The Statue of Liberty - Blogging Through the Alphabet

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As we remember those who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States today, I thought it fitting that my Blogging Through the Alphabet contribution would focus on a symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty.

She's known as the Statue of Liberty or Lady Liberty, but her official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World", and she was a gift to the people of the United States from France in 1886. This statue has come to represent the ideal of liberty and freedom from tyranny to Americans and to people around the world. The symbolic elements incorporated into the statue include the broken shackles and chains around her feet; the palla and stola she's wearing, which recall the clothing worn by free citizens of ancient Greece and Rome; a tablet inscribed with the date July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals; the crown and the torch, which are both symbolic of the enlightenment and freedom.

In 1885, Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye proposed the monument. He longed for freedom and democracy to return to his own country, and hoped the statue would inspire others. He received help from artist Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, who had a passion for large monuments and sculptures. Before starting work, Bartholdi traveled to America to find a spot for the statue to stand. He chose a star-shaped fort on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. Architect Eugene Viollett-de-Luc was hired to provide the framework for the statue. He designed the torch and the support for Liberty's arm, but his unexpected death in 1879 meant a replacement would have to be found for the project. Prominent architect and engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel provided design for the skeletal support system. The statue was completed in France in 1884, and then had to be packed into 214 separate crates and transported across the Atlantic. After a pedestal was built for her to stand on, Lady Liberty was reassembled and was dedicated on October 28, 1886. 

The Statue of Liberty was originally maintained by the Lighthouse Board until 1901, since she was a working lighthouse. The War Department took over her upkeep until 1933, when she was turned over to the National Park Service. She was made a National Monument in 1924, and Bedloe's Island was renamed Liberty Island in 1956.

How big is Lady Liberty? She is 305 feet tall from her base to the top of her torch. She's made out of the two-penny thick copper sheets. 

The New Colossus

(written 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, storied 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, tempest-tossed, to me

I life my lamp beside the golden door!"

While we read about the Statue of Liberty once when the kids were much younger, Kennady had been fashioning a paper crown, tablet, torch, and chains so that she could transform herself into a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

And of course, when we visited NYC, she had to have a picture with one of the small replicas seen in the city.

Photo credit: Kennady's chaperone

And one of her drawings of the Statue of Liberty, done  about three years ago.

Statue of Liberty, art marker, May 2014

To find out more about the Statue of Liberty, check out the National Park Service website.

Visit PaperToys to print out a template and instructions to assemble your own Statue of Liberty.

For the 10-day Everyday Easels lesson plan related to the Statue of Liberty, or the Introduction to Architecture elective lesson on the Statue of Liberty, visit SchoolhouseTeachers.com and use the coupon code SPRINGSAVINGS, just until May 31, and you'll get access to the entire website, including the new World Book library of resources, for an entire year and special half-off pricing.

This post is linked at Blogging Through the Alphabet hosted by A Net In Time and Hopkins Homeschool. Join in to see what others are sharing related to this week's letter!

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