{"id":154,"date":"2020-08-13T05:33:12","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T05:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/edblogs.pugetsound.edu\/shirtwaistsandtenements\/?page_id=154"},"modified":"2020-08-30T02:04:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T02:04:31","slug":"ellis-island","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/edblogs.pugetsound.edu\/shirtwaistsandtenements\/?page_id=154","title":{"rendered":"Ellis Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Immigrants on an Atlantic Liner.
(Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Millions of immigrants and refugees arriving in the United States began their American experience in the same place: Ellis Island. Arriving there after weeks at sea in \u2018steerage,\u2019 the bottom of a ship where seasickness was common and sanitation poor, new immigrants passed by the Statue of Liberty, arrived at the port of New York and were then processed through the immigration center. They often had to stand in line for hours on end as officials checked their papers and recorded each passenger\u2019s name, their age and place of origin.1<\/sup> New immigrants also had health examinations in an attempt to prevent contagious diseases from spreading.2<\/sup> Those who failed these inspections could be denied entry to the United States and sent back to Europe, a prospect which caused a great deal of fear and anxiety during the process. Sadie Rothstein was traveling to the United States in 1912 with her cousin’s fianc\u00e9e, Betty Schwartz, to reunite with her mother who sent tickets for the voyage. Before boarding the ship, she got a splinter in her foot that became infected, \u201con the boat I was suffering terribly\u201d she recounts.3<\/sup> Both during their journey and upon arriving at Ellis Island on August 20, 1912, Betty Schwartz warned her to not say anything about her foot, \u201cThey will throw you into the water or they will send you back.\u201d4<\/sup> Sadie Rothstein tells of her fear of being sent back and as she walked off the boat and through the immigration center when she was questioned and her health inspected, \u201cthey examined me, but they didn’t examine my feet\u2026 I walked straight with that terrible foot, I made up my mind I’m going to the USA.\u201d5<\/sup> After passing the inspections, immigrants were allowed to board a ferry to the mainland after hours or even days on Ellis Island, and start their lives in the United States.

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