = things that attract people to a new country (things pulling them towards that place).

During the time of Ellis Island, common pull factors that made people come to the USA were available jobs, better wages, safety, freedom, better weather conditions.

Immigrants saw the USA as a place where they can make their dreams come true and find better opportunities for themselves and their families!

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A story about German cookies written by the grandchild of an immigrant from Germany:

"Growing up, I always wondered how my mom made such delicious cookies and where she learned to make them. I found out that my mom was teaching me to bake the cookies the way her mother had taught her. This recipe symbolizes our cultural identity because my grandmother brought it with her through Ellis Island after leaving Germany following World War II. [...] At age fifteen, my grandmother was forced to work on a farm and learn how to cook under Hitler’s command. One day, Oma was working in the field picking strawberries when she looked behind the fence and saw an enslaved camper who stood out to her, my grandfather. Through the fence, he offered her a piece of chocolate, and that is where their love story began. Years later, when Oma was around twenty-five years old, the war ended and she moved to America with my grandfather. America is where they would start their lives together, shaping my family story. [...] Like many other families, my grandparents were immigrants who came to America for opportunity and stability, in search of a better life. When I eat the cookies that my mom and I bake together, I think of the traditions we have passed down and how my grandparents’ experiences shaped the family that I have with me today."

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Growing up, I always wondered how my mom made such delicious cookies and where she learned to make them. I found out that my mom was teaching me to bake the cookies the way her mother had taught her. This recipe symbolizes our cultural identity because my grandmother brought it with her through Ellis Island after leaving Germany following World War II. Making these cookies symbolizes our pride in our ethnicity and our commitment to following family traditions. At age fifteen, my grandmother was forced to work on a farm and learn how to cook under Hitler’s command. One day, Oma was working in the field picking strawberries when she looked behind the fence and saw an enslaved camper who stood out to her, my grandfather. Through the fence, he offered her a piece of chocolate, and that is where their love story began. Years later, when Oma was around twenty-five years old, the war ended she moved to America with my grandfather. America is where they would start their lives together, shaping my family story . My grandfather was not allowed to go back to their country because he would be arrested for escaping the labor camps and going to “the land of opportunity,” America. Like many other families, my grandparents were immigrants who came to America for opportunity and stability, in search of a better life. When I eat the cookies that my mom and I bake together, I think of the traditions we have passed down and how my grandparents’ experiences shaped the family that I have with me today. <br>

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A story about Italian cannelonis written by the great-grandchild of an immigrant from Italy:

"My story starts off in Sicily, a region in Italy. That is where my great grandfather was born. When he was a child, he got on a boat and went to Ellis Island to start a new life in America. He passed all the exams and tests that the immigration officers gave him and he started a family. Through four generations (well really five because of my baby cousins), we have celebrated our Italian heritage in many ways. One way we show this is with cannolis. Cannolis are a crispy dough filled with a cheese cream, that is very sweet, and can have chocolate chips or pistachios on them. We have them every time the entire family meets. At my cousin’s wedding, they had a cake and cannolis at every table. I like them a lot because it is a small part of Italy, in your mouth."

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My story starts off in Sicily, a region in Italy. That is where my great grandfather was born. When he was a child, he got on a boat and went to Ellis Island to start a new life in America. He passed all the exams and tests that the immigration officers gave him and he started a family.

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Important symbol: the Statue of Liberty 

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Important symbol: the Statue of Liberty 

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The journey on steamship took 7-21 days and many people were not in a good physical or mental state after such a long journey. One of the first things that people saw when they arrived on Ellis Island was the Statue of Liberty. It was a symbol of freedom and hope for the immigrants who were hoping for a better life in the USA. When they saw the Statue of Liberty, they cheered and cried!

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The immigrants did not only bring their few possessions with them, but also their customs, traditions and languages, which were part of their identity.

For people who move to a new country, holding on to homeland traditions means keeping and doing things from their home country. It helps them remember where they come from and keep their culture alive, like celebrating special days, making traditional food, and speaking their own language.

People who moved to the USA had to get used to a different culture and language. It was sometimes tough because many Americans did not know about their traditions or language. Immigrants had to find a balance between keeping their customs and becoming a part of American society.

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Listen to the story of Gudrun, who immigrated to the USA from Germany when she was 9 years old. Try to understand why she changed her name when she came to the United States.

If you want to read along, you can go to the following page where you find the trancscript of the interview: an immigrant remembers changing her name

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Listen to the story of Birgitta, who immigrated to the USA from Italy when she was 6 years old. Try to understand which challenge she was facing in school.

If you want to read along, you can go to the following page where you find the trancscript of the interview: an immigrant remembers starting school in the USA