“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free.”
After the Civil War, France decided to give a gift in celebration of America’s democracy. The idea came from French historian Edouard de Laboulaye and ultimately became Liberty Enlightening the World, or as it is popularly known, the Statue of Liberty.
Designed by Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, the project took years to complete after the people of France raised funds for the statue and Americans raised funds for the pedestal on which it stands. Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, designed the statute’s iron skeleton which was covered in copper. Originally put together in France, the statute was disassembled and shipped in over 200 crates for its overseas journey to New York Harbor.
After four months of work after its arrival, the Statue of Liberty was ready to be unveiled. Standing 305 feet tall with its pedestal, the statue depicts a woman holding a torch in her right hand, symbolizing liberty and enlightenment. In her left hand, she holds a tablet with July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals. The seven rays of her crown represent liberty shining across the seas and the continents. Not as prominent, but just as important, are broken chains at the feet of the statue. These broken chains represent the breaking away from tyranny.
On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor. President Glover Cleveland declared, “We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”
The Statue of Liberty quickly became a symbol of freedom for immigrants around the world. In 1892, Ellis Island opened. Once new immigrants entered New York Harbor, the statue was there to greet them. Between 1892 and 1954, approximately 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island to start a new life in America. Most came with meager possessions, but nearly all came for the same reason. To live the American dream and embrace the opportunities afforded by liberty. Millions of Americans can trace their family history back to these years.
Lady Liberty
On the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is a poem by Emma Lazarus who donated the poem in 1883 to help raise funds for the project. In 1903, it was placed on a bronze plaque on the inner wall of the pedestal. It reads:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed, sunset- gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes
command
The air-bridged harbor that twin-cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she,
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore;
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Today, the Statue of Liberty remains the world’s most iconic symbol of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. There is only one country in which it should stand. Americans need to remain ever vigilant to live up to the ideals the statue represents.