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An Epidemic of Fear
Nativism and “contagion” in American history
If you were an immigrant coming to the United States in the early 20th century, you would have gone through a lot by the time you arrived at Ellis Island or another port of entry. You’d have left behind whatever family, employment, and social groups you’d enjoyed back home. You’d have spent a lot of money on a crowded, unpleasant journey across the ocean. You’d have risked everything to start a fresh life in the New World.
But, landing at Ellis Island, you wouldn’t have been home free yet. To get into the United States, you had to pass medical exams.
Immigrants at ports of entry passed through a gauntlet of doctors, each of whom inspected immigrants for signs of contagion. The first doctor checked whether people lugging their possessions showed undue shortness of breath. The next looked at people’s necks, checking for goiters. After that, you’d have your fingernails and scalp inspected for fungal infections. And you’d have your eyes inspected for trachoma, an infection that can cause blindness. They saved this, the most unpleasant test of the dehumanizing sequence, for last. The test involved a doctor flipping your eyelid inside out with a buttonhook — or his dirty fingers.
