Ellis Island: Site of Picnics, War, and Immigration
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was once the main immigration station for people
entering the United States. About a third of Americans can trace their ancestry to this
entry point. Today Ellis Island is a museum accessible by ferryboat.
The island is named for Samuel Ellis, a wealthy colonial landholder. He once owned the
land and used it as a picnic area. When selling the island, Ellis advertised it along with
several other items he had for sale, including a few barrels of excellent shad and
herrings and a large Pleasure Sleigh, almost new.
The U.S. War Department purchased the island for $10,000 in 1808. They built defenses
there in the buildup to the War of 1812. Fort Gibson was erected to house prisoners of
that conflict. Fifty years later during the Civil War, the Union army used the fort as a
munitions arsenal.
When the Civil War ended, Ellis Island was abandoned for twenty-five years. Then, in
1890, the government wanted a new immigration processing center. (This would replace
the Castle Garden Immigration Depot, the countrys first immigration station, which was
located on the tip of Manhattan.) Ellis Island opened in 1892 as the main processing point
for newcomers; at the time, about 70% of all immigrants passed through the island
facilities.
The first immigrant processed was Annie Moore, a teenager from Ireland who was
meeting her parents in New York. (She received a $10 gold coin!) The Ellis Island staff
continued to process immigrant steamship passengers until 1954, when the last immigrant
was the Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Peterssen. In the more than six decades of
operation, the immigration building on Ellis Island saw more than 12 million hopeful
immigrants. After 1954, the building was not attended to for about thirty years. It was
eventually refurbished in the late 1980s and re-opened as a museum in 1990. It is now
under jurisdiction of the US National Park Service.
Immigrants experiences on Ellis Island differed with social class. Wealthier immigrants
who traveled first or second class generally entered automatically without delay. Third-
class steerage passengers had medical exams and interviews. In the end, about two
percent were sent back across the ocean after these procedures. With these people in
mind, Ellis is also known as The Island of Tears and or Heartbreak Island.
Standard interviews included twenty-nine questions, including name, skills, and amount
of money available. Adults who seemed likely to become a public charge would be
turned away. The medical exams on Ellis Island were brief; they usually lasted only six
seconds! However, people who appeared ill received much more attention. Chalk
markings were put on their clothes to indicate suspected medical conditions. People who
didnt discreetly remove these markings were typically sent home or to the islands
hospital. About three thousand people travelers died in Ellis Islands hospital.
The United States enacted Quota Laws in 1924. These restricted immigration and
resulted in most processing being performed at embassies and consulates instead of
freestanding immigration stations. After 1924 Ellis Island was only sporadically used to
see war refugees and displaced persons. The island was used for Japanese internment and
to house German Americans accused of being Nazis.
Ellis Island was once the subject of a border dispute between New York and New Jersey.
Today the two states have divided ownership of the historic site: the main building
containing the museum is part of New York, and the old hospital buildings are part of
New Jersey. The monument has been managed and preserved by the National Park
Service since 1966.
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Tag: New York
The White House
Sixteen-hundred Pennsylvania Avenue is among the most famous addresses in the United States. The 132-room home and workplace has also been known as the Presidents House and the Executive Mansion, but since 1902 its officially been called the White House.
When George Washington was President, government meetings were held in various cities. He and Martha Washington kept two homes in New York and one in Pennsylvania. Seeing the need for a federal city, the President and Congress agreed in 1790 to the Residence Act. This provided for a district not exceeding ten miles squareon the river Potomac. The new federal city would be designed by Pierre L’Enfant, and the city planner would hold a blueprints contest for the Presidents house.
James Hoban, an Irishman living in South Carolina, won the competition with a classic Georgian design. (Thomas Jefferson was also among the entrants; he competed under a pseudonym.) Hoban based the building on a dukes palace in Ireland.
Two states, Maryland and Virginia, ceded land for the new federal district. Both were slaveholding states, and slaves broke ground for the home. The work was completed by European immigrants. The new house wasnt built in time for the Washingtons to move in; John and Abigail Adams were the first to take up residence in 1800.
The building has undergone countless changes since the years of John and Abigail Adams. Interior redecorating and structural changes started with the next resident President, Thomas Jefferson. He ordered French furniture and French wallpaper, and he added space outdoors to conceal stables and storage. Other Presidents would make even larger additions: Theodore Roosevelt — who had six children and required more space contributed the West Wing; and FDR added the East Wing during World War II to conceal construction of an underground bunker.
Each Administrations time at the White House brought something new, but here are some of the more notable changes:
* British soldiers burnt the building in 1814 during James Madisons presidency. Most of the home and its contents were destroyed by fire. A thunderstorm saved outside walls, and Dolley Madison rescued a famous portrait of George Washington. The architect James Hoban was available for renovations.
* The White House needed an extensive washing after 20,000 muddy partiers celebrated Andrew Jacksons inauguration. Jackson soon installed running water. He also planted magnolia trees and made plans for later landscaping.
* James Garfield installed the first elevator.
* Harry Truman extensively renovated the whole house and added a second porch. He also added basements for wartime safety.
* The White House was made more wheelchair-accessible during FDRs service. A pool was also added in consideration of his physical challenges.
* Richard Nixon cemented over the FDR pool to create a Press Briefing Room.
* Jacquelyn Kennedy directed the most extensive and historically accurate White House restoration. She also planted a flower garden.
* Rosalynn Carter contributed an Office of the First Lady.
Today the White House Complex consists of six stories and 55,000 square feet of space. The Executive Residence spans several floors. Two basement levels also provide storage, service areas, and a bomb shelter for the Presidents family. The West Wing holds executive offices including the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Situation Room. The East Wing is home to offices for the First Lady, White House correspondence staff, and other White House staff members.
Some of the interior is visible to the public, but tours must be pre-arranged by a member of Congress. Visitors might tour the State Floor, where several rooms are simply named by color: the Green Room, Red Room, and Blue Room. The Green Room is named for the moss green silk that lines its walls. Its used for informal meetings and photo opportunities with foreign political leaders. Famous Green Room paintings depict Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, and Abigail Adams. The Red Room is decorated like an early-1800s parlor with a marble mantel. The Blue Room is the White Houses most formal setting. Its shaped like an oval and is furnished with gilded furniture. This is where the White House Christmas tree is traditionally placed. Visitors might also see the Map Room, the State Dining Room, or the famous Lincoln Bedroom.
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TopThe Lincoln Memorial
Inside a Greek-style temple, a 19-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln looks out over
Washington, D.C. Above him are the words, In this temple, as in the hearts of the people
for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.
Some say that the grandeur of Abraham Lincolns memorial does not suit his style; he
was a modest man why immortalize him in a 99-foot tall Greek temple? But supporters
celebrate his grand achievements. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln became US President,
several states seceded from the Union. Before his presidency ended, Lincoln saw his
country through civil war, preserved its union, and passed the 13th Amendment
abolishing slavery.
The President was assassinated in 1865 just six days after the Confederate General Lee
surrendered. Congress formed the Lincoln Monument Association two years later.
However, they did not choose the site in West Potomac Park until 1901. It was 1911
before they appropriated funds; President Taft approved a bill for $2 million. (The
memorials final cost was $1 million more.) In February of 1914, on Lincolns birthday,
the first stones were set. The white marble memorial was completed in 1922. It was
dedicated on Memorial Day that year, 57 years after the presidents death. Tens of
thousands of people were in attendance, including many veterans from the Civil War.
The work was the collective effort of an architect and several artists. The New York
architect named Henry Bacon designed the building. He chose a Doric Greek style, much
like the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece, complete with the traditional 36 columns.
After constructing the columns, he realized that there had also been 36 states in the nation
at the time of Lincolns death. He then had each column engraved with a state name, and
added above them the names of all 48 states that existed by 1922. (Alaska and Hawaii
were later mentioned on an inscription leading to the memorial.) The building is massive,
with each column measuring more than 23 feet around its base.
From inside the stone building, Lincoln gazes out over the Reflecting Pool and toward
the Washington Monument. His larger-than-life figure appears to be a continuous piece
of marble, but its actually made of 28 interlocking blocks carved by the artist Daniel
French. Several types of marble are used throughout the monument, perhaps to symbolize
Lincolns force for unity; stone is used from Indiana, Colorado, Georgia and Tennessee.
One marble wall features an inscription of the Presidents famous Gettysburg Address.
Another displays his second inaugural speech. The memorial also has murals entitled
Emancipation and Union by Jules Guerin. Ernest Bairstow and Evelyn Longman also
contributed to the memorials carvings.
The building has been used as a backdrop for events related to civil rights. In 1939, the
African American singer Marian Anderson was told by the Daughters of the American
Revolution that she would not sing to an integrated crowd at Washington, D.C.s
Confederate Hall. Eleanor Roosevelt, who immediately resigned her own DAR
membership, suggested the Lincoln Memorial as a stage. Anderson opened her act with
My Country Tis of Thee. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream
speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. This was also the scene of Vietnam protests and
the Million Man March.
The memorial is staffed from 8 a.m. to midnight every day but Christmas. The lower
level of the monument houses a bookstore, restrooms, and the Lincoln Museum, which
was funded with pennies from schoolchildren. At night, spotlights illuminate the outside
of the Lincoln Memorial. The lights seep inside and cast shadows across Lincolns face
for a spectacular view.
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