What does the writing on the Statue of Liberty mean?

A tablet in her left hand is inscribed with the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, while a broken shackle and chains at her feet represent liberty breaking the chains of bondage, or slavery in the United States.



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Several phrases are associated with the Statue of Liberty, but the most recognizable is “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This quote comes from Emma Lazarus' sonnet, New Colossus, which she wrote for a fundraiser auction to raise money for the pedestal upon which the Statue ...

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Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. These iconic words from The New Colossus, the 1883 poem written by American Emma Lazarus etched in bronze and mounted on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal, have again been catapulted into a heated political debate on immigration.

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” Her sonnet “The New Colossus” was chosen to be inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, the monument it celebrates, and it remains a most moving and eloquent expression of an American ideal: “Give me your tired, your poor,” the sonnet concludes, “Your huddled masses…

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This poem was written as a donation to an auction of art and literary works conducted by the Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty to raise money for the pedestal's construction. Lazarus's contribution was solicited by fundraiser William Maxwell Evarts.

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The last line of the poem reads: Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Emma Lazarus is invoking the new opportunities presented to immigrants that make the trek from the Old World to the United States - the golden door is a symbol for their entrance into a land of ...

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A portrait of Auguste Bartholdi. The sculptor behind the Statue of Liberty, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was born in 1834 in Colmar, France in the Alsace region on the border of Germany.

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Liberty from Bondage In designing the Statue, Bartholdi incorporated broken chains and shackles to represent newly achieved freedom. Originally, the sculptor planned to place the chains in the Statue's left hand, which instead became the position of her tablet.

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5 Things You May Not Know About the Statue of Liberty
  • The statue represents a Roman Goddess. ...
  • The crown's spikes represent the oceans and continents. ...
  • Lady Liberty is struck by lightning 600 times every year. ...
  • Gustave Eiffel helped to build it. ...
  • Lady Liberty's face is modelled on the artist's mother.


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Egypt rejected the Statue of Liberty because according to the Khedive it was too costly. The original plan was to present the colossal neoclassical sculpture to Egypt to stand at the entryway to the Suez Canal as a beacon of light to Asia.

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How Much Money Is the Statue of Liberty Worth? If the Statue of Liberty's worth was valued on the material costs alone, it would be worth $227,610 as scrap metal.

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Her efforts paid off and in 1903, words from the sonnet were inscribed on a plaque and placed on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Today, the plaque is on display inside the Statue's pedestal, and an exact replica of the plaque can be found inside the Statue of Liberty Museum.

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