Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island were asked 29 questions including the following: Are you a polygamist? Are you an anarchist? Were you ever in an almshouse? After their arduous journey, 2% of the arrivals were not admitted, for medical, moral, political, economic, or other reasons and were deported back to their country of origin, earning it the nickname “Heartbreak Island.” For those immigrants fortunate to be admitted, a wooden column outside the Registry where they met their relatives was called the Kissing Post. Read more about immigrants to America at the turn of the last century in On the Shore (see NOVELS).
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