The Statue of Liberty
By: Rachel Westcott
3/23/12
Introduction
The Statue of Liberty stands proudly as she looks over New York Bay. She has
greeted millions of immigrants and tourists and has been symbolizing freedom for about
125 years. She reminds us that we are lucky to live in a free country and that people
traveled for months just to get here and live freely.
The Statue of Liberty took a lot of hard work to build, but afterwards it became a
great symbol of freedom known throughout the U.S.
The Idea
The idea for The Statue of Liberty was brought up at a dinner party hosted by a
French man named Edouard de Laboulaye. One
F
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ric Auguste Bartholdi. When Laboulaye said that he had an idea to
build a statue for Americans, Bartholdi instantly wanted to help with it. He was made the
sculptor for The Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty would be built by the French to
Americans for the 100th anniversary of independence from Great Britain.
Bartholdi then went to Egypt and tried to convince
the Egyptian ruler to build a lighthouse at the mouth of the
Suez Canal, which was under
construction at the time. The ruler
said no, but it showed that
Bartholdi was thinking about The
Statue of Liberty already.
In 1870, Bartholdi made the
first model for The Statue of
Liberty. Bartholdi now needed a
place for The Statue of Liberty to
stand. In 1871, Bartholdi made a
trip around the U.S. and decided on
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Island, in New York Harbor. It is
now called Liberty Island. Now
Bartholdi made the first
clay models for the Statue
that Bartholdi had a basic idea of
of Liberty in 1870. Here
what the Statue was going to look
were some of the early
like and where it was going to be, models.
The Statue of Liberty is located in New
he had to find a way to get money
York Harbor on an island called Liberty
to make the Statue.
Island. When the Statue of Liberty was
built, the island was called Liberty island.
Getting the Money and Donations
Raising the money for The Statue of Liberty was a big obstacle. It started on
November 6, 1875. France was in charge of making money for the statue, while the
people in the United States made money for the pedestal. The Franco-American union
was formed to raise money. Even though The Statue of Liberty was for them, Americans
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went slowly.
There were a lot of people/companies that donated
towards The Statue of Liberty. $300,000 was needed to build the
statue. To get money, Bartholdi sold miniature models of The
Statue of Liberty for $1-$5 depending on the size.
Bartholdi contributed $20,000 to the making of The Statue of
Liberty and the governor of New York contributed $50,000.
181cities and towns donated money and thousands of school
children and adults contributed what they had. Copper was
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When a former immigrant named Joseph Pultzer heard
about The Statue of Liberty and the amount of money needed for
it, he sent a letter out in the newspaper he owned. His overall
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Here is a picture of miniature
going to be built. Your help is needed and all you have to do is
models of the Satue of Liberty.
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Bartholdi might have sold
more than $100,000 from the people that saw his message. By
models similar to these.
then, Bartholdi had enough money so he could start building the Statue.
Construction and Design
Now that Bartholdi had enough money, he could start building
the Statue of Liberty. Because it was for the Americans and their
100th anniversary of independence, the tablet The Statue of Liberty
holds in her left arm says July 4th, 1776 in roman numerals (July IV,
MDCCLXXVI). That is the date the declaration of
independence was signed, symbolizing American
freedom.
The Statue of Liberty is made of copper
and the pedestal is made of granite. At first, The
Statue of Liberty was the color of a shiny new
penny. Now, after years of sun, rain, wind, and
This picture showes the Statue of ice, The Statue of Liberty is a pale green color.
Liberty when it was first made
The first parts of The Statue of Liberty
and the color of a new penny and
that were completed were the right arm, the
compares is to the color it is
torch, and the flame. Inside the right arm there
today.
is a staircase leading up to the torch so you can
stand on the torch. Inside the body of The Statue of Liberty there is a
huge spiral staircase leading up to a platform. From the platform, you
can go up a staircase that leads up to the crown, or you can go up a
staircase leading up to the torch. From the base of The Statue of
Liberty to the torch she is holding, there are 171 steps! In the crown, Here is a picture of the Statue
there are 25 windows so you can see New York harbor and beyond.
of Liberty under construction.
30 people at a time can fit inside the crown. There are also7 spikes on
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had a lot of workers, a model, and two famous people to help him design. Bartholdi used
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Gustave Eiffel designed the framework inside The Statue of Liberty. He would later build
the Eiffel Tower. Also, a man named Richard Morris Hunt designed the pedestal.
The statue was finished in 1884(in France). When it was finished, work on the
pedestal stopped because of money shortage. The Statue of Liberty took 15 years to
build. Now that it was completed everyone could see how huge it was.
A Big Statue
The Statue of Liberty is huge! The actual statue part in The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet
tall and the pedestal and base together is 154 feet and 1 inch tall. So, the pedestal is about
3 feet taller than the statue itself! The Statue of Liberty is so big; it is one of
’
tallest statues (including the pedestal and base).
The tablet The Statue of Liberty holds in her left hand is 23 feet 7 inches tall and
13 feet 7 inches wide. The torch she holds in her right hand is
21 feet tall. You might think that is tall, but from her feet to her
head is 111 feet 6 inches. The thickness of The Statue of
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are her nose and her mouth.
Picture 2 pennies stacked on top of each other. The
thickness of the copper covering on The Statue of Liberty is
3/32 of an inch. That is less than the thickness of the 2 pennies!
Bartholdi needed a way to get The Statue of Liberty to New
York. Because it was so huge, it would be a big obstacle.
Here are some measurements for the
Statue of Liberty.
Finishing up
And
From France to New York
In 1884, T S
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17, 1885.
The people who worked on The Statue of Liberty were sad to see it go after all of
their hard work. Americans who were living in France at the time noticed this. They
raised money and built a second Statue of Liberty and gave it to the workers. It was ¼ the
size of the real Statue of Liberty. This mini Statue of Liberty is still in Paris, France
today. It stands as a symbol of friendship between the United States and France.
When The Statue of Liberty got to New York, 75 workers put The Statue of
Liberty back together in 6 months. The pedestal was in place in April 1886. The statue
part of The Statue of Liberty was finished being put back together on October 25, 1886 in
New York.
The Statue of Liberty was unveiled 10 years after the anniversary of
independence. The dedication day for The Statue of Liberty is October 28, 1886 and in
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on October 28, 1886, there were many speeches given and there were thousands of
people there. When the last speech was done, Bartholdi was supposed to be signaled to
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speaker paused. The person who was supposed to signal Bartholdi signaled him.
Bartholdi dropped the flag and it got so loud, the man never got to finish his speech.
The Statue of Liberty is so big and so important it makes an impact on a lot of
people, especially people called immigrants.
There was a big celebration on October 28, 1886 (The dedication day for
The Statue of Liberty). It was a very special day.
The New Colossus
Impact on Immigrants
Not like the brazen giant
The Statue of Liberty made an especially big impact on
of Greek fame,
people looking for freedom, liberty, and rights. Those people are
With conquering limbs
called immigrants. Immigrants come to a foreign country from their
astride from land to land;
home country to live in the foreign country. Before immigrants
Here at our sea-washed,
could come to the U.S. they had to go through Ellis Island. In Ellis
sunset gates shall stand
Island, immigrants went through a bunch of tests to see if they were
A mighty woman with a
healthy or not. If they were healthy they either went to another test
torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned
or if they were done the tests and passed all of them, they could
lightning, and her name
enter the U.S. If they were unhealthy, they could not enter the U.S.
Mother of Exiles. From
and they were sent back to their home country. Most immigrants
her beacon-hand
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had to travel on boats to get to the U.S. they usually had to travel
welcome; her mild eyes
from 2 to 3 months. The ships were dirty and the air was filled with
command
disease. It was very crowded and robbery, seasickness, and
The air-bridged harbor
that twin cities frame.
starvation were very common.
"Keep, ancient lands,
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your storied pomp!"
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cries she
Liberty. When they saw The Statue of Liberty they knew it was
with silent lips. "Give
symbol of hope and freedom. They were also reminded that they
me your tired, your poor,
were in the land of the free. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions
Your huddled masses
of immigrants over the years, but only lucky ones could actually see
yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of
The Statue of Liberty. The immigrants who had enough money
your teeming shore.
could buy first or second class tickets. They were the only ones who
Send these, the
could see The Statue of Liberty as it passed. The rest of the
homeless, tempest-tost to
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’ see it because they were below deck.
me; I lift my lamp beside
Immigrants came to the U.S. to find political and religious
the golden door!"
freedom, but even when they were in the U.S. they were treated
Emma Lazarus, 1883
unfairly. A poet named Emma Lazarus was inspired by unfairly
treated Jewish R i i
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i “Liberty Enlightening the
”. Emma Lazarus gave The Statue of Liberty a more human
name; Mother of Exiles.
Emma Lazarus was born around July 22, 1849 died around
November 19, 1887, because of cancer. She was only 38 years old.
“T N C
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later in 1903.
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Fun Facts
The Statue of Liberty was closed to the public
for safety reasons after the attacks on
September 11, 2001. The base, pedestal, and
observation decks opened again in 2004 but the
crown remained off limits because it would not
be safe to run down the narrow spiral staircases
that are in the center of t S
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body.
More than 2 million people visit The Statue of
Liberty each year.
Restoring The Statu
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cost 31 million dollars.
The Statue of Liberty has been renovated a
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museum in the pedestal.
Statistics for the Statue of Liberty
Base of foundation to torch: 305 ft. 1 in.
Base of statue to torch:
151 ft. 1 in.
Heel to the top of head:
111 ft. 1 in.
Height of pedestal:
89 ft.
Height of foundation:
65 ft.
Length of torch:
21 ft.
Length of right arm:
42 ft.
Longest ray in the crown:
11 ft. 6 in.
Chin to top of head:
17 ft. 3 in.
Head from ear to ear:
10 ft.
Distance across eye:
2 ft. 6 in.
Length of nose:
4 ft. 6 in.
Width of mouth:
3 ft.
Length of hand:
16 ft. 5 in.
Index finger:
7 ft. 11 in.
Height of tablet:
23 ft. 7 in.
Greatest thickness of waist:
35 ft.
Number of copper plates:
350 plates
Steps in statue:
171 steps
Weight of copper in statue:
100 tons
Weight of skeleton:
125 tons
Total weight:
225 tons
igi
The torch has been renovated and changed a lot of
times. You can see Bartholdi’s original flame
inside the pedestal.
Realizations
The Statue of Liberty has made a big impact
on many people. The Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island became a national monument in
1924. It symbolizes liberty, freedom, and
hope and also reminds people to work hard to
make dreams and goals possible.
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Works Cited
1. Deady, Kathleen W. The Statue of Liberty. Mankato, Minnesota: Bridgestone
Books, 2002
2. Doherty, Craig A. and Doherty, Katherine M. The Statue of Liberty. Woodbridge,
Connecticut: Blackbird Press, 1997
3. Brooks, Philip. Superstructures: An Inside Look. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Gareth
Stevens Publishing, 2002
4. Kallen, Stuart A. The Statue of Liberty: “The New Colossus”. Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Abdo Consulting Group, 1994
5. Silverman, Erica. Liberty’s Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus. New York, New
York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2011
6. Quiri, Patricia R. Ellis Island. New York: Children’s Press, 1998
7. Haskins, Jim. The Statue of Liberty: America’s Proud Lady. Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Lerner Publications Company, 1986
8. Curlee, Lynn. Liberty. New York, New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers,
2000
9. Shapiro, Mary J. How They Built the Statue of Liberty. New York: Random House,
1985
10. http://www.statueofliberty.org/Fun_Facts.html
Pictures Work Cited
1. Statue of Liberty Title page:
http://www.historybyzim.com/2011/07/interesting-fact-3/
2. Map of New York Harbor:
Liberty By: Lynn Curlee
3. Statue of Liberty Clay Models:
The Statue of Liberty, America’s Proud Lady
By: Jim Haskins
4. Statue of Liberty mini models:
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6-K2BjaYgKoM4luwudKws3x763Ma99odBiXDIjZVLKGppRgj
5. Statue of Liberty comparing colors:
http://www.statueoflibertynow.com/images/statuelibertycoppergreen.jpg
6. Statue of Liberty under construction:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/AOoMBun2NXY/TqrHoHVAgnI/AAAAAAAACy4/DArINMt4gog/s640/statue_of_liber
ty_10.jpg
7. Comparing statues to the Statue of Liberty:
How They Built the Statue of Liberty By: Mary J. Shapiro
8. Statue of Liberty measurements:
http://www.statueofliberty.org/Fun_Facts.html
9. Statue of Liberty Fireworks:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=statue+of+liberty&FORM=BIFD#x0y0
10. Emma Lazarus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Lazarus.jpg
11. Torch construction Pictures:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/photogalleries/statue-ofliberty-pictures/photo8.html
12. Statue of Liberty sunset:
http://www.statueoflibertynow.com/statue-of-liberty-pictures.htm
13. Statue of Liberty Timeline:
Liberty By: Lynn Curlee