Step One
• The voyage – 12 days to cross Atlantic; several weeks to cross Pacific.
• Steerage – cheapest tickets; the poor traveled in cramped, noisy quarters on the lowest decks.
Step Two• The Statue of Liberty
(gift from France)– New York Harbor.
• Promise of HOPE!• Immigrants waited on
ship for ferries to take them to port, (sometimes waited on ship for days).
Step Three• New York – Ellis Island “Gateway
to America”.• European immigrants entered the
United states here.• The rich people skipped the Ellis
Island processing and proceed to the city.
• Poor remain in steerage – nicest looking or ones with money got to go first.
San Francisco – Angel Island was another processing center for immigrants coming from Asia.
Step Four
• Immigrants went through strict screening process – some were sent back home.
• Health Exams
• Literacy Screenings
Deportation