Student examines Ellis Island as a detention center for "alien radicals" in the first half of the 20th century

Describe your research topic.

I was initially planning on researching how perceptions of Ellis Island changed over time and how popular support for restoring the landmark and creating a tourist attraction out of it was mustered. As I researched more, however, I found that Ellis Island has always held a dual identity as both a “depository of bad memories” and as a “golden door” to a land of opportunity in America.

Though Ellis Island was indeed the first stop for millions of immigrants, it also served as a detention center for hundreds of “alien radicals”: suspected communists, anarchists, and criminals awaiting trial and, often, deportation. My research explores how Ellis Island was viewed by detainees through an examination of their writings in publications as varied as The New Yorker and communist party newspapers from 1917, the year the Wilson administration passed the first immigration act delineating otherwise legal aliens who could be deported, through 1954, the year Ellis Island closed. Through my research, I hope to gain a greater understanding of this under-studied aspect of Ellis Island’s history and also how it works in conjunction with the larger history of deportation as a mechanism of social control.

How’d you get involved in this subject and find an advisor?

While I was trying to decide on a topic for my honors history thesis, I stumbled across Matthew Frye Jacobson’s Roots Too: White Ethnic Revival in Post-Civil Rights America, which discusses Ellis Island and how its focus on “the nation of immigrants” presents a one-dimensional view of American history. I became interested in how identity is constructed and how so much symbolic significance became attached to a series of buildings. Dr. Sackley is a 20th-century American historian with an interest in cultural history, so it seemed like a natural pairing. She encouraged me to apply for an undergraduate research grant so that I could spend my summer researching my topic and also travel to access documents that aren’t available here. As my research topic has evolved, Dr. Sackley has provided a great deal of encouragement and truly pushed me to think creatively and look at unique primary sources.  My topic has changed a lot from its initial stages, but she has always encouraged me and been an invaluable resource.

How do you see this project contributing to your collegiate success during the rest of your time at Richmond?

My project provides a unique opportunity for me to engage in graduate-level research and writing while at the undergraduate level and will truly give me a taste for what history is like at the graduate level. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve done while at Richmond, but also the most rewarding. The skills I’ve gain in the experience will definitely be a benefit in rest of my history classes.

What are your post-graduation plans?

Taking a year or two off to work and run a marathon before (I hope) going to graduate school to study American history.

A full day of research lies ahead of you.  What’s on your iPod?

Beck, Dave Matthews Band, and really cheesy 80s/90s pop to keep me going at the end of the day

What has a liberal arts education at the University of Richmond meant to you?

I came to Richmond as a chemistry major but soon discovered that my interests and abilities were elsewhere. Because I wasn’t stuck in a science building all day and was able to take a variety of classes, I was able to find my true interest, history. The professors here really seem to care about their students and are always available to help—I took a class at UVA while I was in high school and never actually met the professor whose name was on the syllabus because a graduate student was teaching the class. 

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