15 Although Ellis Island became know as the " Island of Tears most immigrants only spent a few hours there, and only about two percent of immigrants were rejected for either medical or legal reasons. Medical exams lasted a few seconds, and the immigration inspectors' list of twenty-nine questions was well-know to the
20 new arrivals. Wealthier passengers on the transatlantic ships didn't even have to go to Ellis Island, but passed the time in their comfortable cabins before arriving in New York.
25 While first- and second-class passengers enjoyed the passage across the Atlantic on the upper decks, conditions for the third class or " steerage" passengers in the
30 stuffy lower decks were terrible. Some ships carried as many as , 2,000 steerage passengers in crowded and dirty conditions. In the early day the journey took six weeks. although
35 that was cut to two weeks by the mid-1950 s. To pass the time, immigrants played cards, sang, danced and talked. Some even practiced answering the inspectors
44 questions, and spent hours learning the new language.
Today the descendants of the Ellis Island immigrants make up around 40 percent of the total
45 population of the USA, and Ellis Island has become a national symbol of mass immigration in the search of the American Dream.