American Passage: The History of Ellis Island

First of all let me say that none of my ancestors arrived in the US/American Colonies later than 1775, so the opening of Ellis Island in 1892 and the changes wrought to American demographics and political thought are merely an interesting facet in the history of the US for me. For the author the years from 1892 to 1924 during which Ellis Island admitted 12 million immigrants to the US (365,000 per year) of mostly Eastern European and Mediterranean people seems to be no less than one of the greatest events in US history. Gee, and the Revolutionary War, the influx of Irish Catholics which destroyed Latitudinarianism in the 1840s and the Civil War apparently were lesser events. On one respect he is correct, however, the immigrants that came through Ellis Island were generally opponents of capitalism, steeped in European "Progressivism" (which is a kind term for Marxism, Socialism and Anarchism), and by the time of World War II had liberalized the American political landscape beyond recognition. FDR could never have arisen except for these immigrants, nor would we have been subjected to pervasive far-left propaganda since World War II of which this work is but a very mild example. The author kindly points out that many who came through Ellis Island rapidly took advantage of the inclusive American culture to enter politics and immediately attempt to change the US to "Europe-West." They arrived with little or no understanding of American Common Law and began to replace it with European Civil Law through the creation of authoritarian political structures at the city and federal levels, a process that is continuing to this day. Unlike earlier immigrants who came to the US to get away from European political systems and problems and live in harmony under a peculiarly home-grown concept of freedom, the Ellis Island immigrants generally imported European cutural problems and political throught with them rather than embracing what the US already had. On second thought, maybe the author is correct in stressing the importance of Ellis Island. The author dismisses the warnings of anti-immigrant writers like William Williams and strives to prove that the US actually thrived in the twentieth century due to the Ellis Island immigrants' contributions. Nativists (usually ugly) are held in contempt through the use of pejorative adjectives, carefully couched in terms of a conflict between great liberal ideas such as "all men are created equal" and the right of a state (or people) to defend itself against foreign intrusion in its internal affairs and influences. The idea that no one has the right to come into the US except by permission of the people of the US is debunked through the many ancedotes and descriptions of the hardships imposed on immigrants through immigration control laws and their enforcement. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights seems to destroy national sovereignty and, of course, we now have the leftists talking about "responsible sovereignty" as if this is some type of privilege granted to us by some global power. I mention all this to point up the issues in immigration law and the practical impact from the generations of Ellis Island immigrants on American political thought. The author leaves no doubt as to which side he takes in this debate. Nations such as the Boer Republic have disappeared through accepting large numbers of immigrants that sought immediately (within their lifetimes) to change their adopted country to something other than what it was. Examples abound, and in this respect, it is possible for a nation to die of democracy (like the Confederacy did of States Rights.) All this being said, the author did an excellent, scholarly job of depicting the history of Ellis Island and presenting many stories of people passing through as well as the administration, officials, involved politicians and issues. All this makes this book well worth reading. Although I seriously disagree with the author's underlying thesis, there is much to learn here. Just ignore the adjectives. The author is also correct that the Ellis Island history is directly applicable to the present day -- only I believe it is better to learn from our mistakes rather than to gloss them over as some type of noble concept we need to perpetuate. If the Indians had enforced an immigration policy at the time European settlers began to arrive, they would still possess the Western Hemisphere. Even if they could have kept out all the incoming carriers of disease, they would have been better off. Lastly, Ellis Island opened up about the same time that opportunities to move onto uninhabited land dissapeared and these new immigrants generally ended up being stuck in labor camps or large cities. Earlier an immigrant could simply move west and squat on land if he could successfully fight off the Indians. But by 1892 all that had changed. The Indian wars were over, and the road to limited resources had begun. Somehow the idea that natural resources were no longer unlimited got missed in the creation of immigration policies. With Ellis Island the nation changed from a country of primarily British Isle and German Protestant heritage mixed with Black and Mexican influences in some regions to a truly universal melting pot (or ethnic Balkanized conglomeration.) We are still struggling to understand and accept that demographic impact while facing new ones that threaten to destabilize the country and boost the crime rate through multiplying stress on the population fighting over increasingly scarce resources. For the private citizen forced to accept people by their own government with alien cultures, religions, languages, systems of law, races and creeds, what do they do? Where do they go? Flee to walled communities? Educate their children through home schooling? Why can't they elect to live among people like themselves? Why do they have to pay to maintain destructive diversity and be used as soldiers to die for universalist ideas of democracy? The author's answer to all this is to have Americans find their own compromise taking into account their fears and concerns while respecting the rights and humanity of immigrants who arrive at our borders. He states that we cannot close our borders and must continue our long history of welcoming strangers who will impact this nation for better or worse. His book carefully supports that conclusion. If one reads with a filter for polemic, a different conclusion is possible. Sounds like good scholarship within a biased Hume a priori framework to me. I highly recommend this book. It would have been rated as five stars except for the reader having to read with a critical filter.

All my life I had believed, as our whole family believed, that being from Philadelphia, we must have arrived through that city. As a result although I've always been mildly interested in Ellis as a historical landmark, I never thought that we had a connection to it. That all changed in December 2012 when I found my mother's parents' Ellis Island manifests, along with those of other members of our family. We did indeed come into this country through Ellis, and I'll never forget the way the skin on my neck crawled as I recognized my grandfather -- "tailor, scar on forehead" -- or saw the handwritten names of my great-grandparents and grandmother, entering together as a family with others from their town. I've since printed the manifests and mailed them to my mother, and I continue to search for others of my family who also came through Ellis, Castle Garden, and the barge office during the "gap year" of 1891.The treatment of their experiences and the motivations behind the creation of a central location for immigrant processing is incredibly detailed, sympathetic, sensible, and beautifully put in this book. I can't imagine a better history of this iconic landmark and what it symbolizes for today's America. Cannato delves into the history of the place and its precursor station Castle Garden, perfectly prepared to acknowledge all sides of the thorny topic of immigration up to the present day. I've already recommended to my mom that she buy the kindle version.I also want to recommend to anyone who suspects that their ancestors came through Ellis to visit EllisIsland.org where they will find a searchable database of immigration records, including scanned copies of the actual ship manifests of the day. Finding the name of an ancestor in a computer database is one thing, but seeing the actual documents will give you a feeling like no other.

Like many in this country I am the descendant of folks who crossed the ocean in steerage, and then made it safely through Ellis Island, which is the subject of this excellent book. When I read of all the requirements that were put onto those hoping to enter this country, I am extremely grateful that I am here today and not planting potatoes somewhere in Poland.The book goes through the entire history of Ellis Island, from its first incarnation as a place to hang criminals, through its various stages of immigration reception, through the many changes and renovations made to it, and finally to the tourist attraction (and national treasure) that it is today.I had occasion to take my wife, two of my chilren, and my two granddaughters to Ellis Island a few years ago, and I was in awe of the place, and couldn't believe what my forebearers had to go through so that I could be there observing. Using the computers there, we were able to find my father's father, and my wife's mother's father, and learned how and when they arrived on our shores.The book says that names weren't changed by officials there, but I tend to disagree. My grandfather's name was Appolinarious (sp?), but it was changed to Paul at Ellis Island. It's easier to say, because in Polish his name is pronounced much differently than it is written above.We should all take some time out to see this place, and then stop to admire and thank our ancestors for having the courage to come to a new land and raise their families.

There are a lot of facts that many Americans are not aware of in this book. I am a descendant of Ellis Island emigrants and I found it very enlightening. My great grand parents arrived prior to 1900 and I am told that great grandmother met the ships and helped arriving Polish people get settled in. Again I think this is very informative.

This was a solid read about the history of Ellis Island. It starts off a bit slow with the history relative to all the political infighting surrounding the island, but finishes off strongly with very thought provoking questions relative to our contemporary situation.

L’ho regalato a mio padre e l’ha trovato molto interessante. Suo padre era passato da Ellis Island e per la nostra famiglia ha un significato importante

Not read this yet but it is a lovely book full of great information, definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf! It came highly recommended on a FB group specializing in American History. Arrived it good time and well packaged

Ein sehr sehr interessantes Buch, dass sich sehr detailliert mit der Vorgeschichte befasst. In keinem anderen Buch so viele informationen über Ellis Island