During the early morning hours of June 15, , a fire on Ellis Island burned the immigration station completely to the ground. Although no lives were lost, Federal and State immigration records dating back to burned, along with the pine buildings that failed to protect them. The U. Treasury quickly ordered the immigration facility be rebuilt, under one very important condition: all future structures built on Ellis Island had to be fireproof.
On December 17, , the new Main Building was opened and 2, immigrants were received that day. While ship manifests were burned for entries prior to June , Customs Lists remain. These records were kept safe in the U. Customs Office. Search here! The inspections took place in the Registry Room Great Hall where doctors would briefly scan every individual for obvious physical ailments.
This document was used by the legal inspectors at Ellis Island to cross-examine during the legal inspection. Contrary to popular belief, interpreters of all major languages were employed at Ellis Island, making the process efficient and ensuring that records were accurate. Only two percent of the arriving immigrants were excluded from entry. The two main reasons for exclusion were a doctor diagnosing an immigrant with a contagious disease that could endanger the public health, or a legal inspector was concerned an immigrant would likely become a public charge or an illegal contract laborer.
In the early s U. To their surprise, immigration was on the rise. In fact, marked the busiest year at Ellis Island with approximately 1. From the very beginning of the mass migration period that spanned to , a relentless group of politicians and nativists demanded increased restrictions on immigration. As a result, Ellis Island experienced a rapid decline in usage beginning in the early s.
After World War I, U. The necessary paperwork and medical inspections were completed at the consulate, quickly replacing the Ellis Island inspection process. After , the only passengers brought to Ellis Island were those who had problems with their paperwork, as well as war refugees and displaced persons needing assistance.
The buildings on Ellis Island begin to fall into neglect and abandonment. America is experiencing the end of mass immigration. By , the Great Depression has taken hold in the U. Coast Guard has taken over most of Ellis Island, using it for office and storage space. The passage of the Internal Security Act of excludes arriving immigrants with previous links to communist and fascist organizations. With this, Ellis Island experiences a brief resurgence in activity. Renovations and repairs are made in an effort to accommodate detainees, who sometimes number 1, at a time.
The Immigration and Naturalization Act of also known as the McCarran—Walter Act , combined with a liberalized detention policy, causes the number of detainees on the island to plummet to fewer than 30 people.
In March , the federal government declares the island surplus property; it is subsequently placed under the jurisdiction of the General Services Administration. Also in , President Johnson signs the Immigration and Naturalization Act of , also known as the Hart-Celler Act, which abolishes the earlier quota system based on national origin and establishes the foundations for modern U.
The act allows more individuals from third-world countries to enter the U. Ellis Island opens to the public in , featuring hour-long guided tours of the Main Arrivals Building. During this year, more than 50, people visit the island.
By , when the restoration begins, the annual number of visitors to Ellis Island has reached 70, Since , some 30 million visitors have visited Ellis Island to trace the steps of their ancestors. Meanwhile, immigration into the United States continues, mostly by land routes through Canada and Mexico. Illegal immigration becomes a constant source of political debate throughout the s and s.
More than 3 million aliens receive amnesty through the Immigration Reform Act in , but an economic recession in the early s is accompanied by a resurgence of anti-immigrant feeling. Supreme Court rules that New Jersey has authority over the south side of Ellis Island, or the section composed of the landfill added since the s. The policies put into effect by the Immigration Act of have greatly changed the face of the American population by the end of the 20th century. Whereas in the s, more than half of all immigrants were Europeans and just 6 percent were Asians, by the s only 16 percent are Europeans and 31 percent are Asians, and the percentages of Latino and African immigrants also jump significantly.
Between and , the highest number of immigrants 4. Korea, the Dominican Republic, India, Cuba and Vietnam are also leading sources of immigrants, each sending between , and , over this period. The center allows visitors to search through millions of immigrant arrival records for information on individual people who passed through Ellis Island on their way into the United States.
The records include the original manifests, given to passengers onboard ships and showing names and other information, as well as information about the history and background of the ships that arrived in New York Harbor bearing hopeful immigrants to the New World. Debates continue over how America should confront the effects of soaring immigration rates throughout the s.
Annie traveled to New York with her two younger brothers on steerage aboard the S. After being processed, the children were reunited with their parents, who were already living in New York. Beware the Buttonhook Men Doctors checked those passing through Ellis Island for more than 60 diseases and disabilities that might disqualify them from entry into the United States.
Those suspected of being afflicted with a having a disease or disability were marked with chalk and detained for closer examination. All immigrants were checked closely for trachoma, a contagious eye condition that caused more detainments and deportations than any other ailment. Dining at Ellis Island Food was plentiful at Ellis Island, despite various opinions as to its quality.
A typical meal served in the dining hall might include beef stew, potatoes, bread and herring a very cheap fish ; or baked beans and stewed prunes. Immigrants were introduced to new foods, such as bananas, sandwiches and ice cream, as well as unfamiliar preparations. To meet the special dietary requirements of Jewish immigrants, a kosher kitchen was built in In addition to the free meals served, independent concessions sold packaged food that immigrants often bought to eat while they waited or take with them when they left the island.
Famous Names Many famous figures passed through Ellis Island, some leaving their original names behind on their entry into the U.
Israel Beilin—better known as composer Irving Berlin —arrived in ; Angelo Siciliano, who arrived in , later achieved fame as the bodybuilder Charles Atlas. Some were already famous when they arrived, such as Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud both , while some, like Charles Chaplin would make their name in the New World.
Born in New York in to immigrants of Italian and Jewish ancestry, La Guardia lived for a time in Hungary and worked at the American consulates in Budapest and other cities. From his experience at Ellis Island, La Guardia came to believe that many of the deportations for so-called mental illness were unjustified, often due to communication problems or to the ignorance of doctors doing the inspections. He was coming to the streets of New York. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
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