AMERICAN PASSAGE The History of Ellis Island

The Ellis Island story provides the perfect vehicle to discuss the history of immigration in the U.S. Now serving as the plinth for the Statue of Liberty, the island housed the bureaucracy that oversaw the entrance of 12 million immigrants into America between 1892 and 1924. Commenting on the necessity of admitting foreigners to U.S. soil, the first immigration commissioner, John Weber, observed, "Americans typically shun hard manual work." Although employing perfect diction, narrator Johathan Hogan reads with little expression. Barely pausing to signal quotes, he seems determined to maintain a mechanical uniformity throughout. The few lines of poetry give him no inspiration to vary his stark delivery. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2009]