Edouard Rene De Laboulaye: The Statue Of Liberty

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For hundreds of years, humans have created monuments and memorials in order to honor someone or a special event. The United States has hundreds of monuments and memorials dedicated to not only people, but events too, one being The Statue of Liberty. The idea of the Statue of Liberty was originally proposed by Edouard Rene de Laboulaye, who was the president of the French Anti-Slavery Society, and a profound mind of his time. As for this monument would honor the United States’ centennial of indolence and the friendship with France. History traces the idea to mid-1865, when Edouard had a conversation with Frederick Bartholdi, a sculptor who shared similar ideas with Edouard. The two men believed that the union victory in the American civil war …show more content…

In as early as 1902, the copper started to turn the shade of green that it is now due to oxidation, and by 1906, the whole statue was covered in a familiar green. Government officials wanted to paint over the green, but the public was against tampering with the statue, and only the inside of the statue was painted. During World War 1, Germans set of several explosions near the island, the arm of the statue took substantial damage, and seven people were killed. The repair cost about $100,000, equivalent to $2 million today. After the end of World War 1, the statue was present in various recruitment posters, representing the fight for liberty and justice for …show more content…

With its purpose of a “gateway to America.” The Statue of Liberty stands as a universal symbol of freedom, originally an emblem of the friendship between the people of France and the U.S. it stands for much more. Undergoing nine years of building with workers who worked vigorously at completing the national monument. The Statue of Liberty is a great symbol of freedom and enlightenment, the torch lighting the way to freedom showing us the path to liberty, and the statue’s most important symbol, her name, “Liberty Enlightening the World.” (unknown, Frequently Asked Questions About the Statue of Liberty,