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Monument symbolizing liberty, in New York harbor

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on 28 October 1886.

Events of Interest

28 Oct 1886, unveiled, in New York Harbor, New York

Articles

A Forgotten Day & a Forgotten Country, by Harry Browne, 28 Oct 2003
Reflections on the United States in 1886, when the Statue of Liberty was unveiled, and the current (2003) status
On this date in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was first unveiled in New York Harbor. You're probably aware that the Statue wasn't built in America. It was built with money voluntarily raised from the people of France — and then erected in New York Harbor with money voluntarily raised from the people of the United States ... I love the Statue of Liberty, standing tall with her lamp held high — "liberty enlightening the world." The mere sight of it is a moving experience. But it's been desecrated by politicians who take its name in vain ... But don't try to call it Liberty. That isn't what we have today.
Hollow Woman, by L. Neil Smith, Rational Review, 17 Aug 2004
The Busheviks had closed the whole thing down ... but reopened the former Bedloe's Island sometime later so the people who own it could pay hefty fees to go out and cramp their necks, staring up at a monument to individual freedom, and open immigration, hijacked by the state.
A Libertarian Visits Cuba, Part 3, by Jacob G. Hornberger, Freedom Daily, Aug 1999
Describes how, when asked to explain libertarianism, Hornberger highlighted American socialist programs, challenged by libertarians but similar to those in Cuba, and then various conversations he had with ordinary Cubans
[O]ne young man realized that I was from the United States. After making certain that no one was listening, he said to me, "I am a proud admirer of the United States of America. In your country, you have freedom of speech, while here ... we do not. Most Cubans who wish to see America want to go to Miami. Not I. What I wish to do most of all is to travel to New York City to see the Statue of Liberty. I have seen pictures, but my dream in life is to see her in person." I explained to him that there were many of us trying our best to recapture the principles that the Statue of Liberty once stood for.
Liberty's Gilded Door, The Wall Street Journal, 11 Mar 1992
Editorial condemning Hong Kong's actions preventing Vietnamese refugees from taking asylum there and mostly inaction by the George H. W. Bush administration
For freedom-loving citizens of places such as Hong Kong and the U.S., it would at least be healthier to see some truth in advertising. A good start might be for America to start selling refugee-screening manuals along with all the other paeans to freedom at the bookstore outside the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. It'd be a little embarrassing, but at least it would get the word out that the message on the famous huddled-masses poem at the foot of the statue is history.
Related Topics: Hong Kong, Vietnam

Cartoons and Comic Strips

I'm working on my speech for the new statue ..., by Parker and Hart, The Wizard of Id, 11 Oct 2014
I need a fresh start ..., by Ann Telnaes, 1 Nov 2004
Now Reopened!, by Walt Handelsman, 6 Aug 2004
OK, I cheated on you ... but those babies aren't mine!!, by Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader, 24 Aug 2008
Related Topic: George W. Bush

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Statue of Liberty" as of 18 Nov 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.