Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous statue in the world. Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island, the Hudson River estuary in New York Harbor, the United States. Historically, this statue was built in 1875 as a gift from France to Amerika.Patung Liberty is considered as the largest concrete structure in the United States in the 19th century.America may not be able to win independence from Britain during the American Revolution without the help of France. France provided arms, ships, money and people to the American colonies. Some French people, especially the Marquis de Lafayette, a close friend of George Washington, even high-ranking officers in the American army. It is an alliance of respect and friendship, that France will not be forgotten.
Statue of Liberty
Almost 100 years later, in 1865, after the end of the American Civil War, some French intellectuals, who opposed the oppressive regime of Napoleon III, was at a small dinner party. They discuss their admiration for American success in establishing a democratic government and abolishing slavery at the end of civil war. The dinner was hosted by Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye. Laboulaye was a scholar, jurist, slavery and the leader of the "liberal" political group dedicated to the French republican form of government.
That night, the conversation turned to the close historic ties and love of freedom along the two countries. Laboulaye noted that there were "genuine flow of sympathy" between the two countries and he called France and America, "two sisters."
When he continued to speak, reflect on one hundred years of American independence only 11 years in the future, Laboulaye commented, "Would not it be wonderful if people in France gave the United States a great monument as a lasting memorial to independence and thereby showed that the French government was also dedicated to the idea of human freedom? "
Laboulaye question affected responsive chord in one of his guests, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor, a successful 31 years from Colmar, a town in the eastern province of Alsace, France.
Years later, given the dinner, Bartholdi wrote that the idea Laboulaye was "interested in me so deep that it remains fixed in my memory." So sown seeds of inspiration that will be the Statue of Liberty.
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
The sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was born in Colmar, France on August 2, 1834. Bartholdi's father, a civil servant and a prosperous landlord, he died when Bartholdi was two years old, so he was raised by strict and possessive mother, Charlotte.
Bartholdi began his career as a painter, but that as a sculptor that he was to express the true identity and get the greatest fame. His first commission for a public monument came to him at the young age of 18. This is for a statue of a native son of Colmar, General Jean Rapp, a military leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Even at 18, Bartholdi loved large size. Public sculpture is 12 feet tall and was created in Bartholdi's studio, where the ceiling was only an inch taller. The statue had established his reputation as a sculptor of note and led to many commissions are the same, big, patriotic work.
A man in his time, Bartholdi was not alone in his affliction. During the 19th century, large-scale public monuments which are very popular art form. It was the days of pride, where most of the construction is inspired by classical Greek and Roman civilizations. Most monuments reflected both dress or architecture from ancient times, so the art style of the 19th century became known as "neoclassical." Statue of Liberty will be patterned after the goddess, Libertas, the Roman personification of freedom.
But travel to Egypt who shifted from artistic perspective Bartholdi big enough for the colossal. Large size and the mysterious majesty of the Pyramids and Sphinx remarkable for enthusiastic young Bartholdi. He writes, "they are good and passive at first glance seem to ignore is present and fixed in the infinite future."
In 1870, with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Bartholdi served as major in the French army in his hometown of Colmar. When Germany annexed the entire Alsace region, making the citizens of German residents, the reality of the word "freedom" to take a meaning, a new personal for Bartholdi.
In time, the French Third Republic, will emerge from the ruins of the Franco-Prussian War. Meanwhile, partly as propaganda to advance the cause of the people who seek the establishment of the French Republic, Laboulaye suggested that Bartholdi must travel to America.
In remembering his conversation with Laboulaye few years later, Bartholdi wrote: "'Go to see the country," he [Laboulaye] to my' To propose to our friends there to make with us a monument, public works, be warned. ancient friendship of France and the United States. If ... you find a plan that will stimulate the interest of the community, we believe that it will succeed on both continents, and we will do a work that will have broad moral effect. ""
Bartholdi replied, "I will try to glorify the Republic and Liberty there, with the hope that someday I would find it again here."
So Bartholdi now to become a salesman. Armed with a letter of introduction from Laboulaye to some of America's most influential, Bartholdi sailed to New York in 1871.
Writing entrance into New York Harbor, he said:
"Images are presented to see when someone arrives in New York is incredible, when, after several days of voyaging, in the light of pearls of a beautiful morning revealed beautiful views of the big cities [Brooklyn and Manhattan], from the rivers elongated as far as the eye can reach, decorated with masts and flags; at the time woke up, so to speak, in the midst of that interior sea covered with vessels ... it is thrilling. This, indeed, the New World, which appeared in the expanse of magnificent, with a burning passion for life. "
New York Harbor a perfect locally, he added, because this "where people get their first look at the New World." Continuing, he said, "I have found this amazing place Bedloe's Island, in the middle of the bay .... The island is owned by the government, but in the national territory, of all countries, quite the contrary Narrows, which, so to speak, the gateway to America. "
Intelligent, warm, persuasive and charming, Bartholdi impressed he met many prominent Americans, including President Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Horace Greeley and Senator Charles Sumner.
His journey across America to meet him with amazement. He wrote, "Everything in America is big. Here, there is even a large pea. "
Wherever he went, he enthusiastically promoted sketches and models he brought the statue as it would appear on the island in New York Harbor. Americans seem to accept the idea of a statue dedicated to "Liberty enlightening the World" (the official name for the statue), but no one was willing to make commitments of money or a building.
Back in France, Laboulaye wait, until the Third Republic into reality, to publicize the idea of sculpture. Once again, Bartholdi completing other projects, while perfecting his ideas and designs for "American idol."
In 1875, with the establishment of the Third Republic, Laboulaye and Bartholdi agreed that "" when she arrived. Because the project would be very expensive, they decided the cost should be shared: French will pay for the statue; America will pay the pedestal and foundation. A fundraising committee called Franco-American Union was formed with members from both countries.
Describe the fundraising event that a gradual, but the money was slow in coming. Enough was collected to start work on the statue, but the purpose of completing it in time for the 100th birthday America is not possible.
Start Work
Bartholdi selected Gaget, Gauthier and the Company as a foundry where the statue will be built. He is an expert craftsman in the art of repousse, techniques for creating sculpture forms by hammering sheet metal in the mold. Lighter than metal casting, repousse is the only method available that allows such a monumental work that will be sent abroad. Elaborate framework for the statue was designed by renowned engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, already known for brilliant iron railway bridge and then celebrated as the Eiffel Tower. The theme of the statue itself comes from the Roman goddess Libertas, which symbolizes freedom.
Bartholdi was chosen as the official representative of France Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. With three large sculptures on display at the exhibition, Bartholdi name was becoming known in America.
Arm-sized 9.1-meter statue of Liberty brought to Philadelphia in 1876 as well. By paying 50 cents, visitors could climb the steel ladder to the balcony surrounding the torch. A lot of enthusiasm generated for this project, because the first statue of Liberty will be able to climb inside.
When the head of Liberty shimmering copper appears fair, he was a sensation. He was not sensational enough, however, to solve the problem of a never ending raise money to finish building it.
Someone with the Franco-American Union has inspired: They will hold a lottery. Because very little contribution coming from the moneyed elite of France, the idea to draw public attention with a lottery is a brilliant idea. Gifts are highly coveted and valuable, including two works by Bartholdi himself.
Additional funds raised by appropriate means of contemporary merchandising techniques: a signed and model number of the clay sculpture collection was sold in France and America. In late 1879, about 250,000 francs (about U.S. $ 750,000) was raised for the construction of the statue. Simply, most people think, to finish the job.
Finis!
Finally, in June 1884, Liberty receives final touch. (In May 1883, Laboulaye died of heart disease, never saw his dream come true).
Until the spring of 1885, when he dismantled for the long journey to America, Liberty remained in Paris.
Fundraising in America
While the sculpture was nearing completion in France, little things that happen on the American side.
American press continues to be critical of the project, especially the cost. They could not understand why the base should cost the same as the statue itself. Congress rejected the bill appropriating $ 100,000 for the base. New York approved a grant of $ 50,000, but the expenditure was vetoed by the governor.
Many Americans outside of New York considers the statue of New York. "Let New York pay for it," they said, while the new American rich, self-made millionaire who say and contribute nothing. Half American Franco-American Union, led by William M. Evarts, hold regular fundraising events, but public apathy almost as monumental as the statue itself.
In 1884, after years of fund-raising, only $ 182,491 has been collected and $ 179,624 has been exhausted. It took the intervention of Joseph Pulitzer and the power of media to make a difference.
Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian immigrant who fought in the Civil War, became a successful journalist and married a rich woman. In 1883, he bought a financial newspaper called The World, he already owned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When he heard that the Statue of Liberty was about to die because of lack of funds, he saw an opportunity to take advantage of three different occasions: to raise funds for the statue, to increase the circulation of his newspaper and with the explosion of rich for their selfishness.
Pulitzer set goals World fund at $ 100,000. In its pages he taunted the rich (thereby increasing the attractiveness of newspapers among working-class people) and firmly planted the notion that the statue was a monument not only to New York City, but, indeed, for all Americans.
Perhaps a clever way of Pulitzer is the promise to publish the name of every single contributor in the World page, no matter how small their contribution. Editorial that opened the fundraising campaign set the tone. He writes: "The world is a paper of the people and now appeal to the people to come forward and increase the [money for] base of the statue." Statue, he said, paid for by "the masses of the people of France Let us respond in that way .. Let us not wait for millionaires to give this money. This is not a gift from France to the millionaires American millionaire, but a gift from the people of France to the people across America. "Circulation of the World increased by almost 50,000 copies.
African American newspapers joined in this effort, encouraging their readers to contribute to a monument that would, in part, commemorates end of slavery. So the money poured in, as the contribution of one dollar of money from piggybanks grandmothers and school children.
On June 15, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in Bedloe's Island in 214 packing crates in a timber.
On August 11, 1885, the World front page states, "ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!" The goal has been reached, and slightly exceeded, thanks to more than 120,000 donations.
The place where He Stand
Architects for the laying of the Statue of Liberty, Richard Morris Hunt, is a highly respected designer and popular. She designed a place as high as 89 feet, located on top of concrete foundation. cost for this project is $ 1,000, which he returned to the funds to replace the statue.
Gen. Charles P. Stone is the chief engineer in charge of all construction projects, including the foundation, the base and re-assembling the statue. Liberty foundation alone required 24,000 tons of concrete, the largest single mass ever poured at the time. It measures 52 feet, 10 inches high. At the bottom, it was 91 meters, and above, it is 65 meters. pedestal rises 89 feet above the foundation.
Statue of Liberty was built in America in May 1886. It took six months to set up a statue to its place.
Dream Achieved
On October 25, 1886 Bartholdi and his wife, accompanied by Viscount Ferdinand de Lesseps-Marie, Chairman of the Franco-American Union, arrived in America. They were greeted by the American Committee and Joseph Pulitzer. In Bedloe's Island, surrounded by newspaper reporters recording his words for posterity, Bartholdi simply said, "My life dream is achieved."
The Opening of "Lady's"
Opening on October 28, 1886, declared a public holiday. It was raining and foggy, but did not extinguish the spirit of more than 1 million people who lined the streets of New York, wrapped in red, white and blue French tricolor flag, to watch the passing parade of more than 20,000. Wall Street is the only urban area to work on the opening day of Liberty. The New York Times reported that as the parade passed, the office boy "from a hundred windows began to unreel roll of tape that record the fateful messages of the 'ticker." At the time of white air with a circular tape. "And so the famous New York ticker-tape parade was born.
Officials from both countries attended. Representing the United States was President Grover Cleveland and his cabinet and the Governor of New York and his staff. Attended by the Ambassador of France, accompanied by the French Committee. And, most ironically, some members of America's wealthiest families - the same family who did not contribute one cent to the statue pedestal - now fighting over the chair stand out. New York, reported the World, "is one extensive entertaining."
Out on the water, the fog rolled in and out. Harbor teemed with ships of various sizes. Bartholdi stood alone at the head of the statue. He pulled the rope that would drop the French tricolor veil from the face of the statue. To sign, Bartholdi was to see the signal from the boys on the ground below, which will wave a handkerchief. The signal will come when Senator William M. Evarts, regarded as one of the more gifted orator of his day, finished his presentation speech.
Evarts began his speech, pausing to take breath, and the boy, thought the speech was finished, Bartholdi gives the signal. Bartholdi pulled the cord, exposing the shiny copper statue's face to the world. Whistle shattered, guns roared, the tires rotated ... and Evarts sat.
When President Cleveland's turn to speak, he said, "We will not forget that Liberty has made his home here, will not be chosen altar be ignored."
Statue of Liberty First 100 Years
At that time the Statue of Liberty, he was the tallest structure in New York, reaching a total height of 305 feet. It was not until 1899 that he was followed by the building of St. Paul, as high as 310 feet. Lady Liberty remains a visual and spiritual center of New York Harbor.
In 1903, one of the most impressive changes to the statue took place without fanfare or publicity. A bronze tablet mounted on the base of the interior walls as part of the plaque that is the poem written in 1883 which has become a credo for thousands of immigrants come to America.
The poem, "The New Colossus," written by Emma Lazarus to help raise funds for the construction of the statue base. Today, many people think of sculpture and poetry as inseparable.
In 1916, the World once again raise their voices to raise funds on behalf of the statue. This time, the goal is to spotlight the statue at night. Paper readers donated $ 30,000 and flashlights also redesigned in glass.
From the Revolutionary War period, Columbia's female figure is generally regarded as a symbol for Americans, but visibility improved and the popularity of sculpture during World War I to easily shift loyalties symbolic American. Liberty features appear everywhere, he became a kind of female equivalent to Uncle Sam. To help finance U.S. participation in the war, the Ministry of Finance is authorized to use the statue as a rallying symbol on posters designed to raise funds. The government sold about $ 15 billion of bonds, equivalent to half the cost of World War I.
President Calvin Coolidge declared the Statue of Liberty became a national monument on 15 October 1924. In 1933, the National Park Service took over the administration and maintenance.
Franco-American Committee for the Restoration of the Statue of Liberty was established in 1981. After the initial diagnostic report to NPS, it is decided that the important work needs to be done. Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation then formed to raise funds and oversee any necessary restoration. As in the past, private contributions are the backbone of the foundation of success: More than $ 295,000,000 was collected; $ 86,000,000 went directly to the restoration of the statue.
Reference: http://www.ohranger.com/statue-liberty/history-statue-liberty, http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/civil/articles/67613.aspx
