2
4-1 Short Answer: Monuments as Cultural Works
The monument I have selected is
The Statue of Liberty
in New York. It is on Liberty
Island and stands 305ft high. The statue was the idea of Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865 and was
sculpted by Fredric Auguste Bartholdi (Berenson, 2012). This idea by Laboulaye came after the
US won the American Revolution. The Statue of Liberty was gifted by France to America. It
represents freedom and friendship between the two countries.
The meaning of the monument shifted in the 1930s when European immigrants arrived in
the United States. They were moved by the poem "The New Colossus" written by Emma Lazarus
for the statue's unveiling in 1886. The original meaning of the statue was to welcome immigrants
to America as a safe haven from the hardships in their home countries.
Before reading the resources provided to me, I did not know the meaning had changed
decades after the Statue of Liberty was unveiled. I always believed the meaning was freedom and
the friendship between France and America. Learning that this is important to immigrants has
made me more interested in the Statue of Liberty because this means more opportunities for
others who are not as lucky as American citizens.
References
