Statue of Liberty Dedicated

The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated on this day, October 28, 1886, and is situated in New York Harbor in New York City. The statue is the figure of a robed woman representing a Roman liberty goddess. In her right hand she holds a torch above her head, and in her left hand she holds a tablet inscribed with the date July IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776), the date of the U. S. Declaration of Independence. At her feet is a broken chain as she walks forward.

Inscribed on a plaque at the base of the statue’s pedestal is the sonnet "The New Colossus" written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus. Most of us are familiar with the lines from that sonnet that begin "Give me your tired, your poor...", but unfortunately most of us are not familiar with the inspiring and meaningful message contained in the entire sonnet. Here is the full text of that message.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; he mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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