Cover Page

Contents

Introduction

Colonial Period

Revolution

Early Republic

War Between the States

Recent Era

District of Columbia

Historic Projects

Special Feature: A colossal copper statue set inside the walls of old Fort Wood on Bedloe Island.

THE history of the Statue of Liberty begins with those events which gave the United States its freedom. During the years of armed struggle from 1775 to 1781 French participation was a large factor in the success of the United States. In the early years of the war, many French subjects, notably the young Marquis de Lafayette, brought to the struggling States assistance in the form of leadership, supplies, and sympathetic understanding. Early in the Revolution Benjamin Franklin was sent to Paris to win the support of the French Government for the American cause. In 1778, following the American victory at Saratoga, a treaty of alliance between France and the United States was signed. The support of the French fleet commanded by Admiral Comte de Grasse and of a French army under General Comte de Rochambeau made possible the American victory at Yorktown in October 1781.

Nearly 100 years later the centennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence in the United States gave Edouard de Laboulaye, a French writer on American history and life, an opportunity to propose the erection of a memorial to commemorate the alliance of the two countries during the Revolution and their friendship in the following century. Auguste Bartholdi, a young French sculptor, was selected to plan and execute the memorial. As Bartholdi entered New York Harbor on his first visit to the United States the scene so impressed him that he conceived the plan of having the French people erect a colossal Statue of Liberty upon one of the islands in the harbor.

Acting on this suggestion, the French began in 1875 to raise funds for the construction of such a statue. The task proved to be greater than had been anticipated and the statue was not completed for presentation to the United States at Paris until July 4, 1884. Meanwhile, an American committee was raising funds for the construction of the pedestal. Largely through the efforts of the New York World the necessary money was secured in 1886. After the statue had been dismantled in Paris it was shipped to New York aboard the French ship Isere to be reassembled at its present location. It was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886.

The Statue of Liberty symbolizes a thought worthy of its great size and beauty. The sculptor Bartholdi portrays Liberty in the figure of a woman who has just secured her freedom. Grasping a burning torch in her right hand and in her left holding a book of law inscribed July 4,1776, she is represented as breaking the shackle lying at her feet and stepping forward to enlighten the world. Bartholdi wished to emphasize the symbolism further by having the torch lighted at night. Today his desire is fulfilled by the use of high-powered lamps which illuminate the torch from sunset to sunrise.

The ability of the sculptor can be appreciated better when one realizes the immensity of the work and the skill of its execution. The statue itself stands 152 feet high and is of most impressive aspect to ships entering the harbor. The tip of the torch is 300 feet above sea level. The statue is made of hammered copper about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, sup ported upon a steel frame anchored in the pedestal. The green color of the monument is the result of verdigris or green rust of copper. The detail of the work is excellent when one considers that the width of the face is 10 feet and that of the eyes 2 feet and 6 inches. The arm is 40 feet long and 12 feet in diameter at the point of greatest thickness. The tablet in the left hand is 23 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 2 feet thick.

Bedloe Island. — The 12-acre island on which the statue stands has had a varied history. Although now owned by the United States Government, the flags of The Netherlands and England have flown over it. It also has been owned by the city of New York, by the State of New York, and by several individuals, from the first of whom, Isaac Bedloe, the island received its name. Some time prior to 1670, Bedloe received a patent to the island and made improvements upon it. The Bedloe family retained ownership until 1732. During the early 1740's the city of New York appropriated the island for use as a quarantine station and finally purchased it for that purpose in 1758. It was used intermittently as such until 1796, when it was transferred to the State of New York to be used for one of the projected fortifications in the harbor. The fort, however, was not constructed by the State, but by the Federal Government, to which the island was ceded in 1800. Construction of the fortification was begun in 1808 and completed in 1811. Three years later it was named Fort Wood.

The high granite wall surrounding the base of the Statue of Liberty is that of old Fort Wood, which was garrisoned as a part of the defenses of the city of New York from 1811 to 1877. In the latter year it was abandoned to become the site of the statue, according to the wishes of Bartholdi. The star-shaped fort wall, characteristic of its time, was retained as a part of the foundation for the pedestal of the statue.

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