| What makes it historical? |
Originally known as Kioshk and Oyster Island, the name we have for this island today came from Samuel Ellis, who took ownership in the 1770s! Here, in the wake of the Revolution, the US Government decided to build a fort to help defend New York Harbor from any future British invasions. The federal government bought the island in 1808 and built their first fort, which they named Fort Gibson for an officer killed in the War of 1812!
Until 1890, each state determined its own immigration policies, and for forty years leading up to that date, a neighboring fort, Castle Clinton, had been New York’s immigration checkpoint. This system quickly got overwhelmed, though, and the federal government stepped in, moving the checkpoint to Ellis Island! The doors to this new building opened on January 1, 1892, and for the next 62 years, over 12 million immigrants from across the globe took their first steps on American soil here at Ellis Island!
In general, anyone who arrived in first or second class got an easy pass on arrival, but anyone below that got a medical inspection, mental health inspection, and were generally scrutinized more intensely. Inspectors were screening out political undesirables and contract laborers, but also anyone they thought would be a burden to the system. After thirty years open, the policies of Ellis Island started to react to the influx!
When the US passed the Immigration Act of 1924 to discourage southern and eastern European Jews (and outright ban Asian immigrants), the numbers of arrivals started to drop. By the end of World War I, most of the processing for would-be immigrants was done at US consulates in their home countries before they even started their trips! By November of 1954, after serving as a Coast Guard training center, Ellis Island released its last person and closed for business. |
