Lady Liberty

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson. Today, we answer a question about the Statue of Liberty. DOUG JOHNSON:Our listener question this week comes from Thailand. Nanthachai Tubtimsuwan wants to know about the history of the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous statues in America. To many people the statue is known as Lady Liberty. She stands on a small island in New York harbor, near the great city. In her right hand, she holds a torch with a golden flame high above her head. Her left arm holds a tablet with the date July fourth, seventeen seventy-six. That is the day the United States declared its independence. On her head is a crown of seven points that represent the seven continents and the seven seas. Around her feet is a broken chain that represents oppression. The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of France. Its official name was "Liberty Enlightening the World." Frederic Auguste Bartholdi built the statue in several parts. These were shipped to New York and then put together on a base, or pedestal. The statue was dedicated in a ceremony on October twenty-eighth, eighteen eighty-six. The statue itself stands about forty-six meters tall. The distance from the ground to the top of the golden torch is about ninety-three meters. The statue can be seen from far away. For the many millions of immigrants who came to America on ships, the Statue of Liberty was the first thing they saw. In eighteen eighty-three, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote a poem as if Lady Liberty were speaking. In part it says: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free … I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Today, more than three million people visit the Statue of Liberty each year. Most come by a ferryboat from New York. Some visitors go inside the statue and climb as high as the crown to look down on the harbor. Others stay on the ground, take photographs, read Emma Lazarus' poem and enjoy being close to Lady Liberty. DOUG JOHNSON:I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Jim Tedder, Dana Demange and Caty Weaver, who also was the producer. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English. Source: Voice of America