42. The Statue of Liberty

    One of the most famous statues in the world stands on an island in New York Harbor. This statue is, of course, the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a woman who holds a torch up high. Visitors can go inside the statue. The statue is so large that as many as twelve people can stand inside the torch. Many more people can stand in other parts of the statue. The statue weighs 225 tons and is 301 feet tall.

   The Statue of Liberty was put up in 1886. It was a gift to the United States from the people of France. Over the years France and the United States had a special relationship. In 1776 France helped the American colonies gain independence from England. The French wanted to do something special for the U.S. centennial its l00th birthday.

    Laboulaye was a well-known Frenchman who admired the United States. One night at a dinner in his house, Labouraye talked about the idea of a gift. Among Laboulaye's guests was the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Bartholdi thought of a statue of liberty. He offered to design the statue.

    Many people contributed in some way. The French people gave money for the statue Americans designed and built the pedestal for the statue to stand on. The American people raised money to pay for the pedestal. The French engineer Alexander Eiffel, who was famous for his Eiffel Tower in Paris, figured out how to make the heavy statue stand.

    In the years after the statue was put up, many immigrants came to the United States through New York. As they entered New York Harbor, they saw the Statue of Liberty holding up her torch. She symbolized a welcome to a land of freedom.

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