Today in 1907 was the peak day for immigration to the United States via Ellis Island, wih about 12K people.
At the end of the 19th century, the United States enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom, with the recovery from the Civil War and the opening of the West to mass settlement. Millions of Europeans showed renewed interest in the New World, and migrated to the United States en masse, mainly from Italy and Germany. Most of the immigrants arrived at the port of New York, where they were quickly naturalized on Ellis Island near the Statue of Liberty. Jews were also interested in emigrating to the land of unlimited possibilities, whose ‘streets are lined with gold’ – especially in view of the harsh and limited living conditions in the ‘Pale of Settlement’ of the Russian Empire. The direct catalyst for the beginning of Jewish immigration was ‘the Storms in the Negev’ Pogrom, which was carried out with the support of the Russian government in 1881 – and immigration reached its peak in the first decade of the 20th century (and was only stopped due to World War I). In total, about 2 million Jews immigrated to the United States, a population which soon became with natural growth over 5 million people – thus becoming the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world.
Photo Source: Wikipedia
