The virtual tour I chose to take was of the historical Ellis Island where more than 12 million people made their first steps into America between 1892 and 1954. At first, I considered switching to another tour since Ellis Island is something that I have learned about before. In starting the tour though, I realized what a different perspective I was learning about it from. This tour takes you step by step through the arrival process of an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island, starting at the boat and ending at the “Kissing Post” where family and friends waited for their loved ones. In between these immigrants went through an extensive process, doctors would board their ship and do an initial health inspection to look for any signs of disease. Sometimes this process took days. After they entered Ellis Island and registered, they had to go through legal inspections which consisted of 29 questions they would ask each person. If their answers differed from the answers they originally provided they could be detained. Next, they went through a medical exam, again, if they failed, they could be detained. Legal detainees would have their cases go to trial anywhere from a few days to a month. Medical detainees would be treated at the island’s hospital or kept in quarantine for days to months. Their medical records would then be reviewed by a Board of Special Injuries and the board would determine whether they would be allowed into the US or sent back to their home country. Taking this virtual tour through the immigration steps helped me to learn much more about what many of our family members and ancestors went through to become American citizens.

Take take the tour yourself, click this Link.