We're wrapping up Irish American Heritage Month. Today's post comes from Chris Gushman, Archives Director, and Dorothy Dougherty, Programs Director, at the National Archives at New York City. The National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) Access to Archival Databases (AAD) launched nearly 20 years ago, providing free public access to several series of government records … Continue reading Exploring Irish History Through the Famine Files and Other Arrival Records
Today's post comes from Allison Finkelstein, a historian with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services History Office and Library. The USCIS History Office and Library recently released a new documentary film project, USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island. From 1892 to 1954, the federal immigration service and its employees processed more than 12 million … Continue reading USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island
Cast your vote for the Immigration Act to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15! On November 13, 1954, Ellis Island closed. More than 20 million immigrants had been processed through the island station since its opening in 1892. But immigration was still limited. From 1924 until … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: The Immigration Act
For the thousands of immigrants from Europe, the entrance to America was through Ellis Island. As they sailed by New York City, they could see the Statue of Liberty standing in the harbor like a watchful guardian. For immigrants from China and the Pacific Rim, another type of guardian awaited them in San Francisco Bay. They would … Continue reading Ellis Island on the West Coast
I'm beginning to wonder if we even covered the Civil War at all in AP History. Before joining the National Archives, I had never heard of the Battle of the Crater, did not know that Confederate ships sailed all over the world, and had no idea that the Civil War had a draft and you … Continue reading New York State of Mind–er, Archives
