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The Dedication of the Statue of Liberty
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On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, France's gift of friendship to the American people, in New York Harbor.
For more than 125 years, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed newcomers to New York Harbor.
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Who First Proposed Creating the Statue?
Widely known as the "Father of the Statue of Liberty," French law professor and politician Edouard Rene de Laboulaye was a great admirer of American President Abraham Lincoln and also an outspoken abolitionist. In 1865, after the Union victory in the Civil War and the freeing of U.S. slaves, Laboulaye first proposed creating a monument to honor the United States. It is widely speculated that Laboulaye hoped that a French gift honoring the American ideals of democracy and freedom would help to strengthen the cause for democracy in his own homeland.
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Who Did Sculptor Bartholdi Use as His Model for the Statue?
World-famous French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi selected his mother, Charlotte, as his model for the monumental work he originally titled "Liberty Enlightening the World," and which over the years has become known simply as the Statue of Liberty. One of the first to discover the statue's resemblance to the sculptor's mother was French Senator Jules Bozerian. Invited by Bartholdi to join him for a night at the opera, Bozerian entered Bartholdi's box and was immediately struck by the sight of a woman who looked virtually identical to the statue. When Bozerian told Bartholdi of his reaction, the sculptor smiled and said, "But do you know who this lady is? She's my mother."
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How Did the Newly Installed Statue Differ in Appearance from Today?
When Bartholdi's soaring statue was first installed on its monumental base on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, the exterior surface of the statue itself was made up of copper plates and looked exactly like a shiny new copper penny. It took about 20 years of exposure to the elements for the statue's exterior to acquire the greenish-blue patina it has today.
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How Did a Few Lines of Poetry Alter Public Perception of the Statue?
When first donated by the people of France to the people of America, the statue was designed to honor the long-term friendship between the two countries, epitomized by French support for the American Revolution roughly a century earlier. Over the years, however, it has become a welcoming symbol for literally millions of immigrants who have made their way to America to escape grinding poverty and tyranny in their homelands. On a bronze plaque fastened to an inside wall of the statue's pedestal are the lines of an Emma Lazarus poem titled "The New Colossus." Its last few lines perhaps best capture the image of the statue held by most Americans today: "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!"
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On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, France's gift of friendship to the American people, in New York Harbor.
For more than 125 years, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed newcomers to New York Harbor.
🗽
Who First Proposed Creating the Statue?
Widely known as the "Father of the Statue of Liberty," French law professor and politician Edouard Rene de Laboulaye was a great admirer of American President Abraham Lincoln and also an outspoken abolitionist. In 1865, after the Union victory in the Civil War and the freeing of U.S. slaves, Laboulaye first proposed creating a monument to honor the United States. It is widely speculated that Laboulaye hoped that a French gift honoring the American ideals of democracy and freedom would help to strengthen the cause for democracy in his own homeland.
🗽
Who Did Sculptor Bartholdi Use as His Model for the Statue?
World-famous French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi selected his mother, Charlotte, as his model for the monumental work he originally titled "Liberty Enlightening the World," and which over the years has become known simply as the Statue of Liberty. One of the first to discover the statue's resemblance to the sculptor's mother was French Senator Jules Bozerian. Invited by Bartholdi to join him for a night at the opera, Bozerian entered Bartholdi's box and was immediately struck by the sight of a woman who looked virtually identical to the statue. When Bozerian told Bartholdi of his reaction, the sculptor smiled and said, "But do you know who this lady is? She's my mother."
🗽
How Did the Newly Installed Statue Differ in Appearance from Today?
When Bartholdi's soaring statue was first installed on its monumental base on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, the exterior surface of the statue itself was made up of copper plates and looked exactly like a shiny new copper penny. It took about 20 years of exposure to the elements for the statue's exterior to acquire the greenish-blue patina it has today.
🗽
How Did a Few Lines of Poetry Alter Public Perception of the Statue?
When first donated by the people of France to the people of America, the statue was designed to honor the long-term friendship between the two countries, epitomized by French support for the American Revolution roughly a century earlier. Over the years, however, it has become a welcoming symbol for literally millions of immigrants who have made their way to America to escape grinding poverty and tyranny in their homelands. On a bronze plaque fastened to an inside wall of the statue's pedestal are the lines of an Emma Lazarus poem titled "The New Colossus." Its last few lines perhaps best capture the image of the statue held by most Americans today: "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!"
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