She Wasn’t Always so Loved

Today the Statue of Liberty stands as a cherished American symbol and a beloved lady. But it wasn’t always like that. Here was much controversy about gift from France in honor of America’s independence in 1776.Yes, the lady statute was nice, but hey, she’s drown in the New York harbor unless she stood on a pedestal.

The bill was $100,000. Many thought that was way too expensive for a statute of a woman, although Americans throughout the States and the Territories sent their coins and folding money to help pay the bill.

The New York Times said, “No true patriot can countenance any such expenditures for bronze females in the present state of our finances.” I bet if France had give us a man on a horse—hopefully with a sword raised for battle—there never would have been a fuss. But that’s just a guess. In the end, this was a nation without “true patriots,” because they paid for the pedestal and the Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.