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THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN NATION

These lines are inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. They were written by the poet Emma Lazarus (1846-1887).

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

With these legendary words, immigrants from other lands came to America for a new and better life. They did so by way of Ellis Island. Ellis Island goes back a long way. It was originally called Oyster Island by the early Dutch colonists. Then, in the 18^th century, a merchant from New York City named Samuel Ellis bought the island and gave it his name. In 1890-, it was chosen by the House Committee of Immigration as the site of the new immigrant station for the Port of New York. Feeling hardships such as poverty, religious persecution, or political unrest in their homelands, the immigrants came to America in search for freedom and opportunity. Most came by steamship and landed at the Port of New York. Steamship lines were held accountable for medical examinations and vaccinations of the immigrants and disinfection of both immigrants and baggage before leaving home port. First and second class passengers were quickly and courteously inspected on board ship before being transferred to New York. Only steerage passengers were processed at Ellis Island. Each passenger had to answer a series of 29 questions recorded on manifest lists. These questions included: name, age, sex, marital status, occupation, nationality, ability to read or write, race, physical and mental health, money in possession, prison record, if any, and if they were polygamists or anarchists.

At the entrance to the Lower Bay of New York Harbor, the first quarantine examinations took place aboard ship. Passengers were inspected for contagious diseases such as: smallpox, yellow fever, scarlet fever and measles. Once finished, the ship arrived in Manhattan. First and second class passengers were released and steerage passengers boarded ferries bound for Ellis Island. Once there, they were led to the main building’s reception area. There were three floors to the main building. The first floor was a luggage check and a railroad ticket office. Little did the immigrants realize that the stair climb to the second floor registry room was being monitored by medical officers, who stood at the top of the stairs watching for signs of lameness, shortness of breath, heart conditions, and mental conditions. This preliminary examination was essential in the processing of the immigrants.

Exercise 8. Retell the main idea of the text basing the questions:

1. What role did Ellis Island play in the history of America?

2. How do you think new immigrants felt before and after passing through Ellis Island?

3. What circumstances made people leave their homes and take such a difficult journey across the ocean?

4. The statue of Liberty stands on a small island in New York Harbor right next to Ellis Island.

5. What do you think it was placed in that particular spot?

Exercise 9. Give free line written translation of the poem above the text.