The statue of liberty essays

The statue of liberty essays One of the most noticeable things that you see when you are entering the New York harbor is the enormous Statue of Liberty. It was given to us by the French as a symbol of friendship, however, there is great meaning to the statue. Over the years, Lady Liberty has been a symbolic icon to people all over the world. To some people, her presence means freedom and a new beginning. During the American Revolution, America probably would not have been able to conquer the British and gain freedom without the help of the French. The French helped plenty by supplying the U.S. with plenty of money, ships, weapons and soldiers to fight against the British. Almost 100 years after the war, the French decided that they had a great deal in common with the US and wanted something to symbolize their close historic ties and their passion for freedom and liberty. During that time, the U.S. and France were even called The Two Sisters. So, because of the close bond between the two countries, the French decided that it would be a great idea to show the United States that they are close allies and exemplify the fact that they were also dedicated to the idea of human liberty. There was a great deal of work that was put into creating the statue. The French hired Frederic Auguste Bartholdi to sculpt the statue. He was born into a middle class family on August 2, 1834 and wa s raised by his mother Charlotte. Many people believe that the idea of Lady Liberty came from Charlotte and others believe that the inspiration came from a previous project he was working on that never got completed. To this day, the sculptors true inspiration remains a mystery. The statue was to be a joint effort between the French and the Americans. It was set so that the Americans were to be in charge of creating the pedestal and the French would be in charge of Lady Liberty herself. However, money was an issue for both of the c...