The Statue of Liberty National Monument: Statue of Liberty Tours and Ellis Island Tours, Statue of Liberty Tickets, Ellis Island Tickets – StatueOfLibertyTickets.com Steps to Visit Statue of Liberty History In 1886, The Statue of Liberty Monument was a given to the United States from France to celebrate the friendship the two endured during the American Revolution. The Statue of Liberty has over the years has symbolized the freedom and the democracy of the United States. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design the Statue Sculpture with the completion date of 1876 to celebrate American’s centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was to be a joint effort between the United States and France. France would build and design the Statue part and United States would complete the pedestal that would hold Lady Liberty. Bartholdi needed an engineer to address the structural issues with designing the sculpture so Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) provided assistance with getting the Statue to stand upright. Funds to create the Statue of Liberty would prove to be tedious for both sides. In France, entertainment, public fees and a national lottery would help with the funds. In United States, things were much slower.

Auctions, various forms of entertainment, and fights would help provide some funds. Joseph Pulitzer decided he needed to get the attention of the American people to get necessary money, he took out an editorial in his newspaper putting pressure on the rich and middle class to help funds this important icon for America. On August 1885 finances in the United States for the pedestal was complete. The construction finished in April 1886. In France the Statue was finished in 1884 and arrived in NY Harbor 1885 aboard the French vessel “Isere”. In order to get the Statue to the United States the Statue was broken down into 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. On October 28, 1886 the Statue of Liberty dedication took place, ten years later than the centennial date of 1876. The Statue of Liberty was placed on the granite pedestal in the star-shaped walls of Fort Wood. Until 1901, the Statue of Liberty was the responsibility of the United States Lighthouse Board. In 1901, the war department took control of the Statue of Liberty.

On October 15th, 1924 a Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Hood and the Statue of Liberty a National Monument. In 1933, The National Monument was placed in care of the National Park Service and a few years later the jurisdiction of the Monument would include all of Bedloe’s Island, and by 1956, the island’s name changed to Liberty Island. Ellis Island was transferred into the National Park Service in 1965 and became part of the Statue of Liberty Monument. President Ronald Reagan wanted to restore the Statue of Liberty in 1982. Fundraising for an $87 million dollar restoration of the Statue of Liberty would take place between the National Park Service and Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. In 1984, the United Nations declared the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site, and the completion of the restoration of the Statue was complete on July 5th, 1986, which celebrated her centennial. The Statue of Liberty was closed a 100 days after September 11, 2001. The grounds reopened but the Statue remained closed until August 2004.

Today visitors have access to the Statue’s pedestal observation deck a, promenade, museum, the area of Ft. Hood and Ellis Island. The Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus” was written for the Statue of Liberty and engraved on a bronze plaque in 1903, 20 years after it was written. “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!” Statue of Liberty - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Statue of Liberty A+E Networks Introduction The Statue of Liberty was a joint effort between France and the United States, intended to commemorate the lasting friendship between the peoples of the two nations. The French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi created the statue itself out of sheets of hammered copper, while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the famed Eiffel Tower, designed the statue’s steel framework.

The Statue of Liberty was then given to the United States and erected atop an American-designed pedestal on a small island in Upper New York Bay, now known as Liberty Island, and dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in 1886. Over the years, the statue stood tall as millions of immigrants arrived in America via nearby Ellis Island; in 1986, it underwent an extensive renovation in honor of the centennial of its dedication. Today, the Statue of Liberty remains an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy, as well as one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks. Google Origins of the Statue of Liberty Around 1865, as the American Civil War drew to a close, the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that France create a statue to give to the United States in celebration of that nation’s success in building a viable democracy. The sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, known for largescale sculptures, earned the commission; the goal was to design the sculpture in time for the centennial of the Declaration of Independence in 1876.

The project would be a joint effort between the two countries–the French people were responsible for the statue and its assembly, while the Americans would build the pedestal on which it would stand–and a symbol of the friendship between their peoples. Did You Know? The base of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal contains exhibits on the monument's history, including the original 1886 torch. Visitor access to the Statue of Liberty's torch was halted for good after German operatives set off an explosion on the nearby Black Tom peninsula in July 1916, during World War I. Due to the need to raise funds for the statue, work on the sculpture did not begin until 1875. Bartholdi’s massive creation, titled “Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World,” depicted a woman holding a torch in her raised right hand and a tablet in her left, upon which was engraved “July 4, 1776,” the adoption date of the Declaration of Independence. Bartholdi, who was said to have modeled the woman’s face after that of his mother, hammered large copper sheets to create the statue’s “skin” (using a technique called repousse).

To create the skeleton on which the skin would be assembled, he called on Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, designer of Paris’ Eiffel Tower . Along with Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, Eiffel built a skeleton out of iron pylon and steel that allowed the copper skin to move independently, a necessary condition for the strong winds it would endure in the chosen location of New York Harbor. Statue of Liberty: Assembly and Dedication While work went on in France on the actual statue, fundraising efforts continued in the United States for the pedestal, including contests, benefits and exhibitions. Near the end, the leading New York newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer used his paper, the World, to raise the last necessary funds. Designed by the American architect Richard Morris Hunt, the statue’s pedestal was constructed inside the courtyard of Fort Wood, a fortress built for the War of 1812 and located on Bedloe’s Island, off the southern tip of Manhattan in Upper New York Bay. In 1885, Bartholdi completed the statue, which was disassembled, packed in more than 200 crates, and shipped to New York, arriving that June aboard the French frigate Isere.

Over the next four months, workers reassembled the statue and mounted it on the pedestal; its height reached 305 feet (or 93 meters), including the pedestal. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty in front of thousands of spectators. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island In 1892, the U.S. government opened a federal immigration station on Ellis Island , located near Bedloe’s Island in Upper New York Bay. Between 1892 and 1954, some 12 million immigrants were processed on Ellis Island before receiving permission to enter the United States. From 1900-14, during the peak years of its operation, some 5,000 to 10,000 people passed through every day. Looming above New York Harbor nearby, the Statue of Liberty provided a majestic welcome to those passing through Ellis Island. On a plaque at the entrance to the statue’s pedestal is engraved a sonnet called “The New Colossus,” written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus as part of a fundraising contest.

Its most famous passage speaks to the statue’s role as a welcoming symbol of freedom and democracy for the millions of immigrants who came to America seeking a new and better life: “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!” The Statue of Liberty Over the Years Until 1901, the U.S. Lighthouse Board operated the Statue of Liberty, as the statue’s torch represented a navigational aid for sailors. After that date, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. War Department due to Fort Wood’s status as a still-operational army post. In 1924, the federal government made the statue a national monument, and it was transferred to the care of the National Parks Service in 1933. In 1956, Bedloe’s Island was renamed Liberty Island, and in 1965, more than a decade after its closure as a federal immigration station, Ellis Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

By the early 20th century, the oxidation of the Statue of Liberty’s copper skin through exposure to rain, wind and sun had given the statue a distinctive green color, known as verdigris. In 1984, the statue was closed to the public and underwent a massive restoration in time for its centennial celebration. Even as the restoration began, the United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site. On July 5, 1986, the Statue of Liberty reopened to the public in a centennial celebration. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Liberty Island closed for 100 days; the Statue of Liberty itself was not reopened to visitor access until August 2004. In July 2009, the statue’s crown was again reopened to the public, though visitors must make a reservation to climb to the top of the pedestal or to the crown. Tags The French Connection - Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) The French Connection The French Connection The French Connection An illustration of the presentation of the Statue to the U.S. Minister Levi Parsons Morton in Paris on July 4, 1881.

National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution. Yet, it represented much more to those individuals who proposed the gift. A photograph of Edouard de Laboulaye from the Galerie Contemporaine collection. National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye (a French political thinker, U.S. Constitution expert, and abolitionist) proposed that a monument be built as a gift from France to the United States in order to commemorate the perseverance of freedom and democracy in the United States and to honor the work of the late president Abraham Lincoln. Laboulaye hoped that by calling attention to the recent achievements of the United States, the French people would be inspired to create their own democracy in the face of a repressive monarchy. In 1865, France was divided between people who were still committed to the monarchy and people who supported the Enlightenment ideals (the belief that people had natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). It was the hope of many French liberals that democracy would prevail and that freedom and justice for all would be attained.

Bartholdi in his studio, Vavin Street, Paris, 1892. National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM In order to turn his idea into a reality, Laboulaye talked to many prominent and influential men in France. Auguste Bartholdi - a French sculptor who had recently been commissioned to make a bust of Laboulaye - greatly supported Laboulaye's idea and was soon selected to be the sculptor of the proposed monument. A picture entitled “The Spirit of 61. God, Our Country and Liberty!” by Currier and Ives circa 1861. Library of Congress "Liberty" was a controversial idea in the 19th century. To many people it suggested violence and revolution. Laboulaye and Bartholdi agreed that their monument should not be seen as leading an uprising, but rather as lighting the way, peacefully and lawfully. A key element was the name they gave to the Statue: Liberty Enlightening the World. Bartholdi's public monuments hailed back to classical images of a powerful, honorable national authority over any ideology.

His statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World" would be above conservatism and liberalism and above radical revolutions and political turmoil. She would be an international symbol of liberty, justice, and democracy. In 1871, the Statue was transformed from idea into reality - it was to be funded, built, and presented to the United States. This project could not have happened at a better time for Laboulaye. In 1871, an uprising by members of the working and middle classes in Paris against the government was brutally crushed. Laboulaye did not support such extremism among laboring people; although he wanted to change the French government to a democratic government, he did not want to do it through violence. Despite his liberal views, Laboulaye was criticized by his colleagues because he spoke out against the violence and supported the governmental repression of the uprising. The creation of the Statue of Liberty, however, was a chance for Laboulaye to restore his reputation as a devoted liberal and democratic advocator, honor the success of liberty in the United States, and hope that the French would be inspired to fight for the same ideals.

Statue History - The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Statue History Preserving the Statue for Future Generations Engineering, Construction, and Crossing the Atlantic Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye first proposed the idea of a monument for the United States in 1865. Ten years later sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was named “Liberty Enlightening the World” and was a joint effort between America and France. It was agreed that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prizefights assisted in providing needed funds. Poet Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet “The New Colossus” in 1883 for the art and literary auction to raise funds for the Statue's pedestal.

Plan Your Visit Today And Experience History Meanwhile in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such a colossal copper sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently yet stand upright. Back in America, fundraising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, "The World," to support the fundraising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to criticize both the rich who had failed to finance the pedestal construction and the middle class who were content to rely upon the wealthy to provide the funds. Pulitzer's campaign of harsh criticism was successful in motivating the people of America to donate. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the Statue of Liberty's granite pedestal in 1884, donating his fee to help fund the Statue. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April 1886.

The Statue was completed in France in July 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June 1885 onboard the French frigate "Isere." In transit, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. The Statue was reassembled on her new pedestal in four months’ time. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland oversaw the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in front of thousands of spectators. She was a centennial gift ten years late. The Rich History of Liberty Island The story of the Statue of Liberty and her island has been one of change. With the placing of “The New Colossus” on a plaque in the pedestal in 1903, Lady Liberty’s significance grew as an inspiration to immigrants who sailed passed her on their way to America. The Statue was placed upon a granite pedestal inside the courtyard of the star-shaped walls of Fort Wood (which had been completed for the War of 1812). The United States Lighthouse Board had responsibility for the operation of the Statue of Liberty until 1901, when the care and operation of the Statue was placed under the War Department.

A Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Wood (and the Statue of Liberty within it) a National Monument on October 15, 1924, and the monument's boundary was set at the outer edge of Fort Wood. In 1933, the care and administration of the National Monument was transferred to the National Park Service. On September 7, 1937, jurisdiction was enlarged to encompass all of Bedloe's Island and in 1956, the island's name was changed to Liberty Island. On May 11, 1965, Ellis Island was also transferred to the National Park Service and became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Preserving the Statue for Future Generations In May of 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca, Chairman of Chrysler Corporation, to head up a private sector effort to restore the Statue of Liberty. Fundraising began for the $87 million restoration under a public/private partnership between the National Park Service and The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., to date the most successful public-private partnership in American history.

A team of French and American architects, engineers, and conservators came together to determine what was needed to ensure the Statue's preservation into the next century. In 1984, scaffolding was erected around the exterior of the Statue and construction began on the interior. Workers repaired holes in the copper skin and removed layers of paint from the interior of the copper skin and internal iron structure. They replaced the rusting iron armature bars (which joined the copper skin to the Statue's internal skeleton) with stainless steel bars. The flame and upper portion of the torch had been severely damaged by water and was replaced with an exact replica of Bartholdi's original torch, which was gilded according to Bartholdi's original plans. On July 5, 1986, the newly restored Statue reopened to the public during Liberty Weekend, which celebrated her centennial. Statue of Liberty Origins : snopes.com Statue of Liberty Origins - - Claim: The Statue of Liberty was erected as a tribute to the accomplishments of black soldiers in the Civil War, and a black woman served as the model for Lady Liberty. FALSE Example: [Collected on the Internet, 1999] Please read this and pass this on.

This is really some valuable information. Our children and so on need to know this kind of stuff. Good day, It is hard to believe that after my many years of schooling (secondary and post) the following facts about the Statue of Liberty was never taught. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people including myself have visited the Statue of Liberty over the years but yet I'm unable to find one person who knows the true history behind the Statue - amazing. Yes, amazing that so much important black history (such as this) is hidden from us (black and White). What makes this even worse is the fact that the current twist on history perpetuates and promotes white supremacy at the expense of black Pride. During my visit to France I saw the original Statue of Liberty. However there was a difference, the statue in France is black. "You learn something new everyday!" The Statue of Liberty was originally a black woman, but, as memory serves, it was because the model was black. In a book called "The Journey of The Songhai People", according to Dr.

Jim Haskins, a member of the National Education Advisory Committee of the Liberty-Ellis Island Committee, professor of English at the University of Florida, and prolific black author, points out that what stimulated the original idea for that 151 foot statue in the harbor. He says that the idea for the creation of the statue initially was the part that black soldiers played in the ending of black African Bondage in the United States. It was created in the mind of the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye, chairman of the French Antislavery Society, who, together with sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, proposed to the French government that the people of France present to the people of the United States through the American Abolitionist Society, the gift of a Statue of Liberty in recognition of the fact that black soldiers won the Civil War in the United States. It was widely known then that it was black soldiers who played the pivotal role in winning the war, and this gift would be a tribute to their prowess. Suzanne Nakasian, director of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Foundations' National Ethnic Campaign said that the black Americans' direct connection to Lady Liberty is unknown to the majority of Americans, black or WHITE.

When the statue was presented to the US. Minister to France in 1884, it is said that he demonstrated that the dominant view of the broken shackles would be offensive to a US South, because since the statue was a reminder of blacks winning their freedom. It was a reminder to a beaten South of the ones who caused their defeat, their despised former captives. Documents of Proof: 1. You may go and see the original model of the Statue of Liberty, with the broken chains at her feet and in her left hand. Go to the Museum of the City of N.Y, Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street May 18, 1986. 3. The dark original face of the Statue of Liberty can be seen in the NY Post June 17, 1986, also the Post stated the reason for the broken chains at her feet. 4. Finally, you may check with the French Mission or the French Embassy at the U.N or in Washington, DC and ask for some original French material on the Statue of Liberty, including the Bartholdi original model. You can call in September [phone number deleted]. Please pass this information along! Knowledge is Power!

Variations: Versions of this item circulated in July 2012 included the following graphic with text claiming that it was the "original" Statue of Liberty, which was replaced with the current version after it was "refused by America." The image is actually a photo of the Lady Liberty statue at the Agrément roundabout on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, which was sculpted by Theodore Bonev in 2007 to commemorate the 159th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. It has no connection (other than a thematic one) to the Statue of Liberty in New York. Origins: This item is difficult to explicate because it makes so many (sometimes conflicting) claims, so we'll distill its essence to four primary claims and discuss those: The model for the Statue of Liberty (i.e., the woman who posed for the sculptor, or whose portrait the sculptor used) was a black woman. The Statue of Liberty was intended to depict a woman with features representative of the "black race." The Statue of Liberty was created as a tribute to black Civil War soldiers. The Statue of Liberty was intended to symbolize the end of slavery in the USA.

Of these claims, the first three are demonstrably untrue; the final one may have some small element of truth to it. We'll begin by examining some of the specific pieces of evidence offered in the piece quoted above: In a book called "The Journey of The Songhai People", according to Dr. Jim Haskins, a member of the National Education Advisory Committee of the Liberty-Ellis Island Committee, professor of English at the University of Florida, and prolific black author, points out that what stimulated the original idea for that 151 foot statue in the harbor. He says that the idea for the creation of the statue initially was the part that black soldiers played in the ending of black African bondage in the United States. We did, and we found that, in anticipation of the upcoming July 4 centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty (and the culmination of a four-year, 66-million-dollar effort to repair and restore the famous monument), The New York Times magazine on that date was chock full of articles about the statue. None of them said anything even remotely supportive of the claims made here, however; in fact, they said quite the opposite.

As Richard Bernstein, The New York Times' Paris bureau chief noted in that issue, the statue was intended as a tribute to both the American achievement of and French hopes for a nation of republic and liberty; in a sense, it was meant as an abstract symbol of the idealized future of France just as much as the realized past of America. Creating a tribute to those who fought the Civil War (or, even more specifically, to black Civil War soldiers) was far too concrete (and too distinctly American) a concept to have been a part of their plans. The dark original face of the Statue of Liberty can be seen in the NY Post June 17, 1986, also the Post stated the reason for the broken chains at her feet. Yes, the "original" face of the Statue of Liberty was dark, for the simple reason that the materials of which it was made were originally dark. Eric Fettmann, the author of the New York Post article cited above, wrote: As for the photo of the supposed "African" face featured in The Post, the picture is not — as incorrectly captioned — an early model, but shows the actual face that now stands over New York Harbor.

The photo, as shown in Marvin Trachtenberg's marvelous 1976 architectural history of the statue, shows Liberty's head during construction on what was then Bedloe's Island shortly before its dedication in October 1886. It appears "black" for a simple reason: the copper statue's original color was not the familiar green we see today — the patina that naturally occurs over the course of repeated exposure to the elements — but a much darker orange-red bronze. (Actually, as the oxidation process continued, the statue first turned pitch black before reaching its current green hue, as Bartholdi knew it would.) The reason that Fettmann offers for the broken chains is that Bartholdi "adapted the statue from a failed project to construct a giant lighthouse at the entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt"; Bartholdi's original design for the lighthouse included a female figure with the broken chains of slavery at her feet. Finally, you may check with the French Mission or the French Embassy at the U.N or in Washington, DC and ask for some original French material on the Statue of Liberty, including the Bartholdi original model.

The Embassy of France located in Washington would prefer not to be contacted by those looking for this 'original French material on the Statue of Liberty' because they can't help them. According to its Press and Information Service, "We constantly get calls from people requesting for information [on this issue], and we do not have reliable information to give them." The statue wasn't meant as a tribute to black Civil War soldiers, nor were the women who modeled for it black. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, then a young French artist, was commissioned in 1865 by Edouard de Laboulaye and a group of influential French citizens to work on a monument to liberty, intended as a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States of America. Most sources agree that Bartholdi used his mistress (later his wife) and mother as Lady Liberty's models, with his mother serving as the inspiration for the face and his wife for the torso. Neither of these women was black.

As for the purpose of the statue, an 1879 design patent granted to Bartholdi contained his description of the work as "a commemorative monument of the independence of the United States." There was no mention of black soldiers or the Civil War. Rather, the description specified "the independence of the United States," an event which predated the Civil War — and the abolition of slavery — by a few generations. Dr. Haskins holds that the impetus behind the Statue's creation was the abolition of slavery in America. Possibly France did not feel America deserved a monument dedicated to freedom as long as a significant portion of its population was enslaved. That is not to say the Statue was dedicated to the abolition of slavery (else Liberty's tablet would surely have been emblazoned with the date of emancipation, not the date of its formal break from Britain), but that this happy change of affairs inspired some of those behind the gift to support the project. One of the "Documents of Proof" listed in the article, the magazine section of The New York 18 May 1986, states: The creators of the Statue of Liberty knew precisely what the message was.

This group of high-minded French intellectuals, neither red revolutionaries nor white-ribboned monarchists, saw an inspirational model for France in the free institutions of the United States; they planned and designed the statue for several reasons, but chiefly to convey a subtle but unmistakable signal of republicanism to their countrymen. "The creators of the statue wanted to praise the United States for its liberty, while at the same time suggesting to the French people that conditions were not the same in France, where the system of government was a kind of Caesarism," says Pierre Provoyeur, curator of the Museums of France and general commissioner of the French exhibitions for the statue's centennial celebration. As a gift to the people of the United States, the statue was a kind of subterfuge, a means of promoting from outside France a political alternative for France itself. The plan worked, but the statue so evolved into an American landmark and a universal symbol that it requires an act of historical imagination for today's Frenchmen to recognize in her an image of their own past and their own political struggles. If the statue had been intended as a tribute to prowess of black soldiers, the choice of a female form was a rather curious one.

All the combatants in the Civil War (and every other war of the era) were male, and women were not exactly the gender associated with the values of freedom and liberty in either the United States or France at that time. As Marina Warner notes in her book Monuments & Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form: When we look at Liberty in female shape, we are not being invited to consider the freedom of women in classical times, or in the years when the statue was made and presented to the United States by the French Republic. In neither country did women enjoy equal rights, let alone special access to social and political liberties. Indeed, France was one of the last European nations to give women the vote.

In fact, the only thing said about the model on which the statue was based in The New York Times that day comes up in an excerpt from Warner's book: Although Bartholdi's colossus has a stern, even implacable face, she remains unmistakably female, and indeed has been said to resemble Bartholdi's own mother, by all accounts a grim, overbearing woman who never overcame the outrage she felt when the family home in Colmar, Alsace, was occupied by the victorious Prussians in the war of 1870. Another excerpt from Warner indicates that the whole "the model for the Statue of Liberty was a black woman" may stem from its being confused with an earlier, abandoned project Bartholdi adapted to his new assignment: Bartholdi's statue gives only one explicit reference to the history of the United States: the date - July 4, 1776 - in Roman numerals on the tablet she holds in her left hand.

Perhaps this was because the Statue of Liberty did not originate with the plan for New York, but with a proposal Bartholdi made in the 1860's to the Khedive of Egypt, that he should build a huge lighthouse at the mouth of the Suez Canal. The maquettes of this project, "Egypt Bringing Light to Asia," were directly inspired by the ancient Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They still exist, and they reveal that had the Khedive agreed, the Statue of Liberty - in an Egyptian wig - would now be standing at the gates of the Middle East, not the New World. Whatever the color of the person who served as the model for the Statue of Liberty may have been, the statue itself is colorless. It does not represent a particular color of person any more than the Michelin Tire Man does, and the idea it symbolizes applies to people of all colors, whether or not its creators intended it that way. Just as the attitudes of people who lived hundreds of years ago cannot require us look upon others as inferiors today, neither can they magically elevate the status of those who may still be the objects of discrimination.

That is a task for those of us who live here and now. Barbara "the man who sought Liberty's talents" Mikkelson Last updated: 5 July 2012 Sources: Statue of Liberty dedicated - Oct 28, 1886 - HISTORY.com Statue of Liberty dedicated Publisher A+E Networks The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. Originally known as “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the statue was proposed by the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye to commemorate the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution. Designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the 151-foot statue was the form of a woman with an uplifted arm holding a torch. Its framework of gigantic steel supports was designed by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the latter famous for his design of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In February 1877, Congress approved the use of a site on New York Bedloe’s Island, which was suggested by Bartholdi.

In May 1884, the statue was completed in France, and three months later the Americans laid the cornerstone for its pedestal in New York Harbor. In June 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty arrived in the New World, enclosed in more than 200 packing cases. Its copper sheets were reassembled, and the last rivet of the monument was fitted on October 28, 1886, during a dedication presided over by President Cleveland and attended by numerous French and American dignitaries. On the pedestal was inscribed “The New Colossus,” a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus that welcomed immigrants to the United States with the declaration, “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.” In 1892, Ellis Island, adjacent to Bedloe’s Island, opened as the chief entry station for immigrants to the United States, and for the next 32 years more than 12 million immigrants were welcomed into New York harbor by the sight of “Lady Liberty.” In 1924, the Statue of Liberty was made a national monument, and in 1956 Bedloe’s Island was renamed Liberty Island. The statue underwent a major restoration in the 1980s. Related Videos Black Statue of Liberty - Summary Report - Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) Black Statue of Liberty - Summary Report THE BLACK STATUE OF LIBERTY RUMOR An Inquiry into the History and Meaning of Bartholdi’s Liberté éclairant le Monde FINAL REPORT with Brooke Rosenblatt and Carolyn Kinebrew September 2000 Northeast Ethnography Program, Boston Support Office, National Park Service This project was funded by the National Park Service. Principal Investigator Dr. Rebecca M. Joseph was formerly Senior Anthropologist, Northeast Region, National Park Service and is the author of this report.

Research associates Brooke Rosenblatt and Carolyn Kinebrew are independent consultants. Release of this report does not imply endorsement of its conclusions or recommendations by National Park Service. Note Since this manuscript was completed in September of 2000, the NPS hired professional editors on two occasions to improve the organization and writing style of the report, which was a recommendation of peer reviewers, without altering the results and findings. However, each effort introduced changes to the report that ultimately were considered unsatisfactory by the NPS. In making the report available in its original form, the NPS seeks to preserve the nuances and details of the research as they were presented by the investigators. The information discussed in this report is an important addition to the more conventional understanding of the origin and meaning of the Statue of Liberty, and it has been used to help formulate significant new research and planning projects that are ongoing at the present time. The manuscript has been modified by the NPS in the following areas: 1. The Introduction has been edited to improve readability. 2. Appendix D was added to provide a selected list of scholarly literature on the Statue of Liberty’s history and symbolism, for additional reading. 3. Two footnotes were added.

Footnote 106 was inserted to identify scholars by name who have stated that the design for the Statue of Liberty evolved from the sculptor's earlier concept of a similar figure entitled, "Egypt Bringing Light to the Orient." Footnote 102 expresses a reservation about the author's identification of Egyptian fellah as "black." EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In early 1998, the Statue of Liberty National Monument staff began receiving inquiries about rumors that the Statue of Liberty was originally meant to be a monument to the end of slavery in America at the end of the Civil War. In response, the Monument's Superintendent launched an intensive, two-year investigation of the rumors and the truth about the statue's early history. The research reported here is based on investigations conducted on the internet, through personal interviews and in public and private library and archival collections in the U.S. and France. The rumors have been circulating on the Internet, through e-mail networks and in telephone calls. In their totality, the rumors constitute a counter-narrative about the origin and development of the statue that preserves and transmits valuable information about its early history (discussed in Part I of the report).

Parts II and III of the report examine four specific claims that are made in the multiple and often overlapping versions of the rumors. Part III also includes a discussion of the roles of African Americans in the statue's early history (1876-1886) and race relations as an enduring theme associated with the monument. A Chronology of American Race Relations for the Statue of Liberty is presented here. Following the Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Research, appendices present additional information about research methods, specific research findings concerning the rumors' Proof of Documents, a chronology of internet and media dissemination of the rumors, and a list of further readings about the meanings and interpretations of the statue. The Rumors Claim 1. The Statue of Liberty was conceived at a dinner party in 1865 at the home of Edouard de Laboulaye, a prominent French abolitionist, following the death of President Lincoln. Finding: This story is a legend. All available evidence points to its conception in 1870 or 1871.

The dinner party legend is traceable to a single source --- an 1885 fund-raising pamphlet written by the statue's sculptor, Auguste Bartholdi, after the death of Laboulaye. Claim 2. Edouard de Laboulaye and Auguste Bartholdi were well-known French abolitionists who proposed the monument to recognize the critical roles played by black soldiers in the Civil War. Finding: No evidence was found to support the claim that the Statue of Liberty was intended to memorialize black combatants in the Civil War. Edouard de Laboulaye was a prolific French abolitionist who believed that the end of slavery marked the realization of the American democratic ideal embodied in the Declaration of Independence. His use of references to the French role in the American Revolution to generate support for his efforts on behalf of American slaves and freedmen are critical to understanding his conception of the Statue of Liberty. Auguste Bartholdi was largely apolitical and adapted his self-presentation to advance his career as an artist. His frequent references to race-related subjects during his 1871 visit to the United States reflect the influences of his French patrons and American contacts.

Claim 3: The original model for the Statue of Liberty was a black woman, but the design was changed to appease white Americans who would not accept an African-American Liberty. Finding: The statue's design almost certainly evolved from an earlier concept Bartholdi proposed for a colossal monument in Egypt, for which the artist used his drawings of Egyptian women as models. Bartholdi’s preliminary design for the Statue of Liberty is consistent with contemporary depictions of Liberty, but differs markedly from sculptures representing freed American slaves and Civil War soldiers. Bartholdi changed a broken shackle and chain in the statue's left hand to tablets inscribed "July IV, MDCCLXXVI” (July 4, 1776) at Laboulaye's request, to emphasize a broader vision of liberty for all mankind. There is no evidence that Bartholdi's “original” design was perceived by white American supporters or the United States government as representing a black woman, or was changed on those grounds.

Claim4: By the time of its dedication in 1886, European immigration to the United States had increased so substantially that earlier meanings associated with the statue were eclipsed, and this association has continued to be the predominant understanding of the statue’s meaning from then until now. Finding: The conventional interpretation of the statue as a monument to American immigrants is a twentieth-century phenomenon. In its early years (1871-1886), that view was only rarely and vaguely expressed, while references to the Civil War and abolition of slavery occur repeatedly from its first introduction to the United States in 1871 up to and including the dedication celebrations in 1886. Immigrants did not actually see the Statue of Liberty in large numbers until after its unveiling. In the early twentieth century, the statue became a popular symbol for nativists and white supremacists. Official use of the statue's image to appeal to immigrants only began in earnest with public efforts to Americanize immigrant children and the government’s advertising campaign for World War I bonds.

The "immigrant" interpretation gained momentum in the 1930s as Americans prepared for war with Hitler and by the 1950s, it had become the predominant understanding of the statue's original purpose and meaning. The Role of African Americans in the Statue's History Although African Americans played no active role in the statue's conception or design, they contributed to the main fund-raising drive for the statue’s pedestal, participated in public celebrations during its dedication in New York City, and conducted their own celebrations at that time as well. African American newspapers throughout the country covered those events extensively. Yet for black Americans the Statue of Liberty has also long symbolized America's failure to protect their civil rights. In the early 1900s, many African Americans were victims of white supremacists and nativists who used the statue to represent their exclusionary views. Since then, continuing ambiguity among African Americans about whether to embrace “Liberty” hopefully or scorn it as a symbol of American hypocrisy has been expressed in numerous works of art, political debates, and, on at least one occasion, violent protest.

Planning and construction of an Immigration Museum at the Statue of Liberty took seventeen years (1955-1972); and the effort involved a fierce public debate about how African-Americans who were brought involuntarily to America as slaves could or should be presented as "immigrants" and, if so, how their history and contributions to American society should be told. Conclusions · Was the original model for the Statue of Liberty a black woman? Most versions of the Black Statue of Liberty rumor refer to a cast (c. 1870) of a no longer extant maquette owned by the Museum of the City of New York as proof that “the original model” for the Statue of Liberty was a black woman. The temporal proximity and aesthetic overlap between Bartholdi’s Egyptian proposal and the Statue of Liberty project, and the preliminary nature of the statue's study models, makes it impossible to rule out an 1870-71 Liberty model that has design origins in Bartholdi’s drawings of black Egyptian women in 1856. Based on the evidence, the connection is coincidental to the development of the Statue of Liberty under Laboulaye’ patronage.

We found no corroborating evidence that Edouard Laboulaye or Auguste Bartholdi intended to depict Liberty as a black woman. Laboulaye’s intent was to present a monument that would commemorate the fulfillment of America’s commitment to universal liberty established by the Declaration of Independence, and set an example for other nations. Liberty depicted as a freedwoman would have represented his strong anti-slavery convictions, but it would not have fulfilled this broader vision. · Is the Statue of Liberty a monument to the end of slavery in the United States? The Statue of Liberty would never have been conceived or built if its principal French and American advocates had not been active abolitionists who understood slavery as the cause of the Civil War and its end as the realization of the promise of liberty for all as codified in the Declaration of Independence. But the Statue of Liberty was not intended entirely as a monument to the end of slavery. The statue’s form after June 1871 clearly embodies Laboulaye’s views on the two-part realization, in 1776 and 1864, of his ideal of liberty.

The centennial of the American Revolution was significant to the French sponsors because the Civil War ended slavery and preserved the Union at a time when the France’s future was still uncertain. For the American republicans, it was a timely opportunity to erect a monument to their efforts and worldview. Laboulaye and his French colleagues also wished to send a political message back to France. Bartholdi cast the project in the broadest terms, hoping to encourage additional commissions. · What roles do African Americans have in the Statue of Liberty’s history? The black press championed the French-American project; and African Americans contributed to the pedestal fund, participated in the public celebrations for its unveiling in New York City and conducted their own. Blacks were among the immigrants whose first sight of the United States was the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. In the early 20th century, African Americans died because of the perverse appropriation of the statue’s symbolism by white racists. They were targeted by and responded to the government’s Liberty bond campaign during World War I.

Racial justice, particularly for African Americans, has been a recurrent theme ever since the Statue of Liberty’s inception as evidenced by political cartoons, poems written for the 50th anniversary, debates over the content of the American Museum of Immigration’s exhibits, and acts of civil disobedience in the 1960s and ‘70s. Along with recent work by African American artists, the Black Statue of Liberty rumor extends this tradition of active engagement with this American icon. The Light of Liberty -- National Geographic Kids National Geographic Kids The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet, 1 inch (46 meters, 2.5 centimeters) tall. Photograph by Dean Conger Peter Winkler On July 4, 1884 France presented the United States with an incredible birthday gift: the Statue of Liberty! Without its pedestal it’s as tall as a 15-story building. She represents the United States. But the world-famous Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor was built in France. The statue was presented to the U.S., taken apart, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in crates, and rebuilt in the U.S. It was France’s gift to the American people.

It all started at dinner one night near Paris in 1865. A group of Frenchmen were discussing their dictator-like emperor and the democratic government of the U.S. They decided to build a monument to American freedom—and perhaps even strengthen French demands for democracy in their own country. At that dinner was the sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (bar-TOLE-dee). He imagined a statue of a woman holding a torch burning with the light of freedom. Turning Bartholdi’s idea into reality took 21 years. French supporters raised money to build the statue, and Americans paid for the pedestal it would stand on. Finally, in 1886, the statue was dedicated. Fast Facts Engineer Gustave Eiffel, who would later design the Eiffel Tower in Paris, designed Liberty’s “spine.” Inside the statue four huge iron columns support a metal framework that holds the thin copper skin. Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi knew he wanted to build a giant copper goddess; he used his mother as the model. The statue—151 feet, 1 inch (46 meters, 2.5 centimeters) tall—was the tallest structure in the U.S. at that time.

The arm holding the torch measures 46 feet (14 meters); the index finger, 8 feet (2.4 meters); the nose, nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters). The statue is covered in 300 sheets of coin-thin copper. They were hammered into different shapes and riveted together. The statue sways 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) in the wind; the torch sways 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). Visitors climb 354 steps (22 stories) to look out from 25 windows in the crown. Seven rays in the crown represent the Earth’s seven seas. Text by Peter Winkler Why did France give the Statue of Liberty to the Unites States? | Reference.com Why did France give the Statue of Liberty to the Unites States? A: Quick Answer France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a gift and sign of friendship between the two nations. The construction developed into a joint project between the two countries, with the U.S. becoming responsible for the statue's base and pedestal.

Fundraising for the American portion of the work became a problem, however, until publisher Joseph Pulitzer intervened and raised money through a successful publicity and donation program. Full Answer Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned by France to create the statue. He intended it to be completed in time for the 1876 U.S. centennial celebration, but only the torch and the forearm were ready for display at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. The statue was finally completed in 1884 and was shipped to the U.S. in late 1885. The base and pedestal were finished the following spring, and the completed monument was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It officially became a U.S. National Monument in 1924.

Question: What statue was given to the United States by France?
Answer: Statue of Liberty