Community Chat

[suzyQ3]

The poem on our great Statue of Liberty, written by Emma Lazarus.

The origins, from the US. Department of State:

Between 1820 and 1920, approximately 34 million persons immigrated to the United States, three-fourths of them staying permanently. For many of these newcomers, their first glimpse of America was the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.

The statue, sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, had been conceived of as a gift of friendship from the people of France marking the two nations' commitment to liberty. France provided $400,000 for the 151 ft 1 in. (46.05 m) statue, and a fundraising drive in the United States netted $270,000 for the 89-foot pedestal.

The Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus saw the statue as a beacon to the world. A poem she wrote to help raise money for the pedestal, and which is carved on that pedestal, captured what the statue came to mean to the millions who migrated to the United States seeking freedom, and who have continued to come unto this day.

"The New Colossus" by Emily Lazarus:

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; her 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!”

[RainCityWoman]

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@suzyQ3 wrote:

The poem on our great Statue of Liberty, written by Emma Lazarus.

The origins, from the US. Department of State:

Between 1820 and 1920, approximately 34 million persons immigrated to the United States, three-fourths of them staying permanently. For many of these newcomers, their first glimpse of America was the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.

The statue, sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, had been conceived of as a gift of friendship from the people of France marking the two nations' commitment to liberty. France provided $400,000 for the 151 ft 1 in. (46.05 m) statue, and a fundraising drive in the United States netted $270,000 for the 89-foot pedestal.

The Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus saw the statue as a beacon to the world. A poem she wrote to help raise money for the pedestal, and which is carved on that pedestal, captured what the statue came to mean to the millions who migrated to the United States seeking freedom, and who have continued to come unto this day.

"The New Colossus" by Emily Lazarus:

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; her 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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Thanks. I only posted the last bit yesterday on the thread that has now been closed. I love this piece of writing.

[esmerelda]

@suzyQ3I don't understand.  How did her poem" help raise money" for the pedestal?

She wrote a poem and then there was money for the pedestal (according to the post).  I don't get the connection.  

Can you help?

[jackthebear]

I believe Joseph Pulitzer was the driving force to raise money to keep the Liberty in New York

the poem was added later

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going to check wiki on this 

[suzyQ3]

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@esmerelda wrote:

@suzyQ3I don't understand.  How did her poem" help raise money" for the pedestal?

She wrote a poem and then there was money for the pedestal (according to the post).  I don't get the connection.  

Can you help?

---

@esmerelda, I copied that directly from the U.S. State Department. I cannot personally verify it for you.

[suzyQ3]

I meant to say that that part of my post is attributed to the U.S. State Department.

[Mj12]

[esmerelda]

Information on the author and how the sonnet came to be on the pedestal:

In 1883, William Maxwell Evarts and author Constance Cary Harrison asked Lazarus to compose a sonnet for the "Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" - an art and literary auction to raise funds for the Statue's pedestal run by the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty. In turn, Lazarus, inspired by her own Sephardic Jewish heritage, her experiences working with refugees on Ward's Island, and the plight of the immigrant, wrote "The New Colossus" on November 2, 1883. After the auction, the sonnet appeared in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World as well as The New York Times. She died in New York City on November 19, 1887, most likely from Hodgkin's lymphoma and was buried in Brooklyn.

Lazarus' famous sonnet depicts the Statue as the "Mother of Exiles:" a symbol of immigration and opportunity - symbols associated with the Statue of Liberty today. After its initial popularity however, the sonnet slowly faded from public memory. It was not until 1901, 17 years after Lazarus's death, that Georgina Schuyler, a friend of hers, found a book containing the sonnet in a bookshop and organized a civic effort to resurrect the lost work. Her efforts paid off and in 1903, words from the sonnet were inscribed on a plaque and placed on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Today, the plaque is on display in the Statue of Liberty Exhibit in the Statue's pedestal.

Source and you can read more about her here:

https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/emma-lazarus.htm

[151949]

"I lift my lamp beside the golden door"  Sadly, working at the food bank I feel there is no longer a golden door.The prospects are rather limited to nonexistant for many these days. We walk or drive past the homeless - sick & disabled without a second glance. Many of our working poor live in their cars, exist only because of the generosity of food banks and other charities. Mental illnesses are rampant in this country and not being properly treated, especially among our veterans. I think the golden door is closed to a great deal of people. Many more would be homeless on the streets if they didn't have family who take them in.