In New York’s harbor stands one of the most famous symbols of American democracy, the Statue of Liberty. The colossal copper statue is a gift from the people of France as a monument to freedom in America. It became a dominant figure to immigrants who passed by it on their way to Ellis Island for immigration to the U.S. But the story of how it all came about has several twists and turns.
The Historian/Abolitionist Who Made it Happen: The idea behind the Statue of Liberty dates back as far as 1865, when the American Civil War ended and the process of terminating slavery was reaching a conclusion. The French historian/abolitionist Edouard Rene de Laboulaye had a conversation with an artist friend of his, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, that a monument should be built to commemorate American freedom, and should be managed by both countries. Historians have suggested that Laboulaye was interested in honoring the Union’s victory in the Civil War which led to the end of slavery. Although, this conversation was not confirmed by Bartholdi, he never-the-less liked the idea and began pursuing it. Bartholdi’s first model of his concept of the statue appeared in 1870. Both Laboulaye and Bartholdi collaborated on the design that gravitated toward a semblance of Thomas Crawford’s Statute of Freedom that resides on top of the U.S. Capitol’s dome. They eventually settled on a female figure dressed in robes with a crown of rays, holding up a torch in the right hand, and the left carrying a tabula ansata inscribed with the date July 4, 1776 in roman numerals.
Work Begins: In September, 1875, Laboulaye announced the creation of the project to the Franco-American Union and gave it a name, Liberty Enlightening the World. The proposal placed responsibility of creating the statue with the French, and the development of the pedestal with the Americans. The statue would be made out of copper. Donations began to flow not just from the wealthy in France, but across the society including ordinary citizens and even schoolchildren. A wealthy French copper industrialist donated 128,000 tons of copper, or about two-thirds of the total copper requirement. In 1871 on Bartholdi’s first trip to promote the project in the U.S. in he arrived in New York’s harbor. He observed Bedloe’s Island in the channel as a potential spot for the statue. After considering Central Park as a location, he returned to the idea of Bedloe’s Island as it was owned by the Federal Government for defense purposes. Without plans being finalized Bartholdi went ahead with the construction of the right arm and torch. He hoped to have it ready for the opening of the American Centennial Exposition in 1876. However, the arm did not arrive at the exposition until a few months later, and was not listed in the exhibition’s catalogue. It was correctly reported in some media publications, but misnamed in others, thereby inhibiting the media publicity. However, it was very popular among the population attending the exhibition many of whom would climb up to the torch’s balcony for a better view of the entire exposition. Afterward, the torch went to New York City and was displayed in Madison Square Park for a few years before being returned to France.
The Fundraising: Laboulaye and the Franco-American Union raised $250,000 for their share of the project enabling Bartholdi and an associate named Gustave Eiffel to begin work. But on the American side, the funds marched to a different tune. Contributions from rich donors were slowly forthcoming owing to disagreement and bickering over who should put up the money and where the statue should be located. The governor of the State of New York, Grover Cleveland, said that New York City could not use taxpayer funds to pay the American portion of the project. The Federal Government didn’t fund any portion of it either, as the U.S. Congress could not agree on what the spending package should be and on which taxpayers’ shoulders the burden should fall. The American Committee for the Statue of Liberty started selling miniature models of the statue in the 1880’s to raise money. The plan was popular, and in addition to raising money, it promoted the project across America and also in Europe. Other contributions came forth from such activities as operas, prize fights, theatrical galas, and art exhibitions—all aimed at raising money from the upper classes in the private sector.
Pulitzer’s “GoFundMe”: The fundraising effort to build the base ran out of steam in 1885 with the base still not completed. On March 16, 1885, Joseph Pulitzer, published an appeal to his readers in his newspaper, the New York World, to send in donations to the project so the base could be completed. In what was an early version of today’s “GoFundMe”, he reached out across the board of American society and not just to the rich. His appeal worked—by August, 1885, more than 120,000 individuals donated more than $100,000 to finish the pedestal. Many of the individual donations were for $1.00 or less (about $33 in today’s currency).
For All the World to See: The statue arrived in New York from France on June 17, 1885, on the steamship Isere in 350 pieces boxed up. Some 200,000 spectators lined the docks or watched in boats as the ship arrived. When the pedestal was finally finished and the statue assembled, a dedication ceremony was held with Grover Cleveland, now President of the United States, giving the keynote speech. A ticker tape parade and a boat procession of dignitaries to Bedloe’s Island preceded the event. A giant French Flag covered the statue. When it was released, the crowd of dignitaries applauded for fifteen minutes before Cleveland could make his address.
Renovation and Rededication: Maintenance issues surfaced as early as 1906, but in 1982 to prepare the statue for the 1986 centennial celebration, a careful examination was performed by both French and U.S. engineers. The right arm was discovered to have been improperly attached to the statue and could present significant risk of structural failure especially in strong winds. President Reagan announced the establishment of the Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Centennial Commission that raised $350 million for the renovations of both structures. After considerable maintenance work, the statue was reopened and rededicated during “Liberty Weekend,” July 3-6, 1986.
Conclusions: The Statue of Liberty was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901, afterward it went over to the War Department. In 1933 it became a part of the National Park Service and was renamed the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It remains a major tourist attraction today with a limited number of visitors permitted to climb up as high as the crown. The torch formerly accepted visitors, but owing to maintenance issues the torch has been closed since 1916.
Sources: History.com, Statue of Liberty: The Making of an Icon, By Patrick J. Kiger, June 14, 2023.
History.com, Why the Statue of Liberty Almost Didn’t Get Built, By Becky Little, June 14, 2023.
Wikipedia, Statue of Liberty.