An iconic symbol of America’s long and often uncomfortable struggle with immigration stands just over 151 feet tall in the middle of New York harbor. Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and constructed by Gustave Eiffel (the same monsieur who erected that eponymous tower in Paris), the Statue of Liberty has kept watch over us all since 1886—a welcoming beacon, an enduring landmark, a tireless guardian, a cherished ideal.
America’s most renowned monument represents Libertas, Roman goddess of liberty. In her right hand, she holds high a torch; in her left is a tablet inscribed with the date July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. A gift to the American people from the people of France, the heroic statue sent two messages: it was both a grateful expression of America’s promise of hope and freedom as well as a subtle plea to the people of France to resist the demagoguery and repressive regime of Napoleon III.
Even back then, there was a good deal of partisan bickering about Lady Liberty’s cost. Grover Cleveland, then Governor of New York, vetoed a bill that would provide $50,000 for the project. The following year, Congress declined to pass a measure that would provide $100,000 to finish the job. It ultimately fell to Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, to launch a private campaign to raise the funds ($150,000 at the time; $2.3 million in today’s dollars) needed to complete the project. Donations poured in, most of them under $1. A kindergarten class in Des Moines, Iowa contributed $1.35.
Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, The New Colossus, was added almost as an afterthought. The second stanza still resonates today with its indelible message of hope:
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Well, that golden door seems sadly tarnished these days. A wall, not a torch, has become the new symbol of our struggle with the long story of American immigration. And what an ironic story it is! Unless your ancestors happened to trudge here over the bridge that covered the frozen Bering Straight in the Ice Age, you are as much an immigrant to this land as I am or, for that matter, as anyone in one of those “caravans” coming from Central America or anyone fleeing the chaos in the Middle East. And yet, there are those among us who would summarily slam shut the door of freedom to preserve some perceived modicum of security in an inherently insecure world. Whether motivated by ideology or just plain fear, these folks would relegate Lady Liberty and her message of hope to the dustbin of history. Sad.
Tomorrow is the fourth of July, a worthy celebration of America’s roots in the fertile soil of democracy, freedom, and pluralism. How demeaning that the fireworks exploding in air tomorrow night will reveal an uglier truth: that our great experiment is in danger of failing, that the torch of hope is flickering toward extinction, and that Lady Liberty is slowly but surely turning her back on the world.
I’ll be right back.
Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer with homes in Chestertown and Bethesda. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy magazine. “A Place to Stand,” a book of photographs and essays about Landon School, was published by the Chester River Press in 2015. A collection of his essays titled “Musing Right Along” was published in May 2017; a second volume of Musings entitled “I’ll Be Right Back” will be released in June 2018. Jamie’s website is www.musingjamie.com.
Bob Moores says
What a great piece of thought and writing! How true. How true!
Michael Brunner says
Ugly Truth, Democracy in Danger, No Hope. What is a poor boy to do! Investments doubling, new cars, European vacations, 2nd homes. How do we stop it ?
“ But this ol’ river keeps on rollin’ though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow and as long as it does I’ll just sit here and watch the river flow “ . Dylan
So, what to do. You know he is going to win a second term .
Watch the river flow or do something about it. There is a big movement of regular people taking their investment increases since Trump took over and giving to organizations trying to stop him. I’m in, Are You ?
Deirdre LaMotte says
No, I don’t know that he will win a second term. There is a force, a feeling of hope
for the greater good, that I do think is prevailing. I do not mince words about Trump and have found people everywhere I go feeling the same; a weird type of collective outrage that is surfacing. I feel
optimistic for once. Yeah, so there are still
weirdos who support this con man. They
are greedy suckers and racist and no
facts will convince them otherwise.
One must keep active, vote, and kindly
remind all how precious and fragile a Democracy is.
Bob Moores says
In addition to sharing your sentiments, I have a special connection with Lady Liberty. In 1985 I was asked by the powers-that-be (mostly the marketing division) at Black & Decker to help with a major refurbishment of the statue that was to be completed for her bi-centennial celebration of our Declaration of Independence and the centennial celebration of her assembly in 1886.
Her problem was: The iron bars (part of what is called the “armature”) that run all over the inside of her skin, and were attached to her copper skin with copper plates and copper rivets, were badly corroded due to electro-chemical action of the iron/copper combination. The designers had foreseen this problem, so asbestos sheets had been wrapped around the iron bars, but the asbestos was too thin and ineffective after a hundred years.
The old plates and bars were replaced with stainless steel. The bars, each about eight feet long and roughly .75 x 2 inches in section, were removed a few at a time, and taken to a shop at the base of the statue where new stainless steel bars were bent using hydraulic presses to match the old shapes exactly.
Teflon sheets were subbed for asbestos.
A requirement for the repair was that when the old rivets were removed, Lady Liberty’s 3 mm-thick copper skin could not be damaged in the slightest. That’s where B&D came in. I designed a special tool that allowed drilling away the old rivets without touching the skin. The new rivets, like the old, are copper.
B&D was a late-comer to this project, so only about the last few thousand rivets were removed using my tools. Removal of the other rivets had resulted in occasional nicks in the skin. That’s why B&D was asked to help – why so late in the process I don’t know. Still, I got six trips to Liberty Island, and to crawl all over the inside and outside scaffolding of the statue. I got to watch French artisans form the new torch. It was solid and was to be covered with gold sheeting. The old torch had windows so it could shine by internal lights, but the windows leaked when it rained, and allowed water into her arm, which exacerbated the electrolysis problem.
That is why, aside from her symbolism, she has special meaning for me.