Over 18 million people moved to the United States between 1891 and 1920 during the largest immigration wave in American history. Most immigrants entered this country through Ellis Island located in New York Harbor, on the East Coast. However, many people entered the United States across other borders too. Between 1910 and 1940, over 175,000 people entered the United States from the West Coast at Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay.
What was it like to enter the United States from a foreign country at that time? Most immigrants were young; they were often very poor, and many could not speak English. It was scary to come into a new country and not be able to understand the language. Immigrants were often victims of crime because they could not understand what people were saying.
After a ship arrived, the immigrants were given a physical examination and a literacy test. Anyone could be sent back to their home country if they didn't meet the requirements of the physical and the test. People could be turned away from the United States for other reasons too. Criminals, the mentally ill, and many people with certain political beliefs were barred from entering this country.
In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to stop Chinese people from entering the United States. Times were hard for many American families, and one reason this law was passed was because people were afraid new immigrants would take away their jobs. Fear and ignorance made discrimination and racism common against many new Americans. People of Asian descent were an easy target for discrimination because they looked different, dressed differently, spoke a different language, and ate different food.
When Chinese people arrived in California, they were questioned at Angel Island before they were allowed to enter the country. Angel Island opened in 1910 as a west coast point of entry into the United States. It was also a prison for hundreds of Chinese immigrants. The average stay for questioning was 2 weeks, the longest stay was almost 2 years.
In 1970, the barracks at the detention center at Angel Island were about to be torn down when a park ranger discovered Chinese writing on the walls. After the words were translated into English, they discovered the writings were poems which the immigrants had written to express their fear, anger, and loneliness as they waited there to be questioned. Angel Island is now a state park, and the barracks are now a museum. You can visit Angel Island in San Francisco and see these poems.
Almost everyone who lives in the United States now is here because someone in his or her family immigrated to this country from somewhere else. Native Americans are the only people in the United States who have lived here for thousands and thousands of years. Today, almost 20 million people live in the United States who were not born here. Almost one-fourth of these people moved here between 1985 and 1990. To read stories what it was like for some present-day families to move to the United States, check out the Alderwood Elementary School web page in Bellingham, Washington. The families profiled here are originally from Cambodia, Greece, Mexico, Russia, and Vietnam.
--Jane Makich