Ellis Island: everything you wanted to know

Between the 1890s and 1920s, an estimated 12-13 million immigrants arrived in the United States via a vast processing centre on an island just off New York. But who were those immigrants? What did they have to do to be admitted to the country? Did many people get turned away? And did officials really change immigrants’ surnames to make them sound more “American”? Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Professor Vincent Cannato answers listener questions on Ellis Island for our latest Everything you wanted to know episode.

(Ad) Vincent Cannato is the author of American Passage: The History of Ellis Island (HarperCollins, 2009). Buy it now from Amazon: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histipad&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fberlin%2Fsinclair-mckay%2F9780241503171
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The History Extra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.

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We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. You’ll hear deep dives into the lives of famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn and Winston Churchill, and explorations of intriguing events from the past, such as the Salem witch trials, the battle of Waterloo and D-Day.

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