jjares reviewed Angel Island: The History and Legacy of the Immigration Center in San Francisco Bay on + 3275 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Ellis Island (East Coast) was the entry-point for generally white immigrants into the US; while there were more multicultural immigrants to Angel Island (on the West Coast). Angel Island is off the coast from San Francisco and maybe visited today after a short boat trip.
Interestingly, this book highlights the many uses made of this island before and after its use as an immigration station (for mostly Asians). After the Indians abandoned the island, Russian seal hunters and smugglers used the property to store goods. The island was used for a fascinating array of uses; at one time, it was used to quarantine suspected Bubonic Plague victims. It wasn't until 2009 that Angel Island became an immigration museum.
This book highlights the inequalities and prejudices displayed by the people who ran the immigration center against the people they were supposed to process into America. Generally, the doctors tried to weed out those who would not be able to work as soon as they entered the US. The doctors had absolute discretion about whom they admitted; on their say-so, people could be sent back immediately.
The book offers separate sections on Chinese, Japanese, Korean (the most easily accepted into the US of the Asian peoples during those years), Russians, Germans, and Jews. In 1940, there was a terrible fire and the center was no longer used for immigration. Instead, it became a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans, Italians, and Japanese, until they were moved to locations further inland.
This book is a unique look into the immigration of mostly Asian peoples into the US; it isn't always a comfortable sight of our history.
Interestingly, this book highlights the many uses made of this island before and after its use as an immigration station (for mostly Asians). After the Indians abandoned the island, Russian seal hunters and smugglers used the property to store goods. The island was used for a fascinating array of uses; at one time, it was used to quarantine suspected Bubonic Plague victims. It wasn't until 2009 that Angel Island became an immigration museum.
This book highlights the inequalities and prejudices displayed by the people who ran the immigration center against the people they were supposed to process into America. Generally, the doctors tried to weed out those who would not be able to work as soon as they entered the US. The doctors had absolute discretion about whom they admitted; on their say-so, people could be sent back immediately.
The book offers separate sections on Chinese, Japanese, Korean (the most easily accepted into the US of the Asian peoples during those years), Russians, Germans, and Jews. In 1940, there was a terrible fire and the center was no longer used for immigration. Instead, it became a prisoner-of-war camp for Germans, Italians, and Japanese, until they were moved to locations further inland.
This book is a unique look into the immigration of mostly Asian peoples into the US; it isn't always a comfortable sight of our history.
