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Article: Ellis Island
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ELLIS ISLAND
Ellis Island is situated in the New York Harbor, off the southern tip of Manhattan. It was named for Samuel Ellis (n.d.), a merchant and farmer who owned the island during the late 1700s. New York acquired the land and, in 1808, sold it to the federal government. The site served as a fort and later, as an arsenal. By the end of the century record numbers of immigrants prompted the federal government to establish a bureau to process the new arrivals, the vast majority of whom entered the country at its largest port, New York City. On January 1, 1892, the Federal Immigration Station opened on Ellis Island
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in the shadows of the Statue of Liberty (dedicated 1886 on ...
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