The Statue of Liberty is a representation of the robed Roman goddess of liberty, Libertas. Her left hand holds a tabula ansata with the words JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, while her right hand holds a torch over her head. As she advances, she leaves a broken shackle and chain at her feet as a tribute to the recent abolition of slavery in this country. Following its dedication, the monument rose to fame as a symbol of American freedom and openness to immigrants traveling by sea.
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper monument was created by French artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and Gustave Eiffel constructed its metal structure as a present from the French to the Americans. October 28, 1886 saw the dedication of the statue.
The torch-bearing arm was on exhibit during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 and in Manhattan's Madison Square Park from 1876 until 1882. Fundraising was difficult, particularly for Americans, and by 1885, progress on the pedestal was in jeopardy due to a shortage of funding. The New York World's publisher Joseph Pulitzer launched a fundraising campaign to complete the project, which drew more than 120,000 donors, the majority of whom donated less than a $1 (equal to $30 in 2021). On what was then known as Bedloe's Island, the monument was constructed in France, transported abroad in containers, and then put together on the finished pedestal. The first ticker-tape parade in New York City and a dedication ceremony officiated by President Grover Cleveland were held to celebrate the statue's completion.
The statue has been maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument since 1933. It is a popular tourist destination and was formerly managed by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War. Since 1916, the balcony around the flame has been off-limits to the general public
