Ellis island. This island for Many Americans is the place where their american story began. 12 to 13 million americans came to this island and to this building in order to be given the okay to go out and start their lives in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Now, a lot of people dont know about ellis island before that time. Im going to talk briefly about ellis island itself. Today were 27 acres in size. But in the original form this island was, it was three acres. A small island in the middle of the harbor. Barely above sea level at high tide. It was a military installation first as a fort during the war of 1812 and eventually during the 1800s as a storage depot. Around 1890 it was decided by the federal government this would be the place they would institute the first building specifically constructed for the processing of immigrants. They did construct the building between 1890 and 1892. The building here is not the first processing center. Its the second. The first was a large wooden structure that lasted for five years. And burned to the ground in three hours due to a furnace fire in 1897. The federal government decided at that point they needed to build something more permanent, something that would reflect the gr grandeur of a government building. This was built between 1898 and 1900 and opened in december of 1900. Its a beautiful building. And from the moment it opened, it was already too small for what it was about to face. Constructed to handle about a half Million People a year, it ended up handling in 1907 alone 1,200,000 people. There was no third floor on the original structure. It was two stories with the four towers we have here. But as we had more and more people come through and they realized they were really too small to handle the flow, they began to add structures. The building we see straight out here, the three story structure is a baggage and dormitory building added on because the overflow of people being detained or waiting for detained members of their family was so enormous that the dormitories on the balconies and the great hall for too small. We found the twothirds of the people coming through here were going to end up going to other parts of america. Only about a third of them would go to new york city. So this building we have right here was constructed and added on as a place for immigrants to buy their tickets in order to go and start their lives in other parts of the country. A large polish population heading out to chicago. A large czech population heading down to nebraska. A large group of germemans and people heading. It housed railroads that would sell the tickets the immigrant needed and they would go across the harbor to the Central Jersey terminal where they would eventually find a train to take them out to most likely friends and relatives who had already settled in those areas. The other third is heading to new york. Those people will find many different ethnic neighborhoods that oftentimes will welcome them with open arms. Were now standing at the sea wall of ellis island facing at the new york harbor. And this is a Perfect Place for us to begin the story of the immigrants that came here. 12 to 13 Million People would make their way through the building we have here, but their journey started in europe when they made that very brave and sometimes ambitious decision to leave sometimes everybody they knew behind and to make a journey here to this country. For most of those immigrants who came to ellis island, this is going to be a place they had to save for quite a long time, the money, just to be able to buy a ticket and to make their way through this building. An immigrant had to pay 30 of the money of the time period which could equal several hundred dollars in todays money just for a ticket for a spot on an ocean liner that was never meant for any human being. Now, ocean liners had always taken care of people with money, first class passengers paid thousands of dollars in todays money to be able to be wined and dined and treated like royalty. And even if you had just a little bit less money, you could get a second class ticket that would give you a modest but private room. But the shipping Companies Began to realize that so many people who were poor wanted to come here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They had to accommodate that demand. They looked at the ships and figured they could sacrifice cargo holds. Cramped, usually places for crates and things of that nature. They now housed bunk beds. Sometimes three or four high. Packed in tightly, and the immigrant who was coming to ellis island would be a passenger in those lower decks. Those lower decks were not pleasant. Very little light. Very little ventilation. Theres about 1,000 to 1500 of you packed down there, and your ship ride could take anywhere from a week to a month. So coming to america was a great challenge. I think theyd be leaving port cities like liverpool or others where shipping companies had their offices. Very important part of the immigrant story is when they boarded the ship, they had to answer 25 to 30 questions about themselves to a shipping clerk from the company on whose boat theyre about to board, and those answers are going to be a very important part of the immigrants story, because thats the information that will be used in the great hall to interrogate the immigrants to determine if they have the legal right to land here. So well return to that story a little bit later. I wanted to bring that story in right now. Were at the harbor for a reason. Were going to assume the immigrant ship has made it across safely. The first place they will enter new york harbor is where you see the bridge. An area that we call the narrows in this area. There is the first place where inspectors will board ships. To check to see if this ship has a raging epidemic of a disease. They dont want to let immigrants bringing diseases into this country which was one of the things were checking inside in the great hall. Now, inspectors arent likely to find anybody with tremendous amounts of illness or eve an ship full. Shipping countries did preprocessing. They knew pretty quickly that american law stated that if a shipping Company Brought somebody here who was to be deported, they had to bring them back at the shipping companys cost. So Many Companies had their own small processing before you got here. Didnt mean people might not get sick on the ship. Theyd get taken off the ship there. And your ocean liners are going to move into this harbor. If youre looking at the harbor today, its about the most peaceful sight youre going to see. If you use your imagination, think about the fact that basically your International Travel is all on ship at this time. So this harbor would be full with commercial vessels. Private vessels. Ocean liners, especially at peak time here in the mid 1900s and 1910 time period. You had ocean liners out here anchored waiting for a dock to open. And there would be noise. There would be alin dingy atmosphere. And a poor little immigrant farmer, and many of them are going to be from rural areas. Theyve going to be absolutely amazed at the sight. Theyre going to look at the skyline of new york and even some of the smaller buildings that are brick may have been here, not the beautiful modern structures. They dont look very big compared to one world trade, but for an immigrant who has never seen anything more than a couple stories in a building, its going to be like something from outer space. So theyre welcome to america is twofold. This gorgeous sight. Threefold, actually, this harbor, and of course, theyre amazed at lady liberty. This is the first thing that welcomed them is this gorgeous site which opened in 1886. Up the harbor the ship comes. A lot of people who come here think the ships docked here and let people out and thats not true. Our inlet is too shallow for Something Like that. The ships make their way up the harbor and go to docks up the river here. Today where the uss intrepid is as a museum. Thats where an immigrant learns the first lesson in america. In america money talks, because our first and second class passengers are going to be given a very quick inspection as the boat moves its way up the harbor, and unless they have a glaring problem that needs attention, theyre going to be let out to go start their lives. The thinking was this. If you have a slight illness, youve got the money to pay for a doctor. Youre going to be able to go and get the care you need. And youre also going to be able to afford a place to live. Now, the steerage class passengers have a ticket and in their pocket hopefully another couple hundred dollars theyre going to have to prove they have inside. Still not enough to prove that theyre not going to be a problem for society. Theyre afraid if people bring in diseases. Theyre afraid of people getting involved in crime. Theyre afraid in being overwhelmed by the population. That is what ellis island does. It serves as a way to sleteer c steerage class passengers. If you have the money, youre in. If you dont have the money, youre not. When we head inside in a couple minutes, well start the story of those immigrants who have come off the ship, been brought down here by a ferry and are going to somewheenter the front and come into the first floor of ellis island. It looked dramatically different than it does today. Okay. Were about to enter the main entrance of ellis island, but across the way here, there might be a point of note, these beautiful buildings that are now abandoned were the hospital complexes that were run by the United States Public Health service which was just a fantastic crew of doctors who cared for immigrants who were detained for medical reasons. About 10 of the people who came through here were detained for medical reasons. The string of buildings we see right here were for noncontagious diseases. Behind it about 30 yards parallel is a string of buildings for contagious diseases. So there was a measles yard, an insane asylum. There is a morgue that is one of the scariest places ive ever been in in my life, and this was a real operating island. The Public Health service was so good at their job that occasionally hospitals from new york would send cases out here to be taken care of, and they did a great job of nursing people back to health who had diseases that were curable. That was a very big standard here. If you had a disease that was incurable and contagious, youre definitely going back. If you have an incurable disease, its more likely youre going to go back. So its a very big part of our complex. Its not open to the public yet. Its being worked on. Its definitely ellis island is a work in progress. And slowly but surely well hopefully get that complex opened up and open for the public to see, too. Were walking up the ramp. Underneath the canopy here at ellis island, this canopy and this spot would have been a place where immigrants who had just gotten off the boat here would have lined up to go in the door and begin their processing. The original canopy had black slate roofs. People lined up here and what they had with them is virtually only what was important to them. For many, who are bringing their entire families at the same time, they had to sell everything they owned back in europe. The farmland, the cattle, all the supplies. The farm itself. Just to be able to afford all of the fares for everybody coming here. So youll see inside theres a beautiful picture that shows you this. Theyve got a bag or a satchel or a steamer trunk, and everything the family owns, that is of value to them, will come with them. Lets take you inside. The room were entering right now is the baggage room. Heres the place where immigrants got their first sight of ellis island. And to be honest with you, this room looked very different depending upon the moment you came. In 1907 according to some familiar plans ive seen, immigrants who came in had to go immediately to their left, our right for medical examination. They would end up in the staircase which was originally in the middle of this ceiling that took you tooth middle tooth middle of the great hall. This building was planned to handle a lot less people than they thought. So over the years, the process of having all this medical processing here, immigrants going up the stairs here became highly impractical. And they had to figure out a way to make it work more efficiently. Around 1912 this stairwell in the middle of the room closed up, and a wooden staircase was built right where we have our modern staircase taking you upstairs to the second floor. It wasnt just to make the flow go faster. It was also a way to make the medical processing more efficient. So you give credit to the people who were here. They handled a highly chaotic situation in a really efficient and i think in many cases compassionate way. Didnt mean it wasnt scary or terrifying to the immigrant. I think there was a lot of care put forward to make things better. I will tell you this. Early on in the early 1900s, this could be a place that was very tricky for an immigrant to get through. So the people who were bringing their baggage in and you can see samples here we have, baggage handlers could hold your luggage. Make sure it gets on the boat when you go over to catch your ferry or if you go to catch a train. Early on we had people who took advantage of immigrants. Baggage handlers would double or triple charge them for services. Money Exchange People oftentimes give them back a small amount of what their money was worth and pocket the rest. The food concession people dressed up somebody looking like an inspector. He told them if they didnt buy a lunch from the food stand, it would get deported. One of our early commissioners here, he dressed up a couple of his best inspectors as immigrants and put them among the crowd to document the corruption, and he was very instrumental in getting rid of the corrupt concession firms and making things more fair for the people coming through. So here you come in, and after 1912 youre going to be directed to go up those stairs. Were going to head upstairs to the second floor to talk about the medical and legal processing. Youre also going to see the room that i think most of you have come to know as the symbol of ellis island. Its officially called a registry room, but we call it and i think most people call it great hall of ellis island, as a majestic piece of architecture. Were going to take you first to the immigrants. Follow me up the stairs, if you will. Were heading up the stairs to the second floor. As i said, this is a modern staircase. But imagine there being a wooden staircase here that immigrants would walk up in large crowds. Some had refused to give their baggage to the handle her so they got their constitute case or perhaps a sheet with their belongings. Theyre coming up the stairs, and the one thing they dont realize yet is that theyre already being inspected as they walk up the stairs. They might be limping because of a bad foot. They might be carrying a big bag and holding their chest and having trouble breathing. They may be happy to be here and singing a song from the old country and just looking wonderfully ecstatic. All three of those conditions would be observed by inspectors at the top of the stairs, and they would be watching. So as you got to the top of the stairs here, those inspectors would come up to you with one of their tools of the trade, a piece of chalk, and theyre going to mark your coat up with initials that signify exactly what they feel may be the condition you have. The stubbed toe gets an l for lameness. The Person Holding their chest might have a heart problem, h. The person who is so ecstatic to be here that theyre singing and dancing, we feel they may have a condition that needs to be checked mentally. They have an x put on their coat. So immigrants didnt expect it. I sometimes do this on my tours. I ask everybody to do something, and when they dont do it, i tell them we have to check their hearing because they werent listening. And again, not to make them bad about themselves, but its all about the idea of inspection without understanding whats going on. Now, doctors will also meet you here, and theyll give you an inspection that is just about as fast a medical inspection as youre ever going to get. I know they were sometimes called the six second specialists for that reason. But anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds, maybe 15. Theyre highly skilled members of the United States Public Health service who can spot even smallest sign of anywhere from 50 to 60 ailments that normally afflict an immigrant. Again, any doubt you have something means more initials are dwroing on your coat. The one set of initials you dont want on your coat is ct. That represented an illness that was a much widespread disease back in the past. Still exists today in some parts of the world. It made the underside of your eyelids as rough as eye paper. Would eventually rub away your eye and make you blind. It was extremely contagious. They used button hooks and camp your high ilid and pull up to look under to see if the signs of the disease were there. So if you are taken at this moment with initials on your coat, it didnt mean you were going to automatically be sent back. It did mean that down the hallways here and over here, they will take you to individual medical exam rooms. All these officials were about making this process more efficient. They didnt have the time to give you a thorough exam, but the doctors down that hall could look at you and check you out more specifically for just those two or three initials on your coat. The vast majority, it will be no problem. The man with the stubbed toe, hell be treated. Hell come back out here. For some, it may mean an internment in the hospitals of days, weeks, and maybe even months. And for some as i said, it may mean the doctors report will rule that in fact they need to be sent back. So this is step one of the process. Okay . As they walk into this room, as terrifying as this moment can be, youre also in a room which is the grandest room that some of you have ever seen in your entire life. This is the great hall of ellis island. It has been restored to the way it looked roughly around 1918. Our american flags have 48 stars was those times we only hat 48 states. We try to be to the point about 1918 and what we had. The ceiling you see up here, the tiles were put up here by a family Company Whose work is still famous in places like Carnegie Hall and grand stcentr station. 29,000 tiles placed on a vaulted ceiling in a patented styling that was all their own. When the restoration was done here in the 198 0s they had to check every tile for their integrity and found only 13 tiles to be replaced. The family work is legendary and is solid. The floor were standing on is over 100 years old. When they waxed this floor, it looks brand new. Tiles on the columns all around here are part of the room as it opened in 1900. As are the chandelier, first chandelier here and the other chandelier in the middle of the room. The third one you could never guess was a reproduction, but it apparently was destroyed by a cable snapping when they did the restoration. I guess they figured you couldnt go up and check. These are the original chandeliers. To get a sense of what the room was like when people came here, you have to use your imagination. Today we dont have much in here because we want people to be able to roam and to enjoy and to look at the room. But if you were here as an immigrant, you would have entered a room after 1912 that was absolutely full of rows of benches here. We have benches in the front, the darker ones are original benches. The lighter ones were reproductions done by a High School Program in new york state. And if we use our imaginations, the benches would have been rows coming down to here, and the rows would have come right into the middle of the room. Once you got past this medical inspection, youre going to come and sit and wait. Now, when you got off the boat in new york, a tag was put on your coat with a number that corresponded to your ships manifest. When your ships manifests book is brought to the desk, they call your number. You have to be retested to see if youre who you say you are. Were going to head down to that inspectors desk and well talk a little bit about the questions that were asked and what happened to many people when they got there. Our last stop in the great hall is going to be at our replica of about possibly 15, 20 inspectors that lined this part of the hall. Here is the spot where you go through the last part of your processes. Remember, we talk a little bit about ship manifests outside. Manifests were a list of answers to questions the immigrants gave. 25 to 30 questions were asked. Whats your name . Whats your age . Whats your nationality . Wheres the last place you lived in europe and with whom . Whats your final destination . Can you read and write . Where are you going to live in america and with whom . How much money do you have . Thats something of a tricky question. It wasnt always known by immigrants that inspectors at most points were looking for you to have about 25 of money in the time period. A couple hundred dollars in todays money. You might have that money when you board the ship. It may be stolen. You might have lost it. If you dont have anywhere near that amount, that could be a reason to detain you. Plus they dont want to let people out in america with no money to go start their lives. Theres another tricky question. By whom becauwas your passage p. Most people say myself, my mother, my father. The answer you dont want to give, even if youre nervous, even if you think its going to impress the inspector is my new boss in america paid for me to come here. I start working for him tomorrow. It may seem like an impressive answer, because the inspector would let you in, because you already have a job, but you admitted to being a contractor laborer, and that was illegal. To admit that would be a certain trip back to europe. And a hefty fine for your american employer. So every one of these questions would be asked. Some of them here are actually physical descriptions. I can answer them simply by looking at the immigrant. Okay . So i can see that, for instance, a young woman is 52 and has gray eyes and that she has blonde hair. For the vast majority of people that came up to this desk, this is going to be a pretty easy process. Youll answer all the questions. Theyll remember all the answers. They wont look too suspicious in answering because if you look too suspicious in answering, that could be a reason for detention. About 80 of the people who come through this building will eventually leave here to start their lives after an experience of about three or four hours. 20 are detained. 10 for the legal processing we saw. And another 10 for some discrepancies in their interrogation here. Were going to take you to the room where they had their chance or day in court. Its a scary experience. Ill talk about that in a minute for so many of them. Well head down the hall to the board of special inquiry room which is located on the spot where it existed. It has been restored to look pretty much the way it did in the early 1900s. If you follow me, well head down there. This is the legal wing of ellis island at the time period. There were four operating courtrooms in this area at one time. Offices were here for lawyers. There were detention rooms for those who would be detained in some way. Many of the items on this desk are authentic. They have recreated with an inspectors desk would look like. There are three inspectors seated here, and theyre your judges. Each of them will hear your case and theyll ask you important questions. A stenographer would be here to keep a record to the case and an interpreter would be seated at the end to help the inspectors understand the words of the immigrants as they pleaded their cases. Immigrants were not allowed to have a lawyer in this first hearing. They had to plead their own case. Oftentimes there would be members of what were called immigrant aid societies. Groups that had been set up by specific ethnic groups to help people of their background to get through this process here in ellis island, and they would serve as the interpreter for the immigrant themselves. Immigrants could also call witnesses to come and testify. Lets say the young person, young woman who lost her money on the boat befriended by a very nice man who eventually would end up stealing her money. She would send a telegram to new york to her brother who lives in new york who shes going to go live with and ask him to come out here to testify on her behalf. They would never allow the brother and sister in the courtroom at the same time. They would interrogate separately so there could not be a story created between the two of them. If the brother came in here and said she is my sister. I will take her. Here is my name and address, i vouch for her, she will stay under my wing until she has enough money to get a place of her own and has a job, that would oftentimes be more than enough to solve or to assuage the fears of the inspectors here. All they need to do is convince two of the three inspectors that the reason for which they were detained was not enough of a reason to send them back to europe. For the 20 of people who came through here, its a terrifying moment. Theyve really not seen many injustice in their own country. Many of them come from brutal regimes. And theyve never seen a man in uniform do anything fair or compassionate, but theyre going to be given a wonderful introduction to an american Justice System which gives them a real good shake. Of the 20 in this room, only 2 would potentially be sent back. That means 18 had enough of an explanation for the reason for their detention that it would be enough for at least two or three of the inspectors to allow them to come and stay. The board of inquiry created fear, but for most it creates celebration and joy as theyre told they can go out and start their lives here. This would be where the story would end for the rest of the 20 . Our 80 in the great hall are going to start their lives. A third heading to new york. Twothirds heading to other places. 18 of the 20 could be here a day, a week, a month or more, but for them the story could eventually start. For me, i have three grandparents that came through here in 1909 and 1912. Its a special experience to work here because i know im telling their story. I can only imagine what they would think if they knew 100 years later that their grandson would be here giving tours and telling their story. The items in this exhibit area called treasures from home were donated to us by people whose ancestors had come here and the items are actually organized by theme. So here we have a case of clothing that was worn by many people who came here. A beautiful rich texture and craftsmanship is absolutely gorgeous. These are items that were in many cases actually worn here when you got off the boat and came to ellis island. As we walk down, we have a case of personal papers that were part of many immigrants process. So a lot of these are going to be documents that they took, legal documents from the old country that have been put in here. And just representative of the type of things that you would find if you start to do Family Research and you start looking for documents overseas. The case next to us here is i believe religious items. Yes. And these religious items are, again, its the type of things that immigrants would bring here that they would not dare leave behind. So for many here you see the rosary beads here and so many of the other items that are throughout here. The clothing that is religiously based. These are things they would not leave behind. If they had that one steamer trunk, this would be something that would be in there. Okay . And so many pictures of so many people back at home or in america when they finally came. It would be something you would do to send pictures back to the old country of your life here in america. There are so many pictures like this that i think every family who had ancestor come through ellis island has at home. I have a shoe box im sorting through. So many different images and backgrounds. So many people with so many dreams of something better. When you look at the pictures, you can appreciate that. The last case here brings in what they call family life items. Just things that people would bring that they used in everyday life. Cutlery, sewing machine, a camera. Just a sampling of the tremendous amount of items that were actually donated to us here. Just one quick look in the back here. Some families gave us so much, actually, we could turn right here. Some families gave us so much that cases were dedicated to those families specifically. So we have about six or seven of these arhere and behind the photographs that are dedicated to specific families who kind of literally gave us the steamer trunk full of items and asked us to tell their story. And their importance to their family and to their culture and their backgrounds. Processing center opened in 1892. And for the next 30 years or so operated at full tilt as a mass processing center. Somewhere in the early 1920s there was at the beginning of the process of restricted immigration to very restrictive quota laws that brought the flow of people through here almost to a halt. World war i did that too. By 1924 a very restrictive court of law in court of law as well as a conjunction. It remained open for another 30 years. It would be a place where those detained in port in new york would be brought out and held until their case was adjudicated. By 1954 were in the middle of a strong anticommunist surge, a fear of a foreign element, and by that time, the building had really kind of lost its total purpose and use. In november of 1954 the building closed and it would be empty for the next 11 years until 1965 when president johnson issued the order to add ellis island as part of the statue of Liberty National monument. For the next 15 years the building would be administered by the park service, but not restored or open to the general public. You had to arrange for what they called a hart hat tour. And they brought people out here and walked them through the abandoned structures. But i guess in conjunction with the centennial of the statue of liberty and its restoration, money was raised by the statue of liberty, Ellis Island Foundation both to restore the statue as well as to restore this building. So the statue will be rededicated in 1986, and this building will open in october of 1990. All told 98 of the people who came through their building were able to start their lives in america. 98 of 12 to 13 Million People translates into about 45 of the American Population today who can tell you honestly that one of their ancestors came through this building, went through this process, and began their familys american story. For so many its the reason they come here to visit ellis island, because theyve heard so much about it. Its been in their family folklore. And they come back to see the moment or the place, i should say, where grandma or great grandfather came to america, answered the questions, passed the medical processing, and began their familys american story. I think in all the discussions of immigration that we have going on today, i think there needs to be the context that this story of people coming here being from a different cultural background, starting their lives here, and in many cases becoming successes, thats really a Great American story, and it will continue. It will not be one that ever ends. I think sometimes we lose track of that. The descendents of the immigrants from the late 1800s have forgotten about grandma and grandpas journey. I hope a visit will reawaken that in minds. Its a story of americans looking for something better. Really the American Dream which i think we all cherish greatly. Thank you for coming along. Were glad you did and we hope you get to visit ellis island and well see you personally. American history tv is on cspan 3 every weekend featuring films, College Lectures and discussions on the presidency, civil war, and more. You can watch these in the entirety on our website cspan. Org history. Heres a quick look at one of our programs. Men working the rail race the speeding train toward the next station. Its ai driving force that keep them on their toes and never lets them quit. Now watch how they catch mail on the fly with the help of a mail messenger. Ten minutes before the train is scheduled to pass a nonstop station, the mail messenger hangs the special catcher pouch of mail. After it is securely fastened top and bottom, he steps aside and waits nearby to witness the catch and receive any mail which may be thrown off. Aboard the train, local mail is being tied out as the clerk spots his landmark. This was it. Get every package in the pouch and tied out. The race against time and speed was on. As soon as the last pouch was made ready, the cart grabs the safety goggles and goes to his station. The engineer is required to signal the rpo car that they are approaching a nonstop station. And the dramatic moment is at hand. In cap bys crew the local clerk was getting ready to make an exchange. First he put on his safety goggles. Then he tried the catcher arm. This time he demonstrated the mechanism, pushing down on the catcher being lifted outside the train. With one hand he was made. A neat twohanded operation. That was a short look at one of our many programs available in its entirety on our website. Were at cspan. Org history. American history tv. Exploring our nations past every weekend on cspan3. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3, explore our nations past. Cspan3, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Journalist and author Cameron Mcwhirter and stage matthew discuss whats known as the red summer of 1919. A period of racial unrest and violence against African Americans including world war i veterans in multiple cities and states. The National World war i museum and memorial, and greater kansas city black History Group cohosted this event. The National World war i museum provided the video. This evening were pleased to have scholars in dialogue about the red summer of 1919. Well have a discussion by our guests followed by a brief q and a should there be time for us to do that. Im so pleased tonight to introduce two of our friends and colleagues, the first something dr. Sage matthew. He is an associate professor of history at the university of minnesota. Shes currently or just
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