Lady Liberty is a symbol of freedom

Hakikul Islam Khokan

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to America 131 years ago. “The statue’s meaning has expanded over the years so much that the Statue of Liberty has become an international symbol of freedom and liberty, the most recognizable symbol of democracy,” commented the National Park Service, which oversees both the statue and Ellis Island. America will celebrate the 131st anniversary of the Statue of Liberty with a huge birthday party on October 28. A parade of ships, music, speeches, a cake and a huge fireworks display will be held in New York Harbor to honor the statue. A citizenship ceremony will also be held, where 125 people will be recognized as US citizens. This 93 meter high copper statue was gifted to the United States by the people of France in 1886. The statue commemorates the alliance established during the American Revolution. The statue was created in France in 1884, then disassembled and shipped to New York, where it was reassembled. The statue was installed on 28 October 1886 in front of thousands of cheering spectators.

Edouard de Labouille, a French law professor, politician and writer, designed the statue around 1865 to enrich the relationship between the United States and France with a symbol of both countries’ ideals of freedom and liberation. Artist Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, known for his large-scale works of art, was commissioned to create the statue. Bartholdi traveled to the United States to select a suitable site and chose Bedlow’s Island (renamed Liberty Island in 1956) in New York Harbor as the site for the statue.

Since the statue was a joint venture between America and France, it was decided that the Americans would build the foundation stone of the statue and the people of France would take responsibility for the statue and its attachment. From city governments in France,Funding for the statue is raised from the sale of miniatures of the statue, from lotteries and through donations from school children and others in France. About two million francs (the equivalent of about four hundred thousand dollars at the time) were collected. But raising money in the United States was relatively difficult. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer stepped in and began lobbying his newspaper New York World for grants. He started printing the names of all the donors in his newspaper, even the names of school children who donated a few paise were included in the list. The list of donors exceeded 120,000, many of whom gave less than a dollar. This is how the Americans donated two and a half million dollars for the foundation of the statue.

Bartholdi built the statue and the full name of the statue is ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’ and the statue is made of copper, which is beaten to a thickness of 2.4 millimeters. French engineer Allander-Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) created a structure for the statue. The infrastructure is built in such a way,So that the copper body of the idol will be able to stand upright even if it is moved separately. That is why the statue is able to sway in the harbor breeze. Also known as Lady Liberty, the statue is 93 meters tall from the base of its plinth to the top of its hand torch. The height of the statue from ankle to head is 34 meters. Over the years its copper color has turned green due to a chemical reaction called patination. In 1984, the United Nations included the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site. The statue was reopened to visitors in 1986 after a two-year renovation. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the statue. It was during this renovation project that the new torch was given a thin coating of 24 carat gold. In recent years visitors can climb the plinth and crown of the statue by reservation. The interior of the statue will be closed from October 29 for further renovation work. However, Liberty Island will remain open to visitors and their cameras. The Statue of Liberty welcomed more than 12 million immigrants to the United States between 1892 and 1954 from the federal immigration station at nearby Ellis Island. The old immigration station is now a museum. Visitors can take a ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty.