Ellis Island Ellis Island Ellis Island example essay topic

464 words
Ellis Ellis Island Ellis Island Ellis Island has a long and exciting. History was the "Gateway to America' from 1892 until it closed in 1954, The island was called Gull Island by the Indians and Oyster Island by the Dutch people. Later the English made it a place for hanging criminals and so the island became known as Gibbet Island. The Indians sold it to the Dutch East India Company for trinkets.

The company later sold it to Mynheer P aauw who also bought land along the New Jersey coastline. Samuel Ellis, a colonial merchant bought the island and it became at last Ellis Island. After the Revolution, the island was sold to New York State and in 1811, Fort Gibson was built on it to prepare for the War of 1812. No fighting took place at Fort Gibson it was mainly a munitions storage fort. When immigrants began coming into New York City, New York State processed them at an old fort known as Castle Clinton (i bet it was called castle clinton because it was easy to get into) on the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. When that it became too small for the large number of immigrants arriving in the country, they chose Ellis Island as the new immigration center.

After making new wooden buildings, it opened in 1892 but those buildings burned in 1897. New buildings were built in 1900 and it opened again. Eventually the control of immigration was turned over to the Federal government. Ellis Island was the federal immigration station (The Gateway to America) in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Over time, the immigration station spread over 3 connected islands with loto buildings including a hospital.

It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island. After passing a bunch of immigration laws in the 1920's it was used more for deporting aliens. Immigrants were required to pass a series of medical and legal inspections before they could enter America. Those who did not pass these inspections were returned to their country on the boats that brought them here. Even though only 2 percent of those coming to America were turned away at Ellis Island that came out to over 250000 people whose hopes and dreams turned to tears and messed up lives. Ellis Island has nt effected my life tramendusly but it did effect it slightly in ways of my ancestors might have came through it.

It was the Gateway to America, it was needed, and it was built. Ellis Island.