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Ellis Island |
List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46 |
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Reviews |
Features:
Description:
Even the most hard-hearted will get misty eyes when the elderly Irish immigrant tells of his first view of Ellis Island and the "golden lady" in New York Harbor. People were weeping with joy, he recalls, still tearing up, and he couldn't help but fall down in prayer. To newcomers in the early 1900s, the United States was a land of hopes and dreams, and Ellis Island was the gateway, offering new soil for their first step. This film--produced for and first broadcast on the History Channel--documents in full detail the life of the way station. What started out as a modest outpost became a monumental processing center where, during its 62-year history, nearly 12 million people were poked, prodded, tested, and graded to see if they were fit for citizenship. Those with mental or physical illnesses were marked with chalk X's and sometimes shipped home. Rich with personal accounts and rare footage and photos, Ellis Island is a fitting tribute to the island and the era. It takes special care to document the shameful anti-immigrant sentiment that led to quotas and, eventually, the island's ruin and closure in 1954. Never again would new Americans be fed donuts and milk in the waiting room. --Jennifer Vogel
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