eQuizShow

Immigration

Ellis Island

Question: What happened to immigrants at Ellis Island?
Answer: They were examined before being allowed into the country.

Question: Why were immigrants examined before being allowed into the country?
Answer: The United States wanted to be sure that immigrants were healthy enough to work here.

Question: Where is Ellis Island located?
Answer: In New York City.

Question: Where does the name 'Ellis Island' come from?
Answer: The land was originally owned by Samuel Ellis.

Question: When did Ellis Island close as an immigration center? When did it open as a museum?
Answer: Ellis Island closed as an immigration center in 1954. It reopened as a tourist attraction in 1972.

Vocabulary

Question: Immigrants
Answer: People who have left the country of their birth to live in another country.

Question: Push Factor
Answer: Reasons that make people want to leave their country and move to another one.

Question: Ethnic Group
Answer: A group of people who share the same ancestors, culture, language or religion.

Question: Assimilation
Answer: THe process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns that attract a person to a country.

Question: Tenement
Answer: Poorly built, overcrowded housing where many immigrants live.

Life back home

Question: List one reason Irish immigrants left for the United States.
Answer: The potato famine was one reason Irish immigrants left.

Question: Why would families often send only one person to America?
Answer: The ticket to America was expensive.

Question: What kinds of governments would people try to escape?
Answer: Many immigrants came from countries that did not have a democracy - they were looking for political freedom.

Question: What push factor caused people to leave Italy (think of poor Salvatore!)
Answer: Disease, specifically malaria.

Question: Why were people inclined to stay in their homeland in 1918?
Answer: Immigration decreased due to World War I.

Life in America

Question: Describe the lives of immigrant children.
Answer: Immigrant children had hard lives. They worked long hours with litte pay. They rarely went to school.

Question: What kind of work did Immigrant children do?
Answer: Immigrant children were spinners in cotton mills, sold newspapers and worked in coal mines.

Question: Between which years was immigration the highest?
Answer: 1901 - 1910.

Question: Why did immigrants settle in cities?
Answer: Immigrants settled in cities because there were many opportunities for jobs.

Question: What kind of communities did immigrants live in (in America)?
Answer: Immigrants lived in ethnic communities where there were others that spoke their language and followed their traditions.

Boat Life

Question: What symbol of freedom welcoms immigrants to New York harbor?
Answer: The Statue of Liberty.

Question: Describe living conditions on the boat.
Answer: The boat was typically overcrowded. The matresses were moldy, food was scarce and there were no standard bathrooms.

Question: How would people on the boat be feeling?
Answer: Immigrants expressed both excitement and fear while on the boat.

Question: After getting off the boat, how long did it typically take for people to get processed?
Answer: One day.

Question: How long were immigrants typically on the boat?
Answer: About 2 weeks.