Supporting Epilepsy Action Blog

Immigration Restrictions in the USA - 1875 to 1924

I was on holiday in New York recently and doing the tourist thing, took the ferry over to Liberty Island and on to Ellis Island - home of the United States Museum of Immigration.  It was here following Independence and the rush of people from around the globe flocking to the land where the streets were paved with gold, that the country's first immigration polices were put into practice.

From encouraging immigration to help the country's growth the tide soon started to work against America, with residents feeling their jobs, land and quality of lives were under threat from cheap foreign labour, in a story which has alarming familiarity today.

In the late 1800's - rather than impose a blanket ban on immigration - the authorities began imposing restrictions on categories of people - convicts, lunatics, idiots, paupers and imbeciles to name a few.

If you look closely at the picture below, you'll see the entry for 1903 - "Epileptics, professional beggers, and anarchists...".

I had mixed emotions when I read this - first anger and disbelief, not just at the inclusion but at the other categories with which Epilepsy was associated.

However I also found it quite warming - we still have a long way to go, but look how far we've come.

Brecon Beacons

5am start in London on Saturday to drive to Brecon in Wales, where I met Mark & Sean at a campsite for a weekend in the Brecon Beacons.  Despite a very frosty start - apologies to my team mates for not meeting them on the Friday night when temperatures went below -2C! - it was a beautifully clear day as we set off from our campsite for a c. 20km walk taking in 3 peaks, finishing on Pen Y Fan.

Pen Y Fan is the highest mountain in South Wales at 2,907 feet, and the highest in Britain south of Snowdonia.

I haven't been walking in this area properly since my days in the Wales University Officer Training Corps, and I had a trip down memory lane passing Crickhowell Training Camp.

We camped out on the Saturday night, cooking on an MSR stove similar to those we'll be using on our Magnetic North Pole Expedition.  On Sunday with long drives ahead of us, we did a shorter 11km walk up the back of Pen Y Fan to Corn Du, following the gentle southerly ridge down towards Merthyr Tydfil.

When time allows, long walks in the mountains carrying weight, is some of the best training we can do.  Camping in cold weather - albeit a lot warmer than the temperatures we'll be experiencing - is also a good help and experience in using essential kit like the MSR stove will be invaluable.

In all though, a beautiful weekend in the Welsh Mountains!