Statue Of Liberty

Statue Of Liberty. . , Statue of Liberty, the symbol of freedom that stands on Liberty (formerly Bedloe's) Island in New York Harbor. The statue officially entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World," was placed in the harbor as a symbol to arriving voyagers of the freedom and opportunity that were offered by the United States., The Statue of Liberty was a gift of the French people to the United States in commemoration of a centennial of American independence. The statue was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who conceived the idea for the work in 1874. Bartholdi's statue, portraying Liberty in the figure of a regal woman draped in classical robes, was built in Paris, disassembled, and shipped to New York where a pedestal had been prepared for it. It was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on Oct. 28, 1886. In her right hand, she holds a burning torch and, in her left hand, a book of law inscribed July 4, 1776. At her feet lie the broken shackles of slavery., In the decades that followed, the statue had a great emotional impact upon the millions of immigrants who sailed past it into the New World in search of opportunity. It was regarded warmly by the troops returning from the European front during both World Wars., In 1903, Emma Lazarus' sonnet to the Statue of Liberty, "The New Colossus," was inscribed on a bronze plaque in its pedestal.,

The New Colossus , by Emma Lazarus. , Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, , With conquering limbs astride from land to land, , Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand , A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame , Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name , Mother of exiles from her beacon-hand , Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes command , The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. , "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she , With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, , Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, , The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. , Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, , I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"