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On May 21, 1884, the statue was complete. It had taken almost 20 years to go from idea to reality.
There was a ceremony at the factory where it was built. The U.S. minister to France and the French prime minister were there. The president of the Franco-American Union said: “We commit it to your care, Mr. Minister, that it may remain forever the pledge of the bonds which should unite France and the great American nation.”
Workmen spent the spring of 1885 taking the statue apart. Then it was packed and shipped to the United States. It filled 214 crates. On June 17, 1885, crowds cheered as the ship Isère entered New York Harbor.
More than a year later, the statue was dedicated to the people of America.
There were several reasons for the delay. Before the statue could be placed on Bedloe’s Island, a foundation and pedestal had to be built. Richard Hunt’s first design for the pedestal (left) was around 115 feet tall. The American Committee was in charge of raising funds for the pedestal. But by 1883, it had raised only about a third of the money. Hunt was asked to change his design. He settled on a pedestal 89 feet high.
The foundation was finished in May 1884. Then work on the pedestal began. Before even half of it was built, the money ran out. Some felt that since Liberty was to stand in New York, New Yorkers should pay for it. Others felt that because it was a gift from France, the French ought to pay for all of it. ▶
◀ Newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer was embarrassed that Americans were not getting behind this important symbol and gift. He went after the rich, saying, “Let us not wait for the millionaires.... Give something, however little, we will publish the name of every giver....” And he did, in his newspaper The World. In five months, 121,000 people gave $102,000. One gift was only five cents! Construction on the pedestal restarted. It was completed in April 1886.
The 214 crates had sat untouched for nearly a year. Now, they could be opened. Each day, people watched as the pedestal, the skeleton, and then the statue itself rose higher and higher. At right is the completed pedestal. ▶
◀ A boatload of suffragists who were fighting for women’s rights showed up. They put themselves right in front of the viewing stand. They were angry for two reasons. One was that the only women invited to the ceremony were the wives of important men. They also felt that putting up a statue of a woman dedicated to liberty was an insult. After all, women in the U.S. and France didn’t have the right to vote! American women didn’t win that right until 1920.
