Lady Liberty: Gift and Legacy

Professor Edouard-Rene Lefebre de Laboulaye, a highly-regarded legal scholar and political activist in Paris, France, regularly hosted home dinner meetings among colleagues. At that time they were living under the repressive reign of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III. That is the setting for how the idea of commemorating "the commitment of the United States to the principle of liberty for all" emerged in 1865. After the assassination of President Lincoln, Laboulaye thought it would be appropriate to support a public monument (a common means of expression at that time) that would represent the ideals of liberty and justice, and be a symbol of deep friendship between the two nations. The support of the Marquis de Lafayette and the French during the American Revolution had already cemented the close bond between the two nations.

Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was in attendance at a key meeting and was inspired to take on the project. He had a passion for "grand scale works of art," and began his research by visiting the United States multiple times with the expectation that he would find the ideal location for such a statue. He found that Bedloe's Island in the harbor of New York City (later Liberty Island) was the perfect choice, and, with the partnership of structural engineer Gustave Eiffel, began a process that would be commemorated 21 years later, on October 28, 1886, as "Liberty Enlightening the World."

The Westmoreland County Libraries (WCL) lists 130 books and DVD's on this subject, some in our local Murrysville collection, and others in sister libraries of the WCL.

The book that is most comprehensive in telling this story is "Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty" (Cornell U. Press, 2010) by Yasmin Sabina Khan. A civil and structural engineer by training, Khan has beautifully captured the history in a book that flows like a novel.

"Liberty: The Statue and the American Dream" (National Geographic Society, 1983) is the official book for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty, written by Leslie Allen. It includes many photos in a large-book format. It focuses a great deal on the movement of the immigrant population up to 1980, with graphs of population movement from various countries. In the forward, Allen writes, "Theirs was the largest and most successful mass migration in modern history...They found the dignity and security they sought."

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Oscar Handlin is the author of "Lady with the Lamp: Symbol of Liberty", (Newsweek Book Division, "The Wonders of Man", 1971), another large-format book with 150 photos. What differentiates this book from many others is the section on "Immigrant Memoirs," in which a selection of individuals from a variety of countries of origin get to tell their personal stories. As Professor Handlin states, "Americans are almost all immigrants or descendants of immigrants, and their whole history has been a process of uncovering the meaning of liberty."

A visually beautiful children's book, "A Picnic in October" (Harcourt Brace, 1999) by the well-known children's author Eve Bunting, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, tells the story of the annual visit a young boy, Tony, reluctantly takes with his Italian-American family to the Statue of Liberty every October 28, to have a picnic on Liberty Island. He comes to understand what this visit symbolizes for his grandparents' immigrant experience, with themes of family, tradition, and gratitude.

"How They Built the Statue of Liberty", (Random House, 1985) by Mary Shapiro and illustrated by Huck Scarry, contains a detailed portrayal in pencil drawings depicting the process by which the Statue was built, step by step, with easy to follow text that would be a perfect choice for both children and adults.

For those of you who may enjoy an alternative format, the Ken Burns video will certainly be a good choice, with narration by the late David McCullough, noted historian with roots in Pittsburgh. One of the issues that comes to light is the difficulty, after the project is already underway in France, to raise funds in the U.S. for the costs of building the pedestal, and erecting the whole statue from the parts that were shipped from France to New York. The primary fundraiser emerged in the person of Joseph Pulitzer, owner and publisher of the New York World newspaper. He promised to print the name of every donor, regardless of how small the amount, and was successful in stimulating the public to finance the final stage of this historic project.

The 250th birthday of the founding of the United States will take place in July of this year, marking a significant milestone in the history of our country. What a perfect time to take advantage of the resources at our local library to appreciate the history and the individuals whose determination and creativity brought this Statue of Liberty to life.