Face of America: The Ellis Island Immigration Museum

Overview

Between 1897 and 1938, immigration changed the face of America. More than 100 million citizens in the United States can trace their ancestry to an immigrant who landed at New York’s Ellis Island. Ellis Island is more than a museum, it is hallowed ground; it is the place where many immigrants from all over the world first touched American soil. Through the museum’s oral history project and through the everyday objects on display — a pair of boots, a cooking pot, religious artifacts and traditional clothing — the museum strives to “give voice” to people whose lives have not typically been seen as history.