The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States in 1886 to celebrate 100 years of US independence. It was proposed by Edouard Rene de Laboulaye as a symbol of freedom and democracy. Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel helped build its internal structure. The statue is 93 meters tall and weighs 225 tons, with its raised torch symbolizing enlightenment. It has become an iconic symbol of hope, freedom and opportunity for immigrants arriving in New York Harbor.

1. The Statue Of
Liberty
DEMETRA KOUTSILA
FALL SEMESTER 2017
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2. Statue’s symbolism…
The Statue of Liberty was first named “Liberty Enlightening
the World” and that was because of her symbolic value. First of
all it was a gift from France to the United States for the
country's 100 years of independence. It is not only a symbol of
freedom, enlightenment, compassion and the abolition of
slavery, but also Laboulaye hoped that it would be an
inspiration for French people to fight against the monarchy of
Napoleon III.
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3. The History of the Statue…
The idea of a shared monument
between France and the United States
was first proposed in 1865 by Edouard
Rene de Laboulaye and the designers
of this idea were Frederic-Auguste
Bartholdi and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
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Edouard Rene
de Laboulaye
Frederic-Auguste
Bartholdi
Alexandre
Gustave Eiffel
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4. The History of the Statue…
It was agreed between the two countries that the Americans
were responsible to build the pedestal and the French people
were responsible for the Statue and its assembly in the United
States. The Statue was completed in France in July 1884 and it
was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates.
It finally arrived in New York Harbor in June 1885. At last the
Statue of Liberty was presented on October 28th, 1886 with 10
years delay.
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5. Demetra Koutsila 5
• The Statue is 93 metres tall
and it weighs 225 tons.
• Also in 1883 Emma Lazarus
wrote the famous sonnet
“The New Colossus” in
order to raise funds for the
pedestal and in 1903 this
sonnet was placed inside
the lower level of the
pedestal.
• Visitors must climb 354
stairs to reach the statue’s
crown.
General Informations
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6. The Torch
• After the restoration in 1986 was
complete, the new torch was
carefully covered with thin sheets of
24k gold.
• The Torch symbolizes liberty and
enlightening the world.
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7. The Crown
• The Statue’s crown has seven rays of
Sun that they represent the seven
seas and the seven continents of the
world.
• Each ray is about 2.7 metres tall and
weighs 68 kg.
• In the crown there are 25 windows.
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8. The Tablet
• The Statue holds a tablet in her left
hand inscribed with the date of the
American Declaration of
Independence July 4th, 1776.
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9. The Feet And The Chains
• The sandals that the statue wears
symbolize the free people.
• The broken chains and shackles of
oppression and tyranny represent
the American freedom.
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10. In Conclusion…
The Statue of Liberty is a universal
symbol of freedom, enlightenment,
compassion, hope and most of all the
abolition of slavery and tyranny.
“It’s a beacon of light where there
was darkness.” Emma Lazarus
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11. Bibliography
• Author, S.C., (3 MAY 2017). 50 fascinating things you (probably) didn't know
about the statue of liberty. From
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-
states/new-york/articles/statue-of-liberty-fascinating-facts/
• Author, A. S., (31 MAY 2017). The True Story of the Statue of Liberty. From
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/05/31/the-true-story-of-the-statue-of-liberty/
• STATUE HISTORY. From https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/statue-history
• STATUE FACTS. From https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/statue-facts
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCV-mbeI2Tw&list=WL&index=15
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12. Thank you for your time!
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