Free Essays on Statue Of Liberty

The Construction of the Statue of Liberty The construction of the Statue of Liberty began in France in 1875 by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. He was commissioned to design a sculpture that would be completed by 1876. It was not finished until June of 1885.The Statue was a joint effort between America and France. The American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible to build the Statue. It was to be assembled in the United States. (Pickin, 208) Lack of funds became a problem for both America and France. The French used public fees and various forms of entertainment. Gounod, the famous composer, wrote a song to the statue which he presented at the Paris Opera. In the spring of 1878 a lottery was organized to help with the funds. There was a law in France that permitted lotteries for charitable and artistic causes. The Statue of Liberty qualified under both of these. It was soon discovered that the statue would cost much more than they first thought. The final cost of approximately $250,000 was completely contributed by the French people. The French government did not have to aid in the construction of the statue. In America, the proposal to construct the statue reached the United States even before the Franco-American Union issued its appeal for funds in 1875.A committee was appointed in September 1876 to secure funds for the pedestal. The committee was appointed by the famous Union League Club in New York. John Jay served as the chairman. A similar committee was established in Philadelphia. The United States held theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights to assist in providing the needed funds. The fund raising was going very slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer who is noted for the Pulitzer Prize, used his newspaper, â€Å"The World† to help the fund raising effort. Pulitzer publicly criticized the rich for failing to finance the pedestal construction and he Blair 2 criticized the middle... Free Essays on Statue of Liberty Free Essays on Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty was the idea of two frenchmen who admired America's freedoms, and although Lady Liberty was their brainchild, it was, in fact, really a gift from the people of France who funded it by through private donations. Lady Liberty has welcomed millions of immigrants from around the globe. She was give with the hopes of celebrating universal freedom and she has served her purpose well. Lady Liberty is commonly percieved to be a joint Franco-American Conglanoration, but in fact, has roots that are much older. The simple tale is that the generous French offered Liberty as a gift, honoring America's cherished ideals of freedom and opportunity for all. The true circumstances, of course, were much more convoluted. The idea for the Statue of Liberty first took hold of the imagination of its sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, during a dinner party at the home of Eduoard-Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye, a French intellectual and activist who hoped to sponsor an enormous monument that might serve as propaganda against the conservative leaders of the then shaky French government (Trachtenberg, 28). Bartholdi had always wanted to create a colossal, awesome structure, and Laboulaye named him to create what Laboulaye envisioned as an powerful political lever for shaping French government and society. The first conversations with Laboulaye occurred in 1871, more than fifteen years before the Statue of Liberty would actually stand within New York Harbor. A lot of arm-twisting for funds took place in the meantime, along with two trips to the United States, and a variety of differing sketches for the statue. At the sametime, Laboulaye managed to rise quickly to prominence within the French government, pushing an amendment through the chambers of parliament that essentially called for the establishment of republican status for France. The result: the Third Republic. To fortify their regime, Third Republic leaders strongly advocated the... Free Essays on Statue Of Liberty "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 lift my lamp beside the golden door." Lady Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they arrived in the New World and continues to greet millions of tourists from around the world each year. While the Statue of Liberty is as much as an enduring symbol of New York City as the Empire State Building, Broadway or Central Park, it's also one of America's primary symbols of freedom. Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was a joint effort between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, which was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights assisted in providing needed funds. Meanwhile in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such as colossal copper sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently yet stand upright. Back in America, fund raising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer (noted for the Pulitzer Prize) opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, "The World" to support the fund raising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to critic... Free Essays on Statue Of Liberty The Construction of the Statue of Liberty The construction of the Statue of Liberty began in France in 1875 by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. He was commissioned to design a sculpture that would be completed by 1876. It was not finished until June of 1885.The Statue was a joint effort between America and France. The American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible to build the Statue. It was to be assembled in the United States. (Pickin, 208) Lack of funds became a problem for both America and France. The French used public fees and various forms of entertainment. Gounod, the famous composer, wrote a song to the statue which he presented at the Paris Opera. In the spring of 1878 a lottery was organized to help with the funds. There was a law in France that permitted lotteries for charitable and artistic causes. The Statue of Liberty qualified under both of these. It was soon discovered that the statue would cost much more than they first thought. The final cost of approximately $250,000 was completely contributed by the French people. The French government did not have to aid in the construction of the statue. In America, the proposal to construct the statue reached the United States even before the Franco-American Union issued its appeal for funds in 1875.A committee was appointed in September 1876 to secure funds for the pedestal. The committee was appointed by the famous Union League Club in New York. John Jay served as the chairman. A similar committee was established in Philadelphia. The United States held theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights to assist in providing the needed funds. The fund raising was going very slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer who is noted for the Pulitzer Prize, used his newspaper, â€Å"The World† to help the fund raising effort. Pulitzer publicly criticized the rich for failing to finance the pedestal construction and he Blair 2 criticized the middle...