What is written on the Statue of Liberty and who wrote it?

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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A gift from the people of France, she has watched over New York Harbor since 1886, and on her base is a tablet inscribed with words penned by Emma Lazarus in 1883: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

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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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The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution. Yet, it represented much more to those individuals who proposed the gift. A photograph of Edouard de Laboulaye from the Galerie Contemporaine collection.

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25 Facts to Celebrate the Statue of Liberty
  • The statue's full name is Liberty Enlightening the World.
  • It was a gift from France given to America in 1886.
  • The robed female figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.
  • The statue measures 93 meters and weighs 204 metric tons.


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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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Inspired by the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas, the lady holds a torch in one hand (a symbol of the eternal fire of freedom) and in the other a book bearing the date of July 4, 1776, American Independence Day.

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The Statue of Liberty is just one of the iconic landmarks in New York City. It's made of copper, which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath.

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After the Statue's dedication in 1886, the Black Press began to debunk romantic notions of the Statue of Liberty and American History. Racism and discrimination towards African Americans did not end after the Civil War or with the dedication of the Statue - it continued on for more than a century.

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The sestet, or six-line stanza which concludes the poem, gives the Statue of Liberty a voice, imagining its 'silent lips' addressing the arriving immigrants and welcoming them to the land of the free.

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The Statue of Liberty is a 305-foot (93-metre) statue located on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay, off the coast of New York City.

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The Statue of Liberty (officially named Liberty Enlightening the World and sometimes referred to as Lady Liberty) is a monument symbolising the United States. The statue is placed on Liberty Island, near New York City Harbor. The statue commemorates the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

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So who was the Statue of Liberty modeled after? Quite likely, a mixture of all of these: Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi, the Roman goddess Libertas, a peasant, and that extra inspiration in the artist's own mind.

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