HUM_100_4-1_Short_Answer_Joshua_Minnick
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Dec 6, 2023
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Module Four Short Answer: Monuments as Cultural Works
Joshua Minnick
Information Technology Department, Southern New Hampshire University
HUM-100 Perspectives in the Humanities
Dr. Bob Studinger
November 19, 2023
.
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The monument I selected to research is the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a
one hundred fifty-one-foot-tall copper statue located in the harbor of New York City, New York.
It is positioned on a pedestal that is one hundred fifty-four feet tall. It was designed by French
sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi as a joint effort between the French and American people.
The statue itself was designed and built in France while the pedestal was created in America. The
internal structure that supports the copper sheeting on the outside of the statue was designed by
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who later designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The
statue has become one of the most iconic figures in American history and is known around the
world as a symbol of the United States of America.
The original intentions of the Statue of Liberty were to be a symbol of the friendship
between American and France and to be a beacon to the world of the superiority of the American
system of government offering liberty and freedom to all. The statue was intended to symbolize
the freedom offered by a system of government that is based upon a democratic process and has
a system of checks-and-balances that stops one branch of government from having ultimate
control over its people. Bartholdi and Laboulaye, the Frenchman who is credited as the first to
offer the idea for the statue, strongly believed in the ideal that all people are born with an
inalienable right to freedom. The Statue of Liberty was also created with hopes the French
people would push for France to return to a democratic government from the current
authoritarian government under Napoleon III.
Although the original intention of the Statue of Liberty was to be a symbol of freedom
and a partnership between America and France, later interpretations have changed the meaning
and cultural understanding to be of a beacon of support for immigration and people hoping to
create a better life in America. This is not out of line with the original intention to symbolize
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freedom but does modify the intent and take away from the connection between the two
countries that created, funded, and constructed the statue and pedestal. This new interpretation
often overshadows the original intent, and many people today would not know that the statue had
no connection to immigrants, immigration, or anything of this nature during its inception. Most
American children today are taught the newer cultural understandings of the Statue of Liberty
and often do not know the statue was created in France or the original meaning behind it.
My original interpretation of the statue was similar to the later interpretations. I was
taught the statue was a beacon for people fleeing any manner of oppression, struggle, or danger
to come to America where they could start a new life and seek success and happiness. I was
taught it was a symbol of the American dream and America’s founding as a nation of immigrants.
After reading the resources in this module, I now understand the creators of the statue had much
different intentions, although I think their intentions were also quite honorable. The original
intention to show a strong connection between the French and American people is something that
I believe should be honored. If it were not for the French assistance during the Revolutionary
war, it is possible the American dream would not exist as it does today. The idea of creating a
beacon for people to look at as a symbol of every individual’s right to freedom from oppression
and tyranny is also quite honorable and needed in my opinion. All humans are deserving of
freedom and the Statue of Liberty’s original intention to be a symbol of this belief is an idea that
needs to be taught to all generations to come if we hope to continue to have the great success
story that is the American dream.
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Berenson, E. (2012).
The statue of liberty a transatlantic story
. Yale University Press.
Lazarus, E. (2021, May 5).
The New Colossus
. Poets.org.
https://poets.org/poem/new-colossus?
gclid=CjwKCAiAgeeqBhBAEiwAoDDhnzfly1_0kwF-bFkXOS6NJYy7c-
QAzSO46QeSHRQY9WGZ3NeFd00irBoC1gcQAvD_BwE
U.S. Department of the Interior. (2023, October 10).
Statue of Liberty National Monument (U.S.
National Park Service)
. National Parks Service.
https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm
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