A brief History on the Statue of Liberty

A brief history of the statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty Source: Statueofliberty.org

In 1865 the creation of Statue of Liberty was the brainchild of French antislavery activist and poet Edouard de Laboulaye as he believed that France could strengthen its ties to America’s newly found democracy after the Civil War, and the abolition of Slavery (Snider, 2019).  French Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi heard Laboulaye’s announcement and began to conceptualize and draw out a colossal statue that would be known as Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty, 2020).  Bartholdi’s design the crown to represent rays of lights, the tablet is inscribed with the date July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals, representing America’s Independence Day, and at the foot of the statue lays a broken shackle and chain to symbolize the end of slavery. 

Construction of the Statue was completed in France in July 1884.  The statue was broken down into 350 individual pieces and packed in to 214 crates and shipped to New York.  Meanwhile in America, architect Richard Morris Hunt was selected to design the statue’s pedestal.   The ship with the parts arrived on June 17 1885 in the New York Harbor.  The Pedestal was completed in April 1886.  On October 28 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the statue of Liberty as she became a beacon of hope to millions of immigrants seeking, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in America (James, 2009).  Click here if you want to learn more: https://www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/overview-history/

 

References

James, R., 2009. A Brief History of The Statue of Liberty. [Online]
Available at: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1897552,00.html
[Accessed 10 July 2020].

Snider, A. C., 2019. A Brief History of the Statue of Liberty. [Online]
Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/new-york-city/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-statue-of-liberty/
[Accessed 10 July 2020].

Statue of Liberty, 2020. The Statue of Liberty. [Online]
Available at: https://www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/overview-history/
[Accessed 10 July 2020].