How many times have you seen the Statue of Liberty? Is it in tourist books sold in New York City? Or on TV during a sporting event being played in the New York and cameras pan the city skyline including shots of New York Harbor and Liberty Island where Lady Liberty stands proud and majestic?
Or have you had the opportunity of taking the brief ferry ride on the Hudson River across from Battery Park, stepped off the boat, and have been met with one of the most daunting and colossal sights of a statue that has stood on her pedestal for over 100 plus years? If you have, you've been very fortunate in experiencing the majesty of the Statue of Liberty, one of the most iconic monuments in the world.
For some people, the story of the creation of the Statue of Liberty is a one-line explanation that it was a gift from the French. However, the true story really begins before July 4, 1776, and the independence of the British colonies in America from Great Britain while fighting them in the Revolutionary War.
The French, in retaliation for being defeated by the British in the Seven Years War, stepped in and helped the Americans in their fight supplying troops and war materials. It was this assistance that helped the Americans win the war.
The proposed idea of a Frenchman and his enquiring mind about the state of the Franco-American relations in 1860 was the beginning of how a memorial could be the answer in improving their relations.
However, this was 1860, and America was in the midst of the Civil War. This left the relationship between these two countries somewhat estranged until the war ended in 1863 and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was written into law.
Laboulaye, who loved America and suggested a memorial should be presented as a gift of unity and strengthening their alliance, discussed the idea at a dinner he hosted at his home in Versailles. At that dinner, the future architect of the statue, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, listened to the conversations with excitement that he could possibly be involved in this project.
