FOUN 1106

Credit Assignment 1

- Discrimination from the first article.

- Women being objectified – she is only seen as someone who should be married off - and forced
to see themselves as helpless and ones to be provided for, from the second article.
- Immigrants, at the family level, must be ingenious and act as a unit to withstand conditions in
Ellis Island – from the third article.
- Apart from discrimination, the immigrants also must be subjected to the nativist attitudes of the
Americans. – from fourth article.

The first article is written was 1907.

- Immigrants – men, women, children, all are victims - from Ireland, Poland, Italy, Syria, Finland
and Albania arriving at Ellis Island to seek refuge.
- The writer, is showcasing that immigrant humanity is perhaps inadequate at Ellis Island, owing to
the significant number of arriving immigrants, from Europe and Asia.

The busiest day at Ellis Island was April 17, 1907, when 11,747 immigrants passed through the
processing center to enter the United States. Nearly 1.3 million immigrants came to the U.S. that year—a
record for highest volume of immigrants that held until 1990. Like immigrants today, these people came
in search of a better and safer life. Yet compared to immigrants in 2017, immigrants back then were
much less likely to speak English or be skilled workers, according to research.

Most immigrants in 1907 came from Europe, and many white, Protestant Americans feared these
immigrants couldn’t “assimilate.” Catholic immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were
supposedly too culturally different. And German immigrants, then America’s largest non-English-
speaking group, were establishing German-language schools and newspapers across the U.S. instead of
integrating themselves into English-speaking institutions.  immigrant humanity (lack thereof)

“Those same fears are echoed today, just about a different group of immigrants,” says Andrew Lim, the
director of quantitative research at New American Economy. Lim recently published a study comparing
immigrants in 1907 to those in 2017.  continuity.

There were discriminatory practices/policies. They also faced discrimination owing to them not speaking
English, and they were culturally foreign.

Info from Historian Becky Little, and her “How the Immigrants Who Came to Ellis Island in 1907
compared to Arrivals Today” Published in 2019.
The second article was written in 1910.

- A handsome cleared eyed Russian girl. The writer uses this term to objective the 20-year-old
Russian immigrant. He then goes on to explain her circumstances.
- She was to be married, but the American citizen who engaged her – Peter – refused to follow
through. His reasoning for this decision was not explicitly stated, but one can discern that it was
majorly since the Russian immigrant was of the same culture as him.
- In essence, this article is showcasing that immigrant women in particular face the threat of being
objectified, and they are unable to claim the acclaimed social pyramid of the new country they
reside. Instead, they must rely on the sustenance of others – men – and this is completely
demoralizing and pride wounding. (Moreso, it shows that without this sustenance, she would be
unable to face her family).
- Written by the Commission of Ellis Island in 1910, 3 years after the mass immigration to the
island. So, it is logical that these people still face discrimination.

The third article was written in 1921.

- Its focus is on a little German boy – age 13 – who is onlooking as his mother must take a literacy
exam. More specific, she must read a siddur – a passage from a Jewish book – in front of an Ellis
Island commissioner.
- However, the migrant mother cannot read. Owing to the discriminatory policies that were in
place upon the arrival of immigrants l in 1907, it is probable that these policies impacted her
ability to attend school or even learn basic reading.
- However, the child is not about to see his mother face legal consequences, so he devises a plot,
where he remembered the passage, and hid between his mom and another patron.
- While his mom was reading, he softly and secretly whispers the pronunciation of words to her,
so as to ensure that she would pass the literacy exam, and so that his family would avoid any
form of legal repercussions.
- This article was written by Arnold Weiss, and it showcases that immigrants in Ellis Island,
particular of the German variety – for whom the most levels of discrimination were wrought
upon, owing to them being of a different culture, and also perhaps this was due to them being
seen as war monsters following WW1 – were illiterate and must undergo a literacy exam.
- However, as the discourse showed, the person who was to be examined, the mother, was unable
to read. Noticing this, the child decided that he could utilize an ingenious method in order to
prevent his family from facing legal consequences. This alone shows that migrants, who face
discrimination, must band together in order to withstand the conditions in Ellis Islands. In this
case, it was at a family level, but perhaps it could be a wider level.
The fourth article was written in 1922-26.

- This article was written by an Ellis Island Commissioner, and it details a situation in which a new
Polish immigrant mother, left the US – Ellis Island – to visit her dying father.
- However, upon returning, she and her husband were worried as they were restricted to a certain
number of visits – as they were immigrants. This was their quota, a policy initiated by the US
government to restrict the inflow of immigrants, but the implementation of the policy was based
on the discretion of the inspector present – and usually he was a nativist/racist.
- In this such situation, the mother had given birth to the child on the birth, BUT her quota, her
polish quota had been exhausted, so the commissioner was tasked to determine what course of
action must be taken.
- However, an inspector was present and attempted to thwart every one of the commissioner’s
decisions. BUT, in the end, a final decision was made, and both mother and child – who had
been fearful – were allowed to rent Ellis Island.
- This article shows that there in fact is an inherent nativist attitude in the minds of the Americans,
and it pronounces their discriminatory practices. They were willing to deny entry to the 0-year-
old baby, on the account that the quota was filled. This was driven by the growing realization
that one day that child might take jobs away from native American citizens.
The video

- People of Caribbean descent also migrating through Ellis Island. Three descendants of Robert
Payne Nero – came from Antigua -, they live in queens now, following their immigrant dad.
o The family went to Antigua to ascertain why their forefather migrated. They discovered
that he had been to London before.
o Based on the most recent census data, nearly 750k people on Ellis Island reported
Caribbean ancestry.
o At the hay day or the mass migration, migrants would have to undergo a 6 second
physical to determine their health – was intrusive and a bit against their right to privacy.
There was not enough time to treat people differently. (Stephen Lean – history director)
o Dr Maddox – about 350k Caribbean people came through Ellis Island and other eastern
ports and when they came, they were serious issues. Such as institutionalized racism.
They were regulated to the lowest possible job possible; they were denied work in their
professional careers.
o Moreso, she talks about how the migrants were persons from a middle-class
background, meaning that they possessed some professional skill, but they were
subjected to these racist conditions. However, they came anyway, as they saw life here
better.
o Robert Payne Nero was a chef in Antigua, and he came to Ellis Island with a dream of
having a better paying job – why he migrated. This was his dream or his aspiration,
however, when he arrived, he was hit with a reality shock – he became an anchor. He
faced discrimination.
o However, the sacrifice of the original immigrants ensured that future generations
would live a better life in the US. (Their original courage and determination ensured
that their future kids, grandkids etc would live better lives)
o A quarter of Harlem was made of Caribbean persons – contributed to the Harlem
revolution – economic revival.