AMERICAN MINORITY RELATIONS Total points:

RARITAN VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Professor Barbara Seater
FALL 2010

ELLIS ISLAND ASSIGNMENT

NAME:___________________________

DIRECTIONS: Before the end of the semester, you must make a trip to Ellis
Island. The cost of the boat to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty is $11.00 and there
is a fee for parking at Liberty State Park. There is also a fee for parking. Attach a
copy of the boat receipt with your paper (You will need to ask for a receipt).

What was the date of your trip to Ellis Island?

Briefly describe the American Immigrant Wall of Honor.

Does your surname appear on the wall? If so, what were the names of those
individuals honored? To the best of your knowledge, were any of the
names on the wall those of your ancestors?

If not your surname did not appear, what name would appear before and
after yours alphabetically on the wall if your name was there?
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Describe one of the “Treasures from Home” that immigrants brought that you found
interesting. Why was it interesting to you?

The “Peopling America” exhibit provides information on the number of immigrants from
various lands. In which three states are the most members of the ethnic/national
groups of the following ancestors concentrated?

Grandparent Country of Birth States with highest %age

Maternal grandmother

Maternal grandfather

Fraternal grandmother

Fraternal grandfather
How do you identify yourself in terms of ethnicity and/or nationality?

2
In the exhibit representing the eras and places of immigration in three dimensions,
describe the immigration patterns of the area of people with whom you identify?
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Which exhibit did you enjoy the most? Why?

Describe the process that immigrants endured as they made their way through Ellis
Island (i.e., what was the order of the departments that they passed through?).

At what stops might they be sent home and for what reasons?
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