Ellis Island
Ellis Island played a vital role during the peak immigration years, during which the migration of millions of foreigners enduring voyages aboard ships bound for American shores for various reasons forced the United States government to exclude many groups of people and to revise the naturalization process. The yearly average of immigrants from 1880 to 1890 and 1900 to 1910 is equivalent to more than one percent of the then-smaller American population (Fallows). More than 40 percent of today's Americans can trace their ancestry to someone who came through Ellis Island, suggesting that today's ancestors came to America during the highlight years of Ellis Island. Most people believe that these immigrants were mostly from Eastern Europe, when in reality they were mostly from Northern Europe (Coan xviii-xix). When most immigrants came, they only had the clothes on their backs, little money, and endless hopes. Most could speak little to no English, had little or no formal education, and knew few people in this new land. They were met by a distant relative or in-law whom they barely knew but vouched for them. Still, some came without knowing anyone, but they had the determination to press onward into a better life (Coan xviii). "By remaining open to immigrants, America shows that it understands what kind of country this is. It is an arena in which new people can try their best," said James Fallow, correspondent for The Atlantic (Melville and Cahill 9).
Immigrants came to the United States looking for freedom and a new livelihood. They came to escape persecution, economic problems, and compromising new ideas (Coan xvii).
Others came to escape the constant fighting in their countries (Shapiro 23, 24). America is thought to be a sanctuary "for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe," as said by Thomas Paine (Melville and Cahill 9). Some came to find land because of drastic land shortages in their native countries...
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