Gateway to Liberty
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island have been standing side by side in New York's harbor for over a century (illus.1). In 1886, Liberty was unveiled on Bedloe's Island, which is called Liberty Is-land today, and six years later, at a time when immigration from Europe was steadily rising, the first federal landing depot for immi-grants in the United States was opened on Ellis Island. Together, these two landmarks express an essential, characteristically American theme: the search for freedom from political and social oppression. In this analytical essay, I will try to examine how these two nation-al landmarks express or reinforce social divisions through their different symbolic meanings and the long, struggled history behind them. The investigation of the history of each landmark will be presented separately. This is because, even though today the two share a common theme, the nineteenth-century ideas that brought them into being were actually almost completely unrelated. The Statue of Liberty was, in fact, an expression of romantic idealism commemo-rating a glorious past. Ellis Island on the other hand was just an attempt to deal with a world wide migration that was bringing hun-dreds of thousands of
Five days later, President Grover Cleverland officially dedicated the statue. A proud but very tired Bartholdi was also there to see his dream of fifteen years to come true. Sadly, Edouard tennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (illus.10). Later, they were even displayed at Madison Square in New York City. One of the main reasons why Bartholdi wanted parts of the incomplete statue to be exhibited in America was because he hoped the Americans would be more willing to pay for the pedestal on which the statue would stand after seeing the arm and the torch. Nevertheless, while the sight of the huge model did excite some Americans, it caused others to be suspicious on Bartholdi's intention. Fortunately, he knew how to handle the New York resistance to his project. He started to suggest that Philadelphia that their city might be a better place for his statue. And as soon as New Yorkers heard that, they changed their tune immediately and decided that the Statue of Liberty belonged in New York Harbor. On July 4th, 1876, Bartholdi paid another visit to Bedloe's Island to work out several details of his project. One of these details was to decide whether the statue should face out toward the harbor or toward the land. In the end, he had decided his statue should face out toward the harbor after he watched a ship packed with immigrants steamming in from the Atlantic Ocean and thought it would be wonderful for them to be welcome by the torch of freedom. oday, the Statue of Liberty has became more than the symbol that Bartholdi and Laboulaye once intended to be. It does not only represent the friendship between America and France or the celebration of the Declaration of Independence or the emancipation of slavery. It has actually transformed into a world wide attraction. But most importantly, it has became the ultimate symbol of the United States of America and one of the most treasurous values that we Americans believe in, freedom. The Ellis Island, too, has emerged from its years of obscurity to become a national symbol. Together, they are forever linked as symbolic companions in the search for li- After Bartholdi returned to France, he continued to work very hard on the statue, and by July of 1881, he announced that Liberty would be ready in 1883, just in time for the one-hundredth anniversary of the end of the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, over in the United States very little money actually had been raised for the pedestal. In fact, not until May 1883 were any substantial funds raised. That is when Joseph Pulitzer, editor of the New York World, decided to take matter into his own hands and launch a campaign to raise the necessary funds from ordinary New York citizens since the millionaires couldn't seem to raise the money (illus.11). Ultimately, with the tremendous effort of Pulitzer, the money for the pedestal was raised.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ellis Island, Statue Liberty, Enlightening World, Isaac Bedloe, Declaration Independence, Tower Paris, Laboulaye Bartholdi, York City, Liberty Bartholdi, Civil War, statue liberty, ellis island, declaration independence, tiny island, york harbor, civil war, liberty ellis, democratic government, liberty ellis island, decided statue, section finished statue, symbolic gesture, edouard de laboulaye, campaign raise funds, left foot forward,
Approximate Word count = 3820
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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