Tour the Stations

By Chloe Kosciusko

The Passage

Immigrants had to leave their homes because they were under attack or in persecution. They had to get on a boat and escape. Immigrants came from all over Finland, Poland , Ireland, Italy, and more. On the boat there was 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class. 3rd class was called steerage. 1st and 2nd class were for the rich. The trip was about 6 months long. The boat was small and crowded. Lots of people on steerage got seasick.

The Arrival

When immigrants arrived the first thing they saw was the statue of liberty. Once they arrived on the harbor they went to the baggage room and got their bags checked. After getting their bags checked they walked up some stairs that they thought they were just going up regular stairs but really doctors were watching to see if they were injured. Then they went to the registry room were they registered to get in. Only about 1000 people could be processed each day.

Medical Exam

When the immigrants got up the stairs they went to the medical exam. They had to go through the medical exam so they did not get anyone in America sick. The doctors were making sure the immigrants did not have tuberculosis, trachoma, yellow fever, lung disease, and many more illnesses.
If immigrants were sick they had to be detained.

Legal Inspection

After the medical exam if the immigrants passed they would go to the legal inspection. The legal inspectors checked the immigrants to make sure they were safe for other people. They were asked questions like have you been to jail, do you have a job waiting for you in America, do you have a job, and a couple others. To get into the country the immigrant needed a certain amount of points from each station.