Welcome to the Immigration Gallery Walk. On this virtual gallery walk, you will observe pictures and political cartoons that have to do with immigration at the turn of the twentieth century (1900s). As you go through this gallery walk, please complete the questions given to you by Ms. Schuster.
ELLIS ISLAND
Before 1890, the states were in charge of immigration, rather than the federal government. Ellis Island opened in 1892 and became one of the main places through which immigrants entered into the United States. The first person through Ellis Island was a young teenaged girl from Ireland named Annie Moore, along with her two younger brothers. Over the next 62 years, over 12 million immigrants entered into the United States through Ellis Island.
The Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, has become an iconic symbol of freedom in the United States, specially for immigrants first arriving to the United States. A gift from France and officially completed in the United States in 1886, President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the statue as a landmark. Lady Liberty was the first thing many immigrants saw as they first arrived to the United States, and has been a symbol of freedom and hope.
Tenement houses were apartment buildings in which many immigrant families lived in. They were typically one to two bedroom apartments that could house up to ten people. Multiple families could live in one apartment. Conditions were bad in the tenement houses. They were cramped, dirty, cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and diseases spread very quickly inside them.
IRISH NEED NOT APPLY
"No Irish Need Apply" was a popular sign posted on the front doors of many businesses. At the time, being Irish was considered the lowest of the low and was synonymous or the same as being dirty, stupid, and making things worse for the United States. The Irish mainly followed the Catholic faith, which at the time was extremely disliked in the United States.
THIS IS NOT A DUMPING GROUND
A political cartoon circulated during the early 1900s (twentieth century) was the cartoon that read: "This is not a dumping ground, signed Uncle Sam."
A DOCTOR AT ELLIS ISLAND
When many immigrants came through Ellis Island, they underwent a medical exam. Doctors searched for signs of diseases like tuberculosis and others that would immediately disqualify that person from entering the United States. Doctors typically performed a physical exam, listened with a stethoscope, and did an eye exam.
Upon entering Ellis Island, immigrants would have to answer questions such as:
Where did you come from?
Do you have any money? How much?
What languages do you speak?
Are you an anarchist? (Someone who believes there should be no laws or no government)
Do you have any diseases?
THE RUSH OF IMMIGRANTS
This popular political cartoon depicts Uncle Sam watching as an immigrant tries to enter the United States. The immigrant is carrying bags that read: disease, anarchy, Sabbath desecration (not observing a holy day), and poverty (poor).
NO ADMITTANCE TO CHINAMEN
This political cartoon circulated at the turn of the century.
