Government Politics | Politics

The Statue of Liberty

Credit: The New York Historical Society/Archive Photos/Getty Images
The statue of liberty was shipped from France in pieces and was resembled in New York by a construction crew primarily made up of immigrants.

Two decades after the Civil War, the French presented the United States with a gift: the colossal Statue of Liberty. Meant as a symbol of the friendship between the two nations, France also hoped the statue would stand as a memorial to America's preservation of freedom. When Lady Liberty arrived in the United States, she was put in storage until funds could be collected to construct a pedestal. Finally, on October 28, 1886, more than a million New Yorkers joined the celebration marking the statue's dedication-locals paraded from Madison Square Garden to Battery Park. Within a few decades, the Statue of Liberty became the symbol of America that welcomed the millions of immigrants who entered New York Harbor.

Credit: The New York Historical Society/Archive Photos/Getty Images
During the dedication ceremonies-which only two women were allowed to attend-the New York State Women's Suffrage association circled the island in protest. They were unhappy that a symbol of freedom would be erected when women still didn't have the right to vote.

 

Credit: FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Lady Liberty was made to represent the Roman goddess, Libertas. Before landing in the United States, her head was on display in Paris. In her completed form, she held a torch and a book inscribed with the Declaration of Independence.

 

Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com
French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, along with a team of artisans and craftsmen, constructed the statue in a Parisian workshop between 1881 and 1884.

 

Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com
The statue was covered with copper sheeting and originally was a metallic, reddish brown. Over the years the copper oxidized and turned the green that today's visitors associate with Lady Liberty.