The Statue of Liberty: A Welcome Gift

The Statue of Liberty: A Welcome Gift — page 1 — the lady with the lamp The shouts heard below deck came in Polish Italian and Yiddish But they all had the same message There she is After weeks at sea Anton knew what this meant It was the shout he had been waiting for since he and his parents left his friends and relatives in Poland He rushed up on deck to join a growing crowd of passengers gazing out over New York City’s harbor Pushing his way to the railing he could finally see her The Statue of Liberty Suddenly Anton noticed the crowd around him Like Anton everyone was filled with emotion Some cheered others wept One woman bowed her head in prayer Before heading back through the crowd he turned and gazed once more into the face of Lady Liberty For the first time he truly understood why his parents had brought him here to America 4

The Statue of Liberty: A Welcome Gift — page 2 — During the late 1800s and early 1900s millions of immigrants arrived in New York Harbor after a long journey on board overcrowded ships These immigrants left their homelands in search of a new life in the United States Many of them left places threatened by war famine and poverty They all had a dream that better things were waiting for them in their new home When these immigrants sailed toward the city of New York they saw an amazing sight A giant statue of a woman holding up a torch greeted them in the harbor The woman seemed to be calling them forward lighting their way to a better life In truth the Statue of Liberty as she was called had nothing to do with immigration Instead the statue was a gift of friendship between two nations However over the years this statue became a symbol of freedom and hope to people all over the world IT’S A FACT The real name of the Statue of Liberty is Liberty Enlightening the World 5

The Statue of Liberty: A Welcome Gift — page 3 — friends in France The story of the Statue of Liberty began in France in 1865 One night a French professor named Edouard de Laboulaye duh Lah-boo-lie gave a dinner party for some of his friends Years earlier France had supported the United States when the new nation fought for its independence from Great Britain Soon after the American Revolution ended the French Revolution began Between 1789 1799 French citizens fought to get rid of the monarchy and create a more democratic government Citizens demanded liberty equality and fraternity Although the French Revolution did achieve some of its goals it did not win them the independence that the Americans had Edouard de Laboulaye Laboulaye and his friends admired the United States and its democratic government They felt the two countries had a lot in common During the party Laboulaye had a big idea He told his friend sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi that he wanted France to create a monument and give it to the United States The monument would be a gift and also celebrate the idea of liberty that both nations believed in Bartholdi liked this idea very much 6

The Statue of Liberty: A Welcome Gift — page 4 — The mayor of Rouen blocks citizens from entering the Hotel de Ville or City Hall during a bread riot in 1793 7

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