European Heritage Month August 2020
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Connections European Heritage Month August 2020 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PMB Administrative Services AVSO CADR IBC OFAS OHA Our Vision: To Deliver Outstanding Products and Customer Service While Actively Creating and Sustaining a Respectful Focus Message from the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administrative Services Dear Administrative Services Team, It’s always gratifying to receive kudos for projects that are personally meaningful, so it was a delight to read the following: Greetings Connections Team! I would like to commend you for your work generally, and in particular for the stellar June issue of Connections Magazine. I sent it out to the broader community as an example of the fine work the Department of the Interior can do and our shared commitment to diversity in the workplace. It is important that we continue to advocate for the rights and recognition of all of the beautiful members of our diverse work force, while delivering timely, high quality services to the American public. I can't wait to read the next issue and look forward to the great photography and insightful articles that have become a trademark of this publication. Best regards, and with appreciation for an outstanding job representing the Department and our employees. Robert E. Hall, Administrative Judge, Interior Board of Indian Appeals, Office of Hearings and Appeals Many thanks to Judge Hall and to all of you for connecting with us through these monthly celebrations of diversity, inclusion and equity. We truly are stronger together! Please take care and stay safe, - Jacqueline M. Jones IN THIS ISSUE: EUROPEAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 2 Welcome/Table of Contents 3 The New Colossus/Europe by the Numbers 4 The Statue of Liberty 5 Ellis Island 7 Ireland: Annie Moore 8 Russia: My Journey Home 10 Wales: A Gift of Friendship 12 Germany: Finding My Roots 14 The European Union 15 National Parks with a European Connection 17 Voices for Change: I Have a Dream 19 Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness 20 About the Special Emphasis Program 2 2 Liberty: Mother of Exiles Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, Screen capture from Google Earth With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, however, published in Joseph an American poet, was the first entry Pulitzer's New York World as well I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" read at the Statue of Liberty exhibit's as The New York Times during this opening on November 2, 1883. It time period. In 1901, Lazarus's friend remained associated with the exhibit Georgina Schuyler began an effort to through a published catalog until the memorialize Lazarus and her poem, exhibit closed after the pedestal was which succeeded in 1903 when a fully funded in August 1885, but was plaque bearing the text of the poem forgotten and played no role at the was put on the inner wall of the opening of the statue in 1886. It was, pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. 741.4 million people live in Europe, and more than POPULATIONS 243 million Americans are of European descent. 1. Russia 146,024,447 From 1815 to 1932, 60 million people left Europe (with many returning home), primarily to "areas of 2. Turkey 84,644,753 European settlement" in the Americas (especially to 3. Germany 83,951,077 the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and 4. France 65,283,211 Did Uruguay), Australia, New Zealand and Siberia. 5. United Kingdom 67,960,106 6. Italy 60,465,251 On the eve of World War I, 38% of the world's total 7. Spain 46,785,134 population was of European ancestry. From 1800 to 8. Ukraine 43,716,532 you 1960, 70% of European emigrants came to the 9. Poland 37,850,596 United States. 10. Romania 19,210,031 History provides many examples of notable know? 11. Kazakhstan 18,809,806 diasporas, a word which refers to the involuntary 12. Netherlands 17,138,553 mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous 13. Belgium 11,602,522 territories. Today there is no set definition of the 14. Greece 10,768,193 term because its modern meaning has evolved over 15. Czech Republic 10,715,154 time, but diasporas continue to this day. 3 3 Lady Liberty: A Beacon of Hope THE STATUE OF LIBERTY Screen capture from Google Earth An Interactive Guide From the National Park Service WHO Who were the people behind the Statue? Learn about the designers, builders, and others instrumental in the creation of the Statue of Liberty. WHAT The park’s collections consist of tangible objects that help to tell the histories of both Liberty Island and Ellis Island. WHERE & WHEN Liberty Island has been represented as a unique place by many different groups, including Native Americans, early colonists and the United States Army. WHY & HOW How has the meaning of the Statue of Liberty evolved since its dedication in 1886? Explore themes such as The French Connection and Popular Culture. POPULATIONS www.everykidinapark.gov Photo by Gary Bremen 4 4 Ellis Island: Entry to the American Dream Coming to America Screen capture from Google Earth Ellis Island may not appear large on a map, but it is an unparalleled destination in United States history. After welcoming more than 12 million immigrants to our shores, Ellis Island is now a poetic symbol of the American Dream. Prior to 1890, individual states, rather than the Federal Government, regulated immigration into the United States. Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton), located in the Battery of Manhattan, served as the New York State immigration station from 1855 to 1890. Approximately eight million immigrants passed through its doors, mostly from Northern European countries; this constituted the first large wave of immigrants to settle and populate the U.S. In the 1800s, rising political instability, economic distress, and religious persecution plagued Europe, fueling the largest mass human migration in the history of the world. Around 1890, it became apparent that Castle Garden was ill-equipped and unprepared to handle the mass influx, leading the Federal government to construct a new immigration station on Ellis Island. During construction, the Barge Office in the Battery was used for immigrant processing. The new structure on Ellis Island began receiving arriving immigrants on January 1, 1892. Annie Moore, a teenage girl from Ireland, accompanied by her two younger brothers, made history as the very first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island. Over the next 62 years, more than 12 million immigrants would arrive in the United States via Ellis Island. as Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New Most immigrants entered the United States through New York Orleans. The great steamship companiesPOPULATIONS like the White Star, Harbor, although there were other ports of entry in cities such Red Star, Cunard, and Hamburg-America Lines played a significant role in the history of Ellis Island and immigration as a whole. First and second class passengers arriving in New York Harbor were not required to undergo the inspection process at Ellis Island. Instead, these passengers received a cursory inspection aboard the ship; theory being that if a person could afford to purchase a first or second class ticket they were affluent and less likely to become a public charge in America due to medical or legal reasons. However, regardless of class, sick passengers or those with legal problems were sent to Ellis Island for further inspection. [continued next page] 5 Ellis Island [continued from previous page] inspection. Contrary Screento popular capture belief, from interpreters Google Earth of all major languages were employed at Ellis Island, making the process This scenario was far different for third class passengers, efficient and ensuring that records were accurate. commonly referred to as “steerage.” These immigrants traveled in crowded and often unsanitary conditions near the Despite the island’s reputation as an “Island of Tears” the vast bottom of steamships, often spending up to two weeks seasick majority of immigrants were treated courteously and in their bunks during rough Atlantic Ocean crossings. After the respectfully, free to begin their new lives in America after only steamship docked in the Harbor (typically along the west coast a few short hours on of Manhattan), steerage passengers would board a ferry to Ellis Island. Only two Ellis Island for their detailed inspection. percent of the arriving immigrants were If an immigrant’s papers were in order and they were in excluded from entry. reasonably good health, the Ellis Island inspection process The two main reasons lasted 3 to 5 hours. The inspections took place in the Registry for exclusion were a Room (Great Hall) where doctors would briefly scan every doctor diagnosing an individual for obvious physical ailments. Doctors at Ellis Island immigrant with a soon became very adept at conducting these “six second contagious disease that physicals.” By 1916, it was said that a doctor could identify could endanger the numerous medical conditions (ranging from anemia to public health, or a legal trachoma) by simply glancing at a person. inspector concerned an The ship’s manifest log, initially filled out at the ship’s port of immigrant would likely departure, contained the immigrant’s name and his/her become a public charge answers to 29 questions.