The Statue Of Liberty
Here are some facts about the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty
is a large copper coated statue that stands on Liberty Island (formerly
Bedloe’s Island) in New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty's first name
was Liberty Enlightening the World. The people of France presented the
Statue of Liberty to the minister of the United States in Paris, France
on July 4th, 1884.
The Statue was shipped to the United States in 214 cases aboard the French
ship "Isere" in May 1885. The site chosen for the statue was the center
of Old Fort Wood, on Bedloe’s Island, overlooking the ship channel of New
York Harbor. At the base of the statue is a museum paying tribute
to immigrants who came through Ellis Island. Lady Liberty was declared
a national monument in 1924. She symbolizes freedom in the form of a women
wearing flowing robes and a spiked crown. She holds a torch high in the
air in her right hand and carries in her left hand a book inscribed “July
4th, 1776”. On Miss
Liberty's feet are broken chains of tyranny which represent her successful
struggle to be free.
The
Statue of Liberty is one of the tallest statues in New York. From the bottom
of the pedestal to the tip of the torch it rises 306 feet, 8 inches into
the air. Miss Liberty's right arm is 42 feet long. Her hand is 17 feet,
3 inches long. Her neck to her crown is 28 feet tall and from ear to ear
it is 10 feet wide. Her torch was lifted 305 feet high to be put in place
in 1886. The statue weighs 254 metric tons. The Statue of Liberty was designed
by Frederic Bartholdi.
Here are some facts about Emma Lazarus. She is a poet who wrote the poem on Lady Liberty's pedestal called "The New Collossus". Emma Lazarus was in New York and threw a party for The Statue of Liberty. She had the party because the French gave Miss Liberty to the United States with no pedestal. So the people who came to the party donated money to pay for her pedestal.
Here is the part of the poem by Emma Lazarus on The Statue of Liberty's pedestal:
"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-tost to me,
I
lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
