ellis island packet - · pdf file5 step 3: the ellis island baggage room officers wearing...

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Name: ____________

Ellis Island Packet

What is this? This is a _______________________________________________________.

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Name each step: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________ 4. _____________________ 5. _____________________ 6. _____________________ 7. _____________________ 8. _____________________ 9. _____________________ 10. _____________________

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Step 1: The Passage Most of the immigrants who came to America through Ellis Island were from eastern and southern Europe. Many immigrants came to escape the poverty and discrimination in their home countries like Italy, Poland, and Russia. They began their journey to America on foot, horseback, or train. Many walked hundreds of miles across Europe to get to a boat. When they arrived at the coast, they got on a boat. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was about one or two weeks long. People had to sit with other people of the same wealth and class. First- and second-class passengers stayed in their own rooms. But most people were in third class, called "steerage." Steerage was a large, open space at the bottom of the ship. Sometimes, 3,000 people were on the ships. They came from different countries, spoke different languages, and were different religions.

What is happening in this picture? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

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Step Two: The Arrival The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was difficult. The ships were crowded and dirty. So most passengers were very tired when they arrived in New York. One of the first things they saw was the Statue of Liberty, which was built in 1886. People would cheer when they spotted this famous symbol of America. Some would cry with joy as the ship passed by it. Doctors would get on the ship and look for diseases. If the ship was ok, doctors then would check the health of first- and second-class passengers on the ship. These lucky people were allowed to leave the ship when it got to New York City. But third-class passengers would wait for hours or days until a smaller boat took them to Ellis Island.


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Step 3: The Ellis Island Baggage Room Officers wearing uniforms welcomed the boat at Ellis Island. They shouted to the passengers to walk down to the main building. The officers passed out numbered identity tags. The people who did not speak English did not understand what the officers were saying. Men, women, and children struggled off the boat carrying bags and suitcases. They followed each other on a path and entered the red brick building. The immigrants wore numbered tags as they entered the Baggage Room. They left their bags here until their inspection was finished. Next, the immigrants went up stairs to the Registry Room for their medical and legal inspections.


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Step 4: The Stairs to the Registry Room The immigration process began on the stairs that led to the Registry Room. Doctors stood on the second floor and watched each person. They looked for people who had difficulty walking or breathing or looked like they had health problems.


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Step 5: The Registry Room The Registry Room was called the “Great Hall” because it is so big. The large rectangle room is 200 feet long and 102 feet wide. Many immigrants had never seen such a big room. The waiting area in the Great Hall had long metal rails so that people would stay in line. There were also wooden benches built in 1903. This room was very loud. Officials in the Great Hall decided whether each person could enter the country right away or if that person had to wait for longer. From 1903 to 1914, immigrants were checked for trachoma, a contagious eye disease. Doctors used a tool called a “buttonhook” to lift a person's eyelid to look for the disease. People with trachoma were often sent back to their home countries.


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Step 6: The Medical Exam The doctors at Ellis Island developed a system to identify immigrants who needed medical attention. The first test was a "six-second physical." During the “six second physical,” a doctor looked for signs of sickness or contagious diseases. The doctor wrote whether the immigrants limped or were short of breath, if their eyes were red, if they acted crazy or looked not normal. If someone was sick, the doctors drew a symbol on their clothes. An "X" was for insanity. A "P" was for pulmonary (lung) problems. Immigrants who had symbols on their clothes were taken out of the line and had to wait. Immigrants who passed the six-second exam continued through the hall.

What is this a picture of? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

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Step 7: The Legal Inspection Each day, officials at Ellis Island got a list of names of the passengers on the arriving boat. This list had the name and a description of each passenger. One by one, the passengers were interviewed by a uniformed inspector. Translators helped the immigrants communicate. The immigrants were asked twenty-nine questions. Some of the questions were: Where were you born? Are you married? What is your occupation? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? How much money do you have? What is your destination? An immigrant could be detained for further inquiry if his or her answers differed from the answers listed on the manifest.


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Step 8: Detainees For most people, Ellis Island was the "Island of Hope." But for the some people who failed the health or legal inspections, it was the "Island of Tears." Legal detainees lived in a room on the third floor. They might wait a few days or even a month. Then their case would be reviewed in the Hearing Room. People who were detained for medical reasons were cared for at the island's hospital or kept in quarantine. (separated from others). Some people had to stay in the hospital for weeks, or even months. After some time, a Board of Special Inquiry would review an person’s medical report and decide whether to allow him into the United States or to send him back.


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Step 9: The Stairs of Separation After the medical and legal inspections, the immigrants arrived at the top of another staircase at the other end of the Great Hall. This staircase had three aisles. Immigrants who were being detained walked down the center aisle. People who were traveling west or south walked down the right side of the staircase. People who were traveling to New York City or to the north walked down the left side of the staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was a post office, a ticketing office for the railways, and social workers to help the immigrants who needed help. There was also an office to exchange money from their home country for U.S. dollars. Immigrants needed money. Exchange rates for currencies around the world were written each day on the blackboard.

What is this a picture of? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

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Step 10: The Kissing Post An area on the first floor of the building was called "the kissing post." People called it that because it is where family and friends waited for their loved ones. After months or years of not seeing each other, they kissed and hugged and shouted with joy. For the immigrants, the long journey was finally over. They were in America.


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Reading Questions: 1. What is “steerage?” Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 2. What did doctors do on the boat during step 2?” Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 3. What was the purpose of the ID tags in step 3?” Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 4. What did doctors do during step 4? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 5. Why was the Registry room called the “Great Hall”? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________.

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6. What was the “six second physical”? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 7. How many questions were the immigrants asked? What is one example of a question? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 8. Who called Ellis Island the “Island of Tears”? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 9. Which part of the staircase did people going to New York walk down? What was the middle part of the staircase for? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________. 10. Why is step 10 called the kissing post? Answer: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Where did you find this answer? ______________________________.

Today’s Date: _______________ Do Now:





ellis island packet - · pdf file5 step 3: the ellis island baggage room officers wearing...

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