Through Ellis Island and Angel Island: The Immigrant Experience
Section 1—Introduction
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, was
unveiled on an island in New York Harbor. The
colossal statue, with its torch of freedom, held high,
made a strong impression on the hundreds of thousands
of immigrants who passed by it each year. One of those
newcomers, Edward Corsi recalled what it was like
seeing Lady Liberty for the first time: “I looked at that
statue with a sense of bewilderment, half doubting its
reality. Looming shadowy through the mist, it brought
silence to the decks of Florida. This symbol of
America—this enormous expression of what we had all
been taught was the inner meaning of this new country
we were coming to— inspired awe in the hopeful
immigrants. Many older persons among us, burdened
with a
thousand memories of what they were leaving behind, had
been openly weeping ever since we entered the narrower
waters on our final approach toward the unknown. Now
somehow steadied, I suppose, by the concreteness of the
symbol of America's freedom, they dried their tears”.
- Edward Corsi, In the Shadow of Liberty, 1935
Corsi understood the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty for
freedom-seeking immigrants. So did poet Emma Lazarus, who
grew up in an immigrant family. The words she wrote about
the statue are inscribed on its base:
"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-tost
to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
—Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus," 1883
Directions: On this document, create a sensory figure by completing two more sensory statements around
the appropriate photograph. Sensory statements describe what immigrants might have experienced or felt
through any of their senses. Base your statements on information from the reading in each section. Be sure
to include the vocab from this section in your statements.
Section 1: Practice
1. With my ears, I still hear the cries of
the hungry people during the potato
famine (push factor).
2. With my heart, I feel hope that I can
find work in a factory in America and
make a better life for my family and
myself (push factor).
3. With my hands…
4. With my nose…
