Immigration to Ellis Island :: Informative Essay

Immigrants came to American in search of freedom and opportunity. They mostly came by steamship. Examinations and vaccinations of the immigrants needed to be done. Both immigrants and their baggage had to be disinfected before they could exit Ellis Island.     At the entrance to the Lower Bay of New York Harbor, the immigrants were inspected for contagious diseases like, smallpox, sensationalistic fever, and measles. After which they were filed to the reception area. They had to climb three floors of stairs as medical checkup officers watched them for signs of lameness, shortness of breath, heart conditions and mental conditions.     The next examination was called the eyelid lift. The doctors utilize a hook to lift the eyelids to look for trachoma. Trachoma is " an easily spread infection of the eye. Repeated occurrences scar the upper eyelid, eventually turning it inward. The eyelashes then simoleons the cornea, leading to blindnes s." Chalk marks were put on their clothes to augur what was wrong. A few were, Sc for scalp disease, G for goiter, K for hernia, L for lameness and S for senility.     The final test was to answer 29 questions including name, sex, marital status, occupation, nationality, ability to read and write, race, physical and mental health, how much money they had, prison house records, and if they were polygamists or anarchists.     When the immigrants passed these tests they could exchange their gold, silver and money for American money and obtain railroad tickets to go anywhere they wanted in America.