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Statue of Liberty - National Monument

Statue of Liberty - National Monument


More than a century has passed since the torch of the Statue of Liberty was set up in New York Harbor, a guiding light to lead people to freedom. The monument has come to be perceived as the symbol of the fervent oath of one liberated nation to all the subjugated people of the world that in the United States of America there will always be egalitarianism confined by the law, and that in this country human rights will always be valued and protected.

"Liberty Enlightening the World", recognized generally as the Statue of Liberty, is an immense statue presented in the end of 19th century to the United States by France (namely, Franco-American Union). Since then the monument stands at Liberty Island, in the opening of the Hudson River as a warm salutation to all guests, immigrants, and native citizens coming home. The copper effigy, granted on October 28, 1886, celebrates the centenary of the U.S. and is a token of amity between the two lands. In regards to the construction of the statue three persons should be mentioned: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor; Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (engineer of the Eiffel Tower), responsible for the internal construction; and Eugene Viollet-le-Ducwas, who made the final decision about the copper for the monument's building and implemented the Repoussé technique (Moreno).

The statue represents a standing female figure, wearing a curving robe and a seven-pointed spiked crown symbolizing the seven seas and seven continents, having a stone tablet in her left hand and a flaming torch high in the right. The celebrated monument is made of pure copper on a construction of steel; this, however, is not including the flame of the torch, which is covered with gold. The Statue of Liberty is placed on a brickwork plinth, which is placed on an asymmetrical eleven-pointed star base. The monument is 151 feet and one inch tall, with the base complementing it by additional 154 feet. "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776) is inscribed on the tablet honoring the date of the United States Declaration of Independence (Moreno).

The inner side of the platform has a bronze commemorative inscription with Emma Lazarus' poem "The New Colossus". With deep faith in the United States as the asylum for the browbeaten, its eminent final lines announce:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Wikipedia)

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous symbols of the United States around the globe, and stands for liberation and break away from subjugation. The monument was, from 1886 till 1952 (the year when the first jet airliner was scheduled to fly), one of the first sights of America for millions of immigrants when they came by ocean from Europe, in search of a new life of harmony and wealth. Moreover, nowadays it is the New Seven Wonders nominee that bears a most close resemblance to one of the Ancient Seven Wonders - the Colossus of Rhodes.





Works Cited

1."Emma Lazarus." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Jan 2007, 01:57 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 31 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emma_Lazarus&oldid=103737418>
2.Moreno, Barry. The Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
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Posted by: Helen P. Nash

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