Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are unalienable rights, according to the United States Declaration of Independence. The document’s 100th anniversary was celebrated with a fitting gift from the people of France: the Statue of Liberty.

The statue was created by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. His mother Charlotte was the model. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower, designed the statue’s support structure. It was shipped to New York Harbour in 350 pieces and put together on the American-made pedestal. The project was a symbol of friendship between France and the United States.

SYMBOLISM

Lady Liberty is full of symbolism. She wears a crown with seven spikes, representing the seven continents and seven seas. In her right hand, she holds a torch. The torch is a symbol of enlightenment, lighting the way to freedom. This is also reflected in the statue’s official name: Liberty Enlightening the World. In her left hand, she holds a tablet. The date of the Declaration of Independence is engraved in Roman numerals reading July 4th, 1776 (JULY IV MDCCLXXVI). A broken chain at her feet conveys freedom from oppression and servitude.

429 The Statue of Liberty Cordon
Cordon

LIBERTY ISLAND

When the statue was first erected, it was the colour of copper. Over twenty years, it slowly turned green through oxidation. This colour, called ‘verdigris’, has become one of the statue’s most recognisable features, as it stands on its pedestal on Liberty Island. People used to live on Liberty Island. There used to be a military reservation there. Later, the statue’s caretakers took residence. The last two were superintendent David Luchsinger and his wife, Debbie. He retired when Hurricane Sandy destroyed his house in 2012. The house was not rebuilt so, for now, Lady Liberty lives alone.

BLACK TOM

She is never lonely, though. She gets many visitors, who come to admire the view from the crown. The torch, however, is no longer open to the public. It has been closed since the Black Tom explosion in 1916. This was one of the most serious acts of sabotage in the United States. Black Tom Island, next to Liberty Island, was a munitions depot. It held trainloads of weapons for the English allies during the first World War. On the 30th of July, German agents destroyed the weapons using two million tonnes of explosives. The blast measured 5.5 on the Richter scale. Shrapnel caused a lot of damage to the Statue of Liberty.

Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum repaired the torch. It was replaced entirely in the 1980s, due to water damage. The original is now on display in the Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island.

SYMBOL OF FREEDOM?

The Statue of Liberty represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. For many years, it welcomed immigrants arriving in the US, as they approached the Ellis Island immigration station. Today, the world has changed. Many Americans demand tougher immigration policies. In such a climate, is the Statue of Liberty still a symbol of freedom?

An 1883 poem on the statue reads, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” In 2019, an immigration official added, “who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.” He was defending a new rule to limit food aid to immigrants. Therein, perhaps, lies the answer to the question.