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Happy Birthday, America!
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Lady Liberty was built by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi to celebrate & inspire. She symbolizes the American fight for liberty, freedom & the U.S. Constitution. France gave us Liberty as a gift of friendship.
Here are some of the meanings behind Bartholdi's creation:
- The statue's torch, a combination of copper & gold leaf, is held in her right hand. During the day, sun rays reflect off the torch, & flood lights illuminate it at night. Her torch represents enlightenment & progress; to light the way to freedom & guide us toward the path of liberty & justice. Thus, the title: "Liberty Enlightening the World".
- Liberty's crown is a series of 7 rays representing a halo or aureole radiating forward like the sun; 7 rays, each for the 7 continents & the 7 seas of the world. Her 25 windows represent gemstones & heaven's rays of light.
- Her tablet is inscribed with "July 4, 1776", the date of America's Declaration of Independence. The tablet is a keystone shape representing a book of law symbolizing the great importance the rule of law has in America.
- Lady Liberty's feet are surrounded by a broken shackle & chains showing her as a goddess free from oppression & servitude reflecting the recent abolition of slavery in the country at the time of her opening. Most visitors have no idea of their existence since they are somewhat hidden by her robes. Her right foot is raised depicting the idea she is walking forward exemplifying progress as a journey, a never-ending movement forward.
In 1903, Emma Lazarus, inspired by aiding Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe, wrote the following poem for the monument:
The New Colossus
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!"
Sunshine Machining & Tool will be closed on Monday, July 5, 2021, in observance of our country's birth of freedom. Our family wishes you & yours a thoughtful holiday celebration.
