American History Tellers

More than 70 years have passed since ferries of immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. But the site is still alive with the memories of all those who entered full of hope for the future — and anxious to become Americans. In this episode, Lindsay is joined by two people who work at the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation. Stephen Lean is the director of the Records Discovery Center, and Riley Dominianni is a research assistant there. Both have found that the archives can be surprisingly personal.

You can search for your family in the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation’s database, the Arrival Records Collection, which contains records for Ellis island, but also for other points of entry across the U.S.— including Massachusetts, Florida, Hawaii, California, and more.
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In the immediate aftermath of America’s entry into World War I, federal agents began rounding up hundreds of German nationals and detaining them at Ellis Island, designating them as “alien enemies.” After the war, anti-immigrant sentiment intensified as eugenic theories of racial hierarchy gained popularity. By the 1920s, Americans were willing to accept sweeping changes to the nation’s immigration laws, with the introduction of quotas setting numerical limits on new arrivals. As the country closed the door on immigrants, Ellis Island was transformed into a facility for detention and deportation.

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Audible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week.
Just in time for spooky season, we’re releasing a show called Ghost Story, a series about a hidden family secret, unexplainable events and jaw-dropping coincidences. Tristan Redman doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom. And when he discovers later that occupants of his family home have seen the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s intrigued. Because it just so happens that his wife’s great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was murdered in the house next door…killed by two gunshots to the face.
Audible subscribers can binge all episodes on Audible True Crime early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible App or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Listen Now: HERE
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In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt vowed to crack down on the corruption and mistreatment that plagued Ellis Island. He appointed William Williams as the new Commissioner of Immigration and tasked him with cleaning up the Immigration Service. But Williams’ strict interpretations of federal immigration law drew criticism from German American and Jewish community leaders. As immigration to the United States reached an all-time peak, Ellis Island became the primary battleground in a fierce national debate over what it meant to become American.

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In the 19th century, economic turmoil, political unrest, and religious persecution drove record numbers of Europeans to American shores — making New York City the busiest port of entry. But new immigrants faced a dizzying array of conmen and thieves eager to prey on their confusion. In 1892, the U.S. government reined in the chaos by establishing a federal immigration depot on Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Over the next three decades, a small group of government inspectors would confront one of the largest mass migrations in the history of the world.

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