Ellis Island
Angel Island
During the late 1800s and into the 1900s, many people left their homes to come to the United States. These immigrants wanted a better life. Before they crossed into America, they first had to pass through an immigration station. Two famous immigration stations were on Ellis Island and Angel Island.
Ellis Island is a small island located in the New York harbor. Standing on it, you can see the Statue of Liberty. It was there in 1890 that the first Federal immigration center was opened. Most immigrants came from countries like England, Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia. From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants came to Ellis Island in hopes of a better life. Most people got there by steam ships. People with more money rode on the upper decks. People with less money rode at the bottom of the ship in crowded, unclean conditions. Ellis Island’s nickname was “The Island of Tears,” however, most immigrants were allowed in the U.S. Only two percent were excluded usually because they had a contagious disease or a criminal past. On June 14, 1897, the immigration station on Ellis Island caught fire and burned to the ground. America started to rebuild right away and three years later it was back in use. As America grew in power, more and more U.S. embassies were built in countries around the world. Ellis Island received less and less immigrants and eventually closed in 1965. Today, it is a museum and has over two million visitors every year.
On the other side of the country, another immigration center had been built. It was called Angel Island, located off the coast of San Francisco. These immigrants were usually from Asia; mostly China and Japan. This foggy island was open between 1910 and 1940. When immigrants arrived to Angel Island, men and women were separated. They were stripped naked and given medical examinations. For many, this was very humiliating. People could be sent away for minor conditions like pink eye, diarrhea or hookworm. Chinese immigrants were treated the worst. Americans were worried that the Chinese would take all of their jobs. On the island, immigrants had to stay in barracks with up to 350 people. The living conditions were horrible. On August 12, 1940, the immigration center burned to the ground and was never reopened again. It eventually became a state park in 1963.
There are many similarities and differences between Ellis Island and Angel Island. Their purpose was to allow immigrants to get into the United States. Both islands’ immigration stations were burned down at one point. One of their differences is location. Ellis Island was on the east coast and Angel Island was on the west coast. They also took immigrants from different places. Most people who came to New York were from Europe; most people who came to San Francisco were from Asia. Immigrants were treated differently at each station. Ellis Island allowed most immigrants into the United States and treated them with respect. On the other hand, Angel Island turned a lot of people away or made them stay in bad conditions. Overall, if I was an immigrant, I would want to have gone through Ellis Island!
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