PURELY COMMENTARY
0
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor Emeritus
Ellis Island And Castle Garden
I
mmigrants built Amer-
ica. The many millions
of them who came here
from all corners of the globe
brought with them their
cultures and their religious
backgrounds. They were the
very essence of the industrial
age into which they were ab-
sorbed and which they kept
nourishing.
That's the great signifi-
cance that came with them.
The many millions who pass-
ed through the Ellis Island
doors have memories now in
a special limelight. From
1892 to 1924 those who were
seeking freedom here under-
went their first tests that
eventually led them to
American citizenship. The
building has now been
reconstructed into the great
Ellis Island Museum of
Immigration.
The dramatic developments
emerged into what could be
judged as a new industrial
era. The many thousands
were in search of work and
the economic needs were ac-
companied by untold agonies,
which included the sweat-
shops and the battle against
oppressive conditions.
Pursuant to the struggle for
livelihood and existence was
the urge to Americanize, to
progress in the adopted en-
vironment. Therefore, the
eventual emergence of
cultural achievements and of
a devotion to learning by the
assimilating newcomers as
they were attaining a place in
American society. Many
wrote and published about
Ellis Island and the years
when immigrant registration
and admission to this country
as eventual citizens included
Castle Garden, that was as
much a landmark as Ellis
Island.
The Ellis Island story is a
vital chapter in American
Jewish history. The Jewish
portion of it is inerasable as
American documentary. The
Universal Jewish Encyclo-
pedia, published in 1940 deal-
ing with the Ellis Island ex-
periences, contains the follow-
ing dramatically historic and
truly fascinating aspects:
Ellis Island: Federal im-
migration station at New
York City since 1890.
Before that time, immigra-
tion which passed through
Jacob Marcus
I
n the more than half a
century of accumulation
of historic data preserving
American Jewish records, the
American Jewish Archives
became the great force for
retention and accumulation
of knowledge. It continues to
invite appreciation and ad-
miration for its creator, Jacob
Rader Marcus, who, as a
faculty member of Hebrew
Union College in Cincinnati,
fulfilled the commitment
under the aegis of the college
that was his alma mater; he
became a member of its
teaching staff. So great is this
task that the American
Jewish Historical Society
adds to the need for archives.
Dr. Marcus added to his
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Vol. %CM No. 5 September 28, 1990
2
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1990
New York was under the
jurisdiction of the state,
and the immigration sta-
tion was at Castle Garden
— at the Battery where
Manhattan overlooks New
York Bay.
Through Castle Garden
nine million immigrants
passed. It has originally
From 1892 to 1924
those who were
seeking freedom
here underwent
their first tests that
eventually led them
to American
citizenship.
been a fort, called Castle
Clinton, built by the United
States in 1807. It was ceded
to the city in 1822 and leas-
ed out as an amusement
center two years later; here
Jenny Lind sang in 1850. In
1855 Castle Garden
became the immigration
station for the city of New
York. After 1890 it was
turned into an aquarium.
The island in upper New
York Bay known as Ellis
Island was originally call-
ed Oyster Island. From the
days of Peter Stuyvesant,
governor of New York for
the Dutch, it had been a
place for picnics until
towards the end of the 18th
century, it became the pro-
perty of Samuel Ellis, a
New Jersey farmer. In 1841
the federal government
built Ford Gibson upon the
island as part of the har-
bor's defenses.
The original area was a
little more than three
acres, but by filling in the
shallow waters about the
island, the area was in-
creased to twenty-one
acres. The added soil came
from every corner of the
world, like the immigrants
themselves, since much of
it came as ship's ballast.
The immigration station
was officially opened on
January 1, 1892. The
original frame buildings
constructed by the govern-
ment were destroyed by
fire in 1897, and the erec-
tion of the present
buildings of gray limestone
and brick commenced the
following year. Until the
restriction of immigration
which began in 1921 with
the first "quota" law and
culminated in the highly
restrictive act of 1924, the
facilities were inadequate
for the tide of immigrants
into the United States.
During the ten years
before the World War,
almost a million im-
migrants a year came to
the port of New York (in
1907 more than one
million, of whom about
100,000 were Jewish), at
times three to five thou-
sand a day every day. Of
these almost all were sent
to Ellis Island for inspec-
tion and examination.
Since the passage of the
stringent immigration acts,
Ellis Island has become
virtually a deportation,
rather than an immigra-
tion, station. In 1933 there
were fewer than 5,000 in-
coming aliens at Ellis
Island, while more than
Continued on Page 42
Believing Archivist
fame as historian and author
of scores of books that deal
with Jewish experiences. The
first of the four volumes
United States Jewry has
already received enthusiastic
reception and the complete
task will surely add deserved
acclaim for the Wayne State
University Press. The first
volume had hardly moved
from WSU Press when
another sensation became a
publishing achievement. This
I Believe was just issued by
Jason Aronson Publishers.
Once again, it is history
recorded with a resort to ar-
chivism. This is a volume of
91 documentaries. It contains
memoirs and ethical wills as
evidence of scholarship. That
causes Dr. Marcus to assert,
"This I believe."
The book is an assemblage
of essays echoing the idealism
of American Jews.
For our community there is
added joy from the book and
its author. Dr. Marcus has
chosen to include the ideals of
a very prominent Detroiter,
Leonard N. Simons.
The very title of the
Leonard M. Simons essay
signifies that idealism that
made it a part of the Marcus
books. From "Love, Respect,
and Generosity are the Three
Most Important Words in the
Dictionary," here is some of
its text:
I believe with all my
heart that man was put on
this earth to serve
mankind. The satisfaction
I get whenever I have the
opportunity to accomplish
something worthwhile for
someone, or some group, is
proof to me that life's big-
gest thrills are secured
from deeds of kindness
and good will.
For me to earn the warm
thanks, expressed in a
sincere handshake, for
something for which I have
done, is reward beyond
measure.
When I was a boy, I lived
with my grandparents.
Here were two people who
had very little of the
material things, yet I never
heard them complain. The
affection and respect they
had for each other and for
those with whom they
came in contact, made an
indelible impression upon
me.
In the tradition of my
religion, when a boy
reaches thirteen he
becomes of age — a man.
My grandfather, at the
time, gave me these words
of wisdom: "Love, respect,
and generosity are the
three most important
words in the dictionary. If
you have certain talents
that permit you, some day,
to make a lot of money,
then remember this, my
boy, 'A shroud has no
pockets: "
My grandparents' phi-
losophy of life has been the
inspiration for my own .. .
I am indeed fortunate
because I lead a full and
happy life. I believe that by
trying to live usefully I
have become a better man
myself, and in so doing
have earned the respect of
my neighbors and the love
of my family. What more
could anyone ask?
I believe that death is not
final . . . if, by virtue of
what I have been able to
contribute to the hap-
piness of others, I continue
to live in the memory of the
many people with whom I
have been associated.
It is my belief that the
money I earn is only as
good as the good it can do
during my lifetime. Beyond
what I need for my family's
security, the rest belongs to
the service of my fellow
men.
I believe that I should try
to help, in my own small
way, to create a better
Marcus and Simons
world in which to live and
in which to raise a family
by continuing to extend a
friendly hand to those who
need my help. I try to judge
men by the goodness in
their hearts. I have found
peace of mind in trying to
do the things that I hope
will find favor in the eyes of
God.
Dr. Marcus accompanied
every documentary with a
biographical note about the
author. About Mr. Simons he
wrote:
Leonard Simons made a
living as an advertising ex-
Continued on Page 42