The New Colossus (excerpt)
( A poem by Emma Lazarus is graven on a tablet within the pedestal on which the statue stands. )

 

"...Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the
imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; ...

..."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!"



1) Who wrote the poem above and where does it appear today?
 
 
 

2) According to the song, when was Ellis Island first opened and when did it close?
 
 
 

3) Summarize the meaning or message of both the song and poem? Consider, how are they alike and how do they differ? How would a Nativist react to or respond to both the poem and song?  Explain.
 
 
 
 

4) Identify and discuss two reasons immigrants have come to the United States.
 
 
 
 

5) Identify and discuss two problems immigrants faced once in America.
 
 


 

Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears
The Irish Tenors; Anthony / Finbar / Ronan (c) 2001

 

On the first day of January
Eighteen Ninety two
They opened Ellis Island
And they let the people through
And the first to cross the threshold
Of the Isle of hope and tears
Was Annie Moore from Ireland
Who was all of fifteen years

Isle of hope, Isle of tears
Isle of Freedom, Isle of fears
But it's not the Isle
You left behind
That Isle of hunger, Isle of pain
Isle you'll never see again
But the Isle of home
Is always on your mind

In her little bag she carried
All her past and history
And her dreams for the future
In the land of liberty
And courage is the passport
When your old world disappears
'cos there's no future in the past
when you're fifteen years

Chorus

 

When they closed down Ellis Island
In
nineteen forty three
Seventeen million people
Had come there for sanctuary
And in the springtime when I came here
And stepped onto it's piers
I thought of how it must have been
When you're only fifteen years

Chorus


 


 
 

Christmas in Kansas
Soon after Christmas in 1871, Kansas settler Ida Lingdren wrote to her mother in Sweden:

 

"...I must tell you about our Christmas! [Magnus and his family] had everything so fine and cozy, three rooms downstairs and the attic all in order, and a Christmas tree of green cedar with candles and bonbons and apples on it, and the coffee table set, so it was really Christmas-like, and because of that I could not tear my thoughts away from you and from my old home and the tears kept welling up!..."
 
 

1) Who wrote the above passage? What type of primary source document is this excerpt taken from?
 
 
 
 

2) According to the song , when was Ellis Island first opened and when did it close?
 
 
 
 

3) Compare and contrast the documents. How is the meaning or message of both documents similar and how do they differ?
 
 
 
 

4) Identify and discuss two reasons immigrants have come to the United States.
 
 
 
 
 

5) Identify and discuss two problems immigrants faced once in America.
 
 


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