They are our grandparents, our relatives, our friends. They are the immigrants. They came from all over the world for many reasons, such as, religious persecution and racial tension, but the largest reason for coming to America was for freedom. The freedom to live where we want, to own property, to take part in the government and most importantly, the freedom to be treated like a human being. Coming over was extremely difficult. For some, there were good, seaworthy boats, but most boats were overcrowded, dirty, and disgusting. For Jews, the passage was extremely difficult because of the non-kosher ship food. People were pushed together like cattle. Most people became seasick. From one account came descriptions of unsanitary bathrooms. This, surely, must have been torture, but, hopefully, most immigrants found the dreadful trip to be worth the freedom at the other end. Ellis Island, also, was far from sanitary. The people would break down into lines, and walk by a doctor, trying to hide anyphysical problems. Children over two had to be able to walk by themselves. If the doctor noticed anything wrong he would use a piece of chalk to show the person required further inspection. If
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Luckily, for the Jews, the colony was soon to be taken over by the British. This was probably becausemany of their countries would not accept them. All this proves that Americans are not just one people. Our culture is derived from many different ones, and cannot be broken down into which group contributes what because each group has done so much. Even then, Jews were given land away from the main town. Another test was that of sanity. They, at first were rejected by Peter Stuyvesant, but petitioned the Dutch West India Company of Amsterdam, Holland, and, eventually were let into the colony. An interpreter would ask each person a few questions just to find a sensible answer to test mental stability. They were treated somewhat differently. This was because of Samuel Nunes, a Jewish doctor who helped to stop a disease that had already killed many people. This was surely not the land of liberty that had been promised by our forefathers. People, like Albert Einstein, a famous physicist, and Henry Kissinger, who was Secretary of State, and helped to open up negotiations with China, were Jewish immigrants. Charlie Chaplin, also from England, was a silent movie star. Later, between 1880 and 1925, many Jews came to America to escape anti semitism.
Approximate Word count =
1140
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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