Making the Statue of Liberty American History - The Origin of Creation Statue of Liberty - The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous statue in the world. Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, United States. Historically, this statue was built in 1875 as a gift from France to Amerika.Patung Liberty is regarded as the largest concrete structure in the United States in the 19th century.
America may not be able to win independence from the British during the American Revolution without the help of the French. France provided arms, ships, money and people to the American colonies. Some Frenchmen notably the Marquis de Lafayette, a close friend of George Washington even became high-ranking officers in the American army. It is an alliance of respect and friendship that the French would not forget.
Nearly 100 years later, in 1865, after the end of the American Civil War, some French intellectuals, who oppose the oppressive regime of Napoleon III, was at a small dinner party. They discussed their admiration for America's success in establishing a democratic government and abolishing slavery at the end of the civil war. The dinner was hosted by Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye. Laboulaye was a scholar, jurist, abolitionist and a leader of the "liberals," the political group dedicated to establish a French republican government.
That evening, talk turned to the close historic ties and love of freedom of the two countries. Laboulaye noted that there is "a genuine flow of sympathy" between the two countries and he called the French and American, "two sisters."
As he continued speaking, reflect on the centennial of American independence only 11 years in the future, Laboulaye commented, "Would not it be wonderful if people in France gave the United States a great monument as a lasting memorial to independence and thereby showed that the French government was also dedicated to the idea of human freedom? "
Laboulaye question struck a responsive chord in one of his guests, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor, a successful 31 years of Colmar, a town in the eastern province of Alsace, France.
Years later, recalling the dinner, Bartholdi wrote that Laboulaye's idea "interested me so deeply that it remained fixed in my memory." So was sown the seed of inspiration that will be the Statue of Liberty.
The sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar, France, on August 2, 1834. Bartholdi's father, a civil servant and prosperous landowner, he died when Bartholdi was two years old, so he was raised by his mother's harsh and possessive, Charlotte.
Bartholdi began his career as a painter, but it was as a sculptor that he was to express his true spirit and gain his greatest fame. His first commission for a public monument came to him at the young age of 18 years. It's a statue of a native son of Colmar, General Jean Rapp, a leader of the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Even at 18, Bartholdi loved bigness. Public statue is 12 feet tall and was made in the studio Bartholdi, where the ceiling was only an inch taller. The statue established his reputation as a sculptor of note and led to many commissions are the same, great, patriotic works.
A man in his time, Bartholdi was not alone in his passion. During the 19th century, large-scale public monuments were very popular art form. It was an age of ostentation, largely inspired by classical Greek and Roman civilizations. Most monuments reflected either the dress or architecture of ancient times, so the artistic style of the 19th century came to be known as the "neoclassical." The Statue of Liberty will be patterned after the goddess, Libertas, the Roman personification of freedom.
But a trip to Egypt that shifted Bartholdi artistic perspective from simply grand to colossal. The large size and mysterious majesty of the Pyramids and the Sphinx are remarkable for the enthusiastic young Bartholdi. He wrote, "they are good and passive at first glance seem to ignore the present and future fixed on the infinite."
In 1870, with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Bartholdi served as a major in the French army in his home town of Colmar. When Germany annexed the entire Alsace region, making its residents German citizens, the reality of the word "freedom" took a new, personal meaning for Bartholdi.
In time, the French Third Republic, will emerge from the ruins of the Franco-Prussian War. Meanwhile, partially as propaganda to advance the cause of those who seek the establishment of the French Republic, Laboulaye suggested that Bartholdi should travel to America.
In recalling his conversation with Laboulaye several years later, Bartholdi wrote: " 'Go to see the country," he [Laboulaye] to me' Propose to our friends there to make with us a monument, public works, be a warning. ancient friendship of France and the United States. If ... you find a plan that will stimulate the interest of the community, we are confident that it will work on both continents, and we will do a work that will have broad moral effect. ""
Bartholdi replied, "I'll try to glorify the Republic and Liberty over there, with the hope that someday I will find it again here."
So Bartholdi now to become a salesman. Armed with a letter of introduction from Laboulaye to some of America's most influential, Bartholdi sailed to New York in 1871.
Writing the entrance to New York Harbor, he said:
"Images are presented to the view when one arrives in New York is marvelous, when, after some days of voyaging, in the pearly radiance of a beautiful morning is revealed the magnificent spectacle major cities [Brooklyn and Manhattan], of those rivers extending as far as the eye could reach, festooned with masts and flags; when one awakes, so to speak, in the midst of that interior sea covered with vessels ... it is thrilling. It is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse, with a burning passion for life. "
New York Harbor was the perfect locale, he added, because it "where people get their first view of the New World." Continuing, he said, "I've found this awesome place Bedloe's Island, in the middle of the bay .... The island is owned by the government, but in the national territory, belongs to all countries, just opposite the Narrows, which is, so to speak, the gateway to America. "
Intelligent, warm, persuasive and charming, Bartholdi impressed prominent Americans he met, including President Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Horace Greeley and Senator Charles Sumner.
His journey across America filled him with awe. He wrote, "Everything in America is great. Here, even the peas are big. "
Wherever he went, he enthusiastically promoted the sketches and models he took the statue as it would appear on the island in New York Harbor. Americans seem to accept the idea of a statue dedicated to "Liberty Enlightening the World" (the official name for the statue), but no one is willing to make a commitment of money or a building.
Back in France, Laboulaye wait until the Third Republic became a reality, to publicize the idea of the statue. After returning, Bartholdi completed other projects, while refining his ideas and designs for "American sculpture."
In 1875, with the establishment of the Third Republic, Laboulaye and Bartholdi agreed that "" the time she came. Because the project would be extremely expensive, they decided the cost should be shared: France would pay for the statue; America will pay the pedestal and foundation. A fund-raising committee called the Franco-American Union was formed with members from both countries.
Fund-raising events were staged, but the money was slow in coming. Enough was collected to begin work on the statue, but the goal of completing it in time for America's 100th anniversary was not possible.
Start working
Bartholdi been Gaget, Gauthier and Company as a foundry where the statue will be built. He is a skilled craftsman in the art of repousse techniques to create new forms of sculpture by hammering sheet metal in the mold. Lighter than metal casting, repoussé was the only method available that would allow such a monumental work to be shipped overseas. Complicated framework for the statue was designed by the famous engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, already known for his brilliant iron railroad bridge and then celebrated for the Eiffel Tower. Theme sculpture itself is derived from the Roman goddess Libertas, which symbolizes freedom.
Bartholdi was chosen as the official representative of France Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. With three major sculptures on display at the Exhibition, Bartholdi's name was becoming known in America.
Statue of Liberty's arm measuring 9.1 meters was brought to Philadelphia in 1876 as well. For 50 cents, visitors could climb a steel ladder to the balcony surrounding the torch. Generated a lot of enthusiasm for this project, because it will be the first statue of Liberty could climb inside.
When the gleaming copper head appeared at the fair Liberty, he was a sensation. He was not sensational enough, however, to solve the problem of never ending raise money to finish building it.
Someone with Franco-American Union was inspired: They will hold a draw. Because very few contributions coming from France's moneyed elite, the idea to draw the public's attention with a lottery was a brilliant idea. Gift highly coveted and valuable, including two works by Bartholdi himself.
Additional funds were raised in a manner worthy of contemporary merchandising techniques: a signed and numbered collection of clay sculpture models were sold in France and America. At the end of 1879, about 250,000 francs (about US $ 750,000) was raised for the construction of the statue. Simply, most people think, to finish the job.
Finis!
Finally, in June 1884, Liberty received the final touches. (In May 1883, Laboulaye died of heart disease, never saw his dream come true).
Until the spring of 1885, when he dismantled for the long journey to America, Liberty remained in Paris.
Fundraising in America
While the statue was nearing completion in France, little was happening on the American side.
The American press continues to be critical of the project, especially the cost. They could not understand why the board should cost as much as the statue itself. Congress rejected a bill appropriating $ 100,000 for the base. New York approved a grant of $ 50,000, but the expenditure was vetoed by the governor.
Many Americans outside of New York considers the statue New York. "Let New York pay for it," they said, while America's newly rich, self-made millionaires were saying and contributing nothing. Half American Franco-American Union, led by William M. Evarts, held a fundraising event unusual, but public apathy was almost as monumental as the statue itself.
In 1884, after years of fund-raising, only $ 182,491 had been collected and $ 179,624 is up. It took the intervention of Joseph Pulitzer and the power of media to make a difference.
Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian immigrant who fought in the Civil War, became a successful journalist and married a rich woman. In 1883, he bought a financial newspaper called the World, he already owned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When he heard that the Statue of Liberty was about to die for lack of funds, he saw an opportunity to take advantage of three different occasions: to raise funds for the statue, to increase the newspaper's circulation and to blast the rich for their selfishness.
Pulitzer set goals at the World fund of $ 100,000. In its pages he taunted the rich (thereby increasing the attractiveness of the newspaper among the working-class) and firmly planted the notion that the statue was a monument not only to New York City, but, indeed, for all Americans.
Perhaps Pulitzer's cleverest ploy was the promise to publish the name of every single contributor in the pages of the World, no matter how small the contribution. The editorial that opened the fund-raising campaign set the tone. He wrote: "The world is a people's paper and is now appealing for people to come forward and raise the money [for] the statue's pedestal." The statue, he said, paid for by "the masses of the French people let us respond in like manner .. Let us not wait for the millionaires to give this money. This is not a gift from France to the American millionaire millionaires, but the gifts of all the people of France to the people across America. "The circulation of the World increased by almost 50,000 copies.
African American newspapers joined in this effort, encouraging their readers to contribute to a monument that would, in part, to commemorate the end of slavery. So the money poured in, as a single-dollar donations from grandmothers and pennies from the piggybanks of schoolchildren.
On June 15, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in Bedloe's Island inside 214 wooden packing crates.
On August 11, 1885, the front page of the World proclaimed, "ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!" The goal has been reached, and slightly exceeded, thanks to more than 120,000 donations.
Where he stands
The architect for Liberty's pedestal, Richard Morris Hunt, is a designer who is highly respected and popular. He designed a place as high as 89 feet, located above the concrete foundation. the cost for this project is $ 1,000, which he returned to the fund to reassemble the statue.
Gen. Charles P. Stone was the chief engineer responsible for the entire construction project, including the foundation, the base and reassembly of the statue. Liberty foundation alone required 24,000 tons of concrete, the largest single mass ever poured at that time. It measures 52 feet, 10 inches tall. At the bottom, it is 91 meters and above, it is 65 meters. The pedestal rises 89 meters above the foundation.
The Statue of Liberty was built in the US in May 1886. It took six months to mount the statue into place.
dream achieved
On October 25, 1886, Bartholdi and his wife, accompanied by Viscount Ferdinand de Lesseps-Marie, Chairman of the Franco-American Union, arrived in America. They were greeted by the American Committee and Joseph Pulitzer. In Bedloe's Island, surrounded by newspaper reporters record his words for posterity, Bartholdi simply said, "The dream of my life is reached."
The opening of "The Lady"
Opening on October 28, 1886, declared a public holiday. It was rainy and foggy but did not dampen the spirits of more than 1 million people who lined the streets of New York, draped with red, white and blue and the French tricolor flag, to watch a parade of more than 20,000 pass. Wall Street is the only area of the city to work on the opening day of Liberty. The New York Times reported that as the parade passed, the office boy "from a hundred windows began to unreel the spools of tape that record the fateful messages of the 'ticker." At the moment the air was white with curling streamers. "And so the famous New York ticker-tape parade was born.
Officials from both countries attended. Representing America were President Grover Cleveland and his cabinet as well as the governor of New York and his staff. Attended by the ambassador of France, accompanied by the French Committee. And, most ironically, some members of America's wealthiest families - the same family who had not contributed a penny to the statue's pedestal - now jockeyed for seats of prominence. New York, reported the World, "was one vast cheer."
Out on the water, the fog rolled in and out. Harbor teemed with vessels of various sizes. Bartholdi stood alone at the head of the statue. He pulled the rope that would drop the French tricolor veil from the face of the statue. For his cue, Bartholdi was to see the signal from the boys on the ground below, who would wave a handkerchief. The signal will come when Senator William M. Evarts, considered one of the more talented orators of his time, finished his presentation speech.
Evarts began his speech, pausing to take a breath, and boy, thinking the speech was over, gave Bartholdi the signal. Bartholdi pulling the cord, exposing the gleaming bronze statue's face to the world. Whistles blasted, guns roared, bands played ... and Evarts sat down.
When President Cleveland's turn to speak, he said, "We will not forget that Liberty has made here her home, not her chosen altar be neglected."
Statue of Liberty's First 100 Years
At the time of the Statue of Liberty, it was the tallest structure in New York, reaching a total height of 305 feet. Not until 1899 that he was followed by the building of St. Paul, as high as 310 feet. Lady Liberty remain a visual and spiritual center of New York Harbor.
In 1903, one of the most memorable changes to the statue occurred without fanfare or publicity. A bronze tablet mounted on the interior wall of the pedestal as part of the plaque was a poem written in 1883 that has become the credo for thousands of immigrants coming to America.
The poem, "The New Colossus," written by Emma Lazarus to help raise funds for the construction of the statue's pedestal. Today, many people think of sculpture and poetry as inseparable.
In 1916, the World once again raise my voice to raise funds on behalf of the statue. This time, the goal is to floodlight the statue at night. The paper's readers contributed $ 30,000 and the torch was also redesigned in glass.
From the time of the Revolutionary War, the female figure Columbia was generally regarded as a symbol for America, but the statue's increased visibility and popularity during World War I easily shifted America's symbolic loyalties. Liberty features appear everywhere, he became a kind of female equivalent to Uncle Sam. To help finance US participation in the war, the Treasury Department authorized using the statue as a rallying symbol on posters designed to raise funds. The government sold about $ 15 billion of bonds, equivalent to half the cost of World War I.
President Calvin Coolidge declared the Statue of Liberty to be a national monument on October 15, 1924. In 1933, the National Park Service took over the administration and maintenance.
French-American Committee for the Restoration of the Statue of Liberty was established in 1981. After an initial diagnostic report for the NPS, it was determined that substantial work needs to be done. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation was formed to raise funds and oversee any necessary restoration. As in the past, private contributions were the backbone of the foundation's success: More than $ 295 million was collected; $ 86 million went directly to the restoration of the statue.
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