American Passage: The History of Ellis Island

SummariesSubdivisons: First Quarter

Pages 1-105Introduction-Chapter 5 (The Brahmins)

About the AuthorVincent J. Cannato

Teacher history at the University of Massachusets, Boston. He is author of The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York, and has

written for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post

Subdivision 1: Castle Garden/ A Proper Sieve

Background: Vincent Cannato begins the entire book by summarizing the historical importance of the land itself, before the immigration building was built there (pre- 1892).

At this point in the book, and historically, immigration has reached an ugly head in the United States. American citizens are beginning to see and feel the influx of immigrants in their cities and their job opportunities, and their opinions are greatly divided.

Subdivision 2: Peril at the PortalsDue to public demand, and its growing pressures, the federal government takes into its own hands international immigration policies – unfortunately, it was not in response to a happy event.

Ellis Island is established in 1982 and American citizens are none too happy about the new “gate”.

Subdivision 3: Fighting Back Time passes, and groups such as the IRL (Immigration Restriction League) begin to arise. They have much influence in Washington, and start to pressure congress to pass stronger and more restrictive laws concerning immigration .

In 1897, the House and the Senate passed a bill that would require all immigrants to pass a literary test in order to be eligible to land on American soil. However, President Grover Cleveland vetoes the bill, and it is never passed.

Americans are disappointed in the lack of enforcement of the current immigration laws , and they continue to push for new immigration laws. However, with the arrival of Theodore Roosevelt in public office, perspectives toward immigration begin to shift and the public feels like they have a politician who finally understands both sides of the argument.

"No one story encapsulates the Ellis Island experience; there are literally millions. For most immigrants, Ellis Island was a gateway to a new life in America. It was an integral part of their American passage."

As the book progresses, it becomes glaringly obvious to the reader that Cannato wants to convey that while the American public had very strongly feelings on the matter, not all Americans were opposed to immigrants. Also, he attempts to describe the experiences many immigrants went through at Ellis Island, while trying to generalizations an little as possible:

“Roosevelt was adept at finding that perfect fulcrum of American opinion on immigration melding fears of alien new-comers with respect for the country’s open-door tradition.”

With the election of Theodore Roosevelt into public office, the topic of immigration began to lose the ardour it once had, because Americans felt they finally had a leader they could depend on to respect their wishes while upholding true American values. Here, Cannato very accurately explains the role Roosevelt played in this situation. He managed to cool down the boiling pot that was the subject of immigration, while still giving the American public a sense of safety.

Subdivision 4: Likely to Become a Public Charge

“Yet the name change story lives on as urban legend. Many Americans are convinced of its truth because their grandparents told them the story. It is a convenient myth that emphasizes the traumatic nature of Ellis Island and the supposed rough treatment of immigrants, as well as the facility's role in Americanizing immigrants, often against their will. “

Here, Cannato bring up the way he feels that Ellis Island has been “demonized” during the past century. Immigrants who had passed through Ellis Island had often spoken of an incredibly traumatic experience, and here, the author feels like they exaggerated and gave an erroneous view of what actually occurred at Ellis Island. In this chapter he speaks of the way that unfortunately, some immigrants did live up to their negative stereotype and therefore not all of them had the right to act like victims.

• “Now that Williams was returning to Ellis Island, he was eager to get to work on what he felt was the most pressing concern: tightening the sieve that would strain out larger numbers of undesirable immigrants.”

William Williams, a man who worked tirelessly for many years to tighten the restrictions on immigration was made in charge of the facility. This quote really highlights the way the issue flip-flopped, depending on the person who held the power and their perspective on immigration.

Subdivision 5 & 6: Intelligence, Moral Turpitude.

“It is of vast import that the feeble-minded be detected, not alone because they are predisposed to become public charges, but because they and their offspring contribute so largely to the criminal element. All grades of moral, physical, and social degeneracy appear in their descendants.” – Dr. Alfred C. Reed, Ellis Island, 1912

American immigration laws were becoming more and more difficult to contest. They weren’t necessarily as restrictive as some Americans wish they would be, but they were definitely being exercised more than ever before.

It is at this point that World War I breaks out across Europe, which causes even more chaos for the institution, having been sent an executive order by the president to house political prisoners and prisoners of war.

Because of the sense of fear and insecurity that war brings on the American public, it becomes much, much easier for officials at Ellis Island to justify turning away scores of immigrants. This includes accepting some members of families and turning away others, which bring ups the moral question of breaking up the family nucleus.

• The author’s underlying argument is a simple one: that the issue of immigration is much more complex than it seems, and Americans held a wide range of opinions on the subject.

• While I do agree that the issue is an incredibly complicated one, with many different factors that could influence people’s opinions, I disagree with Cannato’s assessment that the American public was so torn over what they should do.

• While there were some people who felt that immigration wasn’t such a controversial topic, the grand majority of Americans definitely did not like the influx of immigration, and they were incredibly vocal in their opinion.