The Immigration Experience 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 any physical 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, this was indeed the case, the person would be set aside in a cage. Another test was that of sanity. An interpreter would ask each person a few questions just to find a sensible answer to test mental stability. The last and most feared doctor checked for disease by lifting the eyelid. He scared children, and probably spread more disease than the people he checked. From an eyewitness account, his gloves were not sterile, and he did not change or even wash them between examinations. I, myself, found this disgusting, and dangerous. Then, immigrants filed into lines by nationality to be questioned. The questions scared many people. Should they tell the truth or lie. Which answer would make sure that they could stay in America. Later, ...