The Historical Meaning Behind The Statue of Liberty’s Design

That poem has been a rallying cry for generations of immigrants who left their home countries with a desire for a better life in the United States. Although most people are familiar with the outward appearance of Lady Liberty – the defiant arm strongly holding a torch – not as many are aware of what was going on behind the scenes. The Statue of Liberty is riddled with historical secrets and interesting design features, including some strange details about her feet. Let’s examine this iconic statue more closely!

The flame is meant to symbolize the proverbial light at the end of a long tunnel of misery and hardship. It’s quite the patriotic sentiment, and plenty of citizens and non-citizens are inspired by it. Nearly 4 million people make a visit to Lady Liberty each year. Many are unaware of important details.

Although the statue is deeply tied to American identity and pride, it wasn’t an American who designed it. Rather, it was a Frenchman who first envisioned Lady Liberty and pushed forward with his ideas to unleash her to the world.

He wanted something that captured that spirit of liberty. However, since he was a scholar rather than a designer, the best he could do was write down some ideas. Luckily, however, his ideas caught the attention of a famous sculptor. Together, they could bring them to fruition.

However, the project was a massive undertaking. This led to the realization that it had to be a team project if it was to be a reality. The central problem was figuring out how to make such a massive copper statue stable enough. For that, he required assistance. 

In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, he’s the civil engineer behind the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. On top of that, he built bridges for the French railways – including the magnificent Garabit viaduct. Eiffel and Bartholdi worked together on the symbolism. 

One of the most noteworthy examples is the famous spiked crown that rests on her head. The seven-spiked crown is meant to represent the seven oceans and continents. In her left hand, however, is something more close to home. 

On that tablet are some Roman Numerals – JULY IV MDCCLXXVI. Translated into English, it reads “July 4, 1776” – the date that the Declaration of Independence was ratified. Although it was important symbolism to include on the statue, it was symbolism that went there a bit late. 

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. The work was far more involved than he initially thought. It wouldn’t be until 1884 – nearly eight years after the original date – that work on the Statue of Liberty was finally complete.

Activists and suffragettes working toward getting women the right to vote were understandably annoyed by the statue. It showed a female figure of liberty being placed on a land that didn’t allow women to vote. The symbolic torch was meant to acknowledge and counteract the skepticism that many felt.

The torch is meant to represent enlightenment, a light that guides people toward freedom and liberty. True as that may be, it was also a pain to move. The problem of how to get it across the Atlantic Ocean was a big one. 

Their bold plan worked. The disassembled bits of Lady Liberty were shipped across the ocean and arrived in New York City on June 17, 1885. Soon after, the re-assembly process began in earnest.

Many left Europe and other places to create the kind of life that the Statue of Liberty promised – one of freedom and liberty. The early immigrants even got an experience with Lady Liberty that few have had since.

However, this all changed in 1916. During World War I, German spies damaged Lady Liberty by causing a huge explosion that permanently closed the torch area. The statue would play a role in future wars as well. 

The Liberty Island location was chosen because of its symbolic value. Lady Liberty held the torch of enlightenment in one hand and the Declaration of Independence in the other – yet these protesters felt that the government wasn’t living up to the ideal. 

The statue’s right foot is very symbolic as well. Rather than go for an easy flat foot stance, the designers (Eiffel, Bartholdi, and Laboulaye) chose to have her foot slightly raised off the ground. We know they were obsessed with symbolism, so why did they design the foot this way?

That broken chain was a powerful source of meaning for the French scholar Laboulaye who initially thought up the idea. It represented the Statue of Liberty boldly freeing herself from the shackles of tyranny that sought to keep her down. 

Laboulaye was an ardent abolitionist who was co-founder and president of France’s Anti-Slavery Society. Although at the time, slavery was abolished in France and the US, the society believed it should be banished from every country on Earth.

In many ways, they go hand-in-hand. How can you have freedom and liberty while, at the same time, having slavery? It just doesn’t make sense. Alongside those pieces of meaning, there is also one more vital part to the statue.

It was (and is) a powerful poem that was engraved on a plaque beneath Lady Liberty’s feet. It stayed there for nearly 116 years before it caused some controversy.

Instead, he suggested replacing it with, “Give me your tired, your poor, who can stand on two feet and won’t become a public charge.” Although it caused controversy in the news, the poem ultimately wasn’t rewritten.

Over the 118 years or so since that poem and statue have been together, millions more continue to be inspired and emboldened by the power of symbolism of the two.

It connected the “old world” to the new and inspired millions of immigrants who left that old world lifestyle for a new beginning. The statue is filled with secrets – some we have seen above, others we will find out below.

Sailors in the Atlantic Ocean who were up to 24 miles away from the island could see the powerful light emanating from the Statue of Liberty. To generate that power, a power plant was constructed on Liberty Island to serve the iconic torch. 

Since that’s too long a name for most folks, people have shortened it to Statue of Liberty. Other informal nicknames include Mother of Freedom, Green Goddess, Lady Liberty, and Lady of the Harbor.

Although compared to the 151-foot statue sent to the US, it wasn’t much, it still captivated the imagination of Americans living abroad in Paris. In 1889, they banded together to create a quarter-size replica and gave it to the city of Paris. 

Partly because that 151-foot statue stood on top of a pedestal that measured around 154 feet tall. So, in total, from ground to torch, the Statue of Liberty stood 305 feet tall – the size of a 21-story building!

For example, the statue’s index fingers stretch out to eight feet in length. If you put your feet next to hers, her feet would dwarf yours – the sandals are nearly 25 feet long! In human shoe sizes, she officially wears size 879.

Once there, you’ll have quite the view. As you can see from the picture above, there are plenty of windows – 25 in total – that allow a panoramic view of New York Harbor.

It turns out the original lamp was upgraded nearly 100 years after installation. In 1986, workers upgraded the lamp during a renovation project. They fixed her up with a new copper torch – and coated the outside with 24k gold! The original was set aside in the Statue of Liberty museum. 

That was ended, however, due to a bombing in 1916. German spies blew up a munitions factory nearby and the shrapnel damaged the statue. The stairs to the torch were deemed unsafe for the public, so it was closed. Nowadays, there is now a virtual TorchCam that gives you views from the safety of your home. 

Eventually, it was solved and the result is what visitors see today. Lady Liberty’s spiked crown uses seven points to represent the seven seas and seven continents. Also, she looks out to the southeast where most arriving ships come from. She truly is a guiding structure.

That’s because the statue is mostly made up of copper. However, after only 20 years of copper brown life, the natural elements in New York Harbor oxidized the copper and changed it into the green we see now. 

Lady Liberty experiences lightning strikes so often that the National Park Service, who manages the statue, often loses count. However, estimates tend to hover around 600 times per year. Ouch! Luckily for the statue, the concrete and granite material ends up grounding the electricity without causing much damage.

In the mid-1980s, millions of dollars were spent on renovating both the inside and outside of the statue. Alongside upgrading the torch with a 24k gold covering, this also included interior renovations that allowed visitors to better appreciate the inside framework. 

Those 100 days stretched into much longer. The base of the statue was closed to the public until 2004. Once it reopened, visitors started to come back. However, it wasn’t until 2009 that visitors could once again climb the stairs to the crown and look out over New York Harbor.

This museum is located on the opposite end of Liberty Island and is meant to better inform visitors of the significance of the statue. Alongside a theater, gallery spaces, and the original torch, it houses immigration artifacts from nearby Ellis Island.

Tourists and visitors love to check out the Statue of Liberty for a variety of reasons. One is the fact that it’s an affordable tourist activity. Another is to get a deeper understanding of the role Lady Liberty has played in American history. A third, of course, is to climb up to the crown. Have you had the pleasure to see this iconic and symbolic structure up close?