On June 25, 1884, Levi P. Morton, the United States minister to France, received a letter from Ferdinand de Lesseps, president of the Franco-American Union Committee, requesting his presence for an upcoming ceremony. The ceremony was to be held at the yard of the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. foundry in Paris and was appropriately scheduled for July 4.
Bands played, people cheered, and prominent individuals spoke. When Morton took the stage to formally accept the gift on America’s behalf and to thank the French people, he proclaimed, “God grant that it may stand until the end of time, as an emblem of imperishable sympathy and affection between the Republics of France and the United States.”
A Frenchman’s American Vision
During the summer of 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye, the French statesman, law professor, and admirer of the American republic, hosted a dinner party at his home near Versailles and suggested to his guests that France create a symbol of its cross-national friendship and “a monument … in memory of its independence.” Although America was in a state of reconciliation and mourning after its Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, de Laboulaye believed that freedom, especially after the abolition of slavery, had triumphed in the young republic. De Laboulaye hoped the monument would be ready by America’s centennial celebration of 1876.
One of his dinner guests was Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, an Alsatian sculptor, who was inspired by the idea and began formulating what that symbol of friendship, independence, and freedom might look like. In 1870, he began sketching his idea for “Liberty Enlightening the World.”
Unfortunately, the Franco-Prussian War broke out that same year, and Bartholdi’s city of Alsace was invaded, conquered, and incorporated into the German Empire in 1871. Bartholdi had led troops in defense of Alsace, but after the war’s end and the cause lost, he boarded a ship to America to gauge interest for his “colossal statue.”
Bartholdi spent three months in America where he chose a location for the statue called Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. The American response regarding his statue, however, was mixed, as it seemed most improbable proposal.
An Arm, Head, and Shoulders on Display
A decade had elapsed between de Laboulaye’s 1865 dinner and the reception of Bartholdi’s “colossal” idea, which made completing the statue in time for America’s Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia an impossibility. The exposition began in May 1876, and although the statue was still in its early stages, the torch-bearing right arm was complete.
The arm was shipped to America, where it remained on display during the Centennial Exposition. Literature was distributed from a kiosk at the base of the arm, which informed visitors of the FAU’s plan. The literature solicited subscriptions ranging from 10 cents to $100 that would pay for the statue’s pedestal. When the exposition ended in November, the arm was transferred to Madison Square Garden in New York City, where more subscriptions were solicited. The torch-bearing arm was proof that the French were actually serious about creating the “colossal statue.” The Americans decided to get serious, too.
In January of 1877, 114 prominent Americans formed the U.S. counterpart of the FAU. Over the ensuing years, the committee membership grew to 400. Fundraising, however, remained slow going.
The following year in Paris, Bartholdi and the workers at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. foundry had completed the statue’s head and shoulders. This portion of the statue was displayed at the 1878 Paris Universal Exposition, which was a world’s fair and a celebration of France’s Third Republic. The Third Republic was proclaimed on Sept. 4, 1870, after the Franco-Prussian War collapsed the Second French Empire.
American Hesitance and Pulitzer’s Plea
When the July 4 ceremony ended in Paris, Morton and the FAU were left with another very large task: shipping the “colossal statue” to New York. That, however, was the least of the problems. In America, the pedestal had yet to be built, nor were there enough funds to do so. The American Committee had initially estimated the cost for the pedestal at $125,000. They soon doubled the estimate. The statue had been presented, accepted, and was ready to ship; but there was no place to put it, and neither the New York Legislature, the U.S. Congress, nor the American people seemed interested in paying for what was deemed “New York’s Lighthouse.”Several other cities, though, like Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, and even San Francisco, began vying for the statue, claiming the pedestal would be furnished if the statue was erected in their city. In March 1885, nine months after Morton had accepted France’s gift of friendship, Henry F. Spaulding, treasurer of the American Committee, announced that funds were depleted and an additional $100,000 was needed.
The Statue Is Unveiled
At the same time in Paris, workers began dismantling the statue and placing it in crates. It would take several weeks to place all 214 crates aboard the frigate, Isère. On May 21, the Isère set sail and arrived at Bedloe’s Island on June 17. Construction of the pedestal had by this time resumed, and by August all the necessary funds were secured.Led by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, the 154-foot-tall pedestal was completed in April 1886. The first portion of the statue to be assembled was the framework, which had been designed by renowned French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. The reconstruction of the statue was a rather quick undertaking.
A massive celebration was scheduled for the unveiling of the “colossal statue.” Approximately 1 million people attended the celebration. There was a naval parade through the New York harbor with vessels arrayed in red, white, and, blue. Soldiers and firefighters marched down New York City’s Broadway to the sound of brass bands, sirens, cannons, and cheers. The event was attended by state and national political leaders, including President Grover Cleveland, who spoke at the event.
“We will not forget that liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected,” Cleveland proclaimed in his remarks. “Willing votaries will constantly keep alive its fires, and these shall gleam upon the shores of our sister republic in the East. Reflected thence and joined with answering rays, a stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man’s oppression, until liberty enlightens the world.”
The statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World” stood before the massive crowd, her face covered with France’s tricolor flag. Bartholdi stood near the statue ready for the signal to remove the flag and unveil the work of art. Humorously, while chairman of the American Committee, Sen. William Evarts, was giving his speech, he took an extended pause, which accidentally and prematurely signaled Bartholdi to remove the flag. It was during this week in history, on Oct. 28, 1886, that the flag was pulled and “Liberty Enlightening the World” was unveiled to the sound of immense cheering, cannon fire, and fireworks.
“The dream of my life is accomplished,” noted Bartholdi. “I see the symbol of unity and friendship between two nations—two great republics.”
The name initially given the statue was “Liberty Enlightening the World,” but it has long been known as The Statue of Liberty. Even the name of the island where she resides was changed from Bedloe’s Island to Liberty Island. Although de Laboulaye died before the 1884 and 1886 ceremonies, he is remembered as the Father of the Statue of Liberty.
