Grade 4: overview

On January 1, 1892, Ellis Island Immigration Center opened in New York Harbor. The first people processed were Europeans who had come to America on ships Nevada, City of Paris, and Victoria. By the time Ellis Island was closed in 1954, more than 12 million immigrants had walked through its gates to make a fresh start in the United States.

Provides an introduction to Ellis Island, including its history as the first federal immigration station, as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, as a museum, and its importance as a symbol of the United States.

Learn basic history by visiting communities from our past. Each book is filled with photos and reconstruction artwork covering topics such as food, clothing, shelter, education, play, communication, and family life. View important political and geographical events through the lens of everyday life.

From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was the gateway to a new life in the United States for millions of immigrants. In later years, the island was deserted, the buildings decaying. Ellis Island was not restored until the 1980s, when Americans from all over the country donated more than $150 million. It opened to the public once again in 1990 as a museum. Learn more about America's history, and perhaps even your own, through the story of one of the most popular landmarks in the country.

Thousands of years ago, the first people to arrive on American soil traveled across a land bridge from Asia to what is now Alaska. Millions of people were already settled when Christopher Columbus "rediscovered" America in 1492. New about the "new" world soon spread, and more people arrived on American shores. The trans-atlantic journey was long and arduous, but by 1700, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch colonies had been established. This expansion exacted a toll, however, on the native people who were pushed off their land as well as African people who were forced into slavery. By the mid 1800's, so many people had immigrated to the United States that in 1892, an immigration office was opened on Ellis Island to count and document the new arrivals. By the early 1900's, laws were passed to limit the number of new arrivals. And yet, today, immigrants still come to America from countries worldwide, includingRussia, Haiti, and Cuba, insearch of a better way of life. The history of American immigration is one of determination and struggle, but not without pain. But for immigrants past and present, hope, the belief in a better life, and the allure of making a contribution to this nation prevails.