The French history of the Statue of Liberty is a tale of friendship and citizenship between two nations. She is an iconic landmark with a 4′ 6″ long nose, and one of the most recognised symbols of the United States. But did you know that Lady Liberty is an immigrant? It’s true, she’s a French woman by birth who has made New York her home.
There are hundreds of Statues of Liberty
There are replicas of this monument throughout the world including in Paris on the Ile aux Cygnes (the island of swans). It’s a small artificial island in the heart of Paris in the river Seine and close to the Eiffel Tower. It was built to support the three bridges that cross it. This Lady Liberty faces her sister in America. She’s a bit on the short side – a quarter of the size of her sister, at just 11.5 metres (almost 38 feet) tall and she is cast from an original mould signed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor who designed her. He filed a patent for the statue of liberty design in 1875 and in fact there are hundreds of Statues of Liberty all around the world including in Ireland in County Donegal, Spain, Canada, the UK, Ecuador, China, Japan, and Peru to name just a few!
The origins of the Statue of Liberty
But before we get to some of those fascinating facts, lets go back to when it all started. It was the year 1865. A Frenchman called Edouard de Laboulaye, an idealistic political thinker, wanted to make a monument to the liberty that both France and the United States valued, having both had revolutions. It would be a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States with no government involvement. The French people would produce the statue and the American people would provide the pedestal on which it would stand.
Laboulaye, who is known as the “Father of the Statue of Liberty,” enlisted the help of a sculptor friend – Bartholdi. He was born in Colmar in 1834 and he was a bit obsessed with building something colossal. When the Suez Canal was being built he proposed that a huge statue of a woman to serve as a lighthouse would be a great idea, but no one wanted to know. When Laboulaye and Bartholdi got together, they planned and waited for the right time to start their monumental project. Ten years later (1875) the project to create the Statue of Liberty was officially announced. Bartholdi’s dream to build something monumental was about to come true. But this noble and idealistic French plan had one little flaw. They had not even considered the possibility that the Americans might not want to participate! But actually, the gift receivers weren’t met with as much enthusiasm as you might think.
How the Statue of Liberty was funded
Bartholdi went to New York to meet with the movers and shakers of the city. When he explained that the people of France wanted to give America a giant statue to glorify the idea of liberty, that was fine with them.
But when he asked them to fund the pedestal that it would need to stand on, that was a different matter. The Americans basically weren’t keen on a gift that cost them money. The American partners that Laboulaye spoke to wanted to know how they could profit from it. Could they advertise their businesses on the base they wondered? In the end they half-heartedly agreed to form a committee to raise funds for the pedestal. But the money was slow to come in.
Meanwhile the committee in France organised concerts, opera events, and collected money from individuals all over the country including children whose schools raised money. The amount needed to get the statue going was reached, and construction began. More funds were raised by exhibiting the statue as it was being built and by selling miniatures of the statue.
Who made the Statue of Liberty?
The internal structure was originally assigned to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a prominent architect who restored the great Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the citadel of Carcassonne. But he passed away unexpectedly, so one Gustave Eiffel was employed to take his place.
Eiffel modernised the plans and designed a tall central pylon which actually looks a bit like the Eiffel Tower! The statue’s skin, made of copper, was then attached to metal bars bolted to the pylon which gives it flexibility with temperature changes, high wind etc. The statue was constructed between 1884 and 1885 at a foundry in rue de Chazelles in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.
Bartholdi had hoped to present the completed statue at the American Centennial Independence celebration in 1876, but the project was behind schedule. So he decided to present the most symbolic part of the statue – the arm holding the torch. Unfortunately, the ship carrying it was a month late and the centennial celebration was finished by the time the arm arrived.
But the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia was still going strong, so Bartholdi packed up his giant arm and went to Philadelphia where he exhibited it and charged people 50 cents to climb up to the flame. It was a big hit and the interest of the American public was piqued by his project.
Back in Paris, Bartholdi continued his publicity by displaying Lady Liberty’s head at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair.
As for that iconic face, strangely no one actually knows for sure who Bartholdi based her on. Some say it was his mother, others say it was a French woman named Isabelle Boyer the wife of Isaac Merritt Singer of sewing machine fame. Or perhaps someone else…
The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty
In 1884, after 9 years of construction, the statue was finally complete – but the base wasn’t. This giant of a woman had no place to go. The Parisians launched a petition to keep her, but in 1885, Bartholdi decided to send her to New York and hope the Americans would finish the pedestal. The French government paid for the transportation to New York, which was the only government involvement in the entire project. The statue was transported from France to America in 214 crates aboard a French Navy ship called Isere, and arrived in New York Harbour on June 17, 1885, where an immigrant named Joseph Pulitzer (the same one who later established the Pulitzer Prize) stepped in to save the day. He decided to bypass the rich businessmen and do what the people of France had done. He got the whole country involved via a newspaper he published called New York World. It’s entirely possible that without his involvement, the statue might have ended up somewhere else – Boston or San Francisco for instance!
Bartholdi was said to have started a rumour setting off rivalry between Philadelphia and New York which helped kick start the campaign as New Yorkers didn’t want Philadelphia to have the statue! Pullitzer asked everyone to give money, even if it was just a penny. He promised to print the name of every person in his paper no matter how small their donation. The money came pouring into the newspaper office from all over America in coins and notes. A kindergarten in Iowa raised £1.35. In total $102,000 was raised from 120,000 contributors. Pulitzer kept his word and every contributor’s name was printed in his newspaper no matter how small the amount – crowd-funding at its best.
With the pennies of the people, the enough money was raised to complete the base, so the crates containing the dismantled lady – which were stacked next to the unfinished base – were unpacked, and the majestic French lady stepped up onto her pedestal in October 1886
The inauguration of the Statue of Liberty
A million New Yorkers turned out to watch the official unveiling on a wet and foggy day. There were parades on land and sea, Bartholdi removed the cover from Liberty’s face and cannon fire roared accompanied by steam whistles from hundreds of ships in the harbour. And the 46 metres (151 ft) tall Liberty on her pedestal which is 47 metres (154 ft) tall was finally home.
The statue that started as an idealistic French plan, and was unwanted by the Americans has become one of the most important symbols of the United States of America and today, people often forget that Lady Liberty is a French woman.
And here are some fascinating facts about the Statue of Liberty!
The name given to the statue by the sculptor was La Liberté éclairant le monde, or “Liberty Enlightening the World”.
The robed female figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom and that’s why she is named Liberty.
The seven spikes on the crown represent the seven oceans and the seven continents of the world, indicating the universal concept of liberty.
At the time it was finished, the Statue of Liberty was the tallest iron structure ever built. Then of course came another tall iron structure from France – The Eiffel Tower.
The Statue of Liberty holds a torch and tablet with the date July 4 1776 inscribed in Roman numerals: JULY IV MDCCLXXVI – the date of American Declaration of Independence.
The crown of the statue has 25 windows and can be reached via 354 steps.
The statue functioned as a lighthouse for a while – from 1886 to 1902.
Strong winds cause the Statue to sway up to 3 inches and the torch sways even more – up to 6 inches.
he Statue’s original torch has been replaced by a new copper torch covered in 24K gold leaf which is lit by floodlight at night. The original torch is located in the lobby of the monument.
The length of the statue’s nose is 4’6″ (1.37m).
The Index finger of the statue is a whopping 8 feet long (2.44m).
The Statue of Liberty was designated a National Monument in 1924 and a World Heritage Site in 1984, and more than four million people visit her each year.
Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com
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