Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode will be on the American icon for hope and freedom, The Statue of Liberty.

The brainchild of French intellectual and anti-slavery activist Edouard de Laboulaye, he proposed a statue be built to commemorate the United States centennial of their independence and the friendship between the two countries.

By 1870 French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi began designing the statue which was called “Liberty Enlightening the World”. While designing the statue Bartholdi took a trip to the United States where he selected a site for the statue which was Bedloe’s Island, which he perceived to be the “gateway to America.”

Construction of the statue began in 1876 with the arm completed in the same year, and the head and shoulders completed by 1878. These parts were displayed at expositions along the way to help raise funds for construction, before the final statue was completed and assembled in Paris in 1881.

In the mean time the construction of the pedestal by the US began in 1884 which was to eventually delay the reassembly of the statue, which was delivered by ship from France in June,1885. The pedestal was finally completed in 1886 after which the reassembly of the statue was completed in remarkably quick time and opened on the 28th October that same year.

Today’s mnemonic will be on six facts on The Statue of Liberty.

So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Liberty,_NY.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

The statue is a figure of a classically draped woman,[8] likely inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty Libertas.[9] In a contrapposto pose,[8][10] she holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

With her left foot she steps on a broken chain and shackle,[8] commemorating the national abolition of slavery following the American Civil War.[11][12][13] After its dedication the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, being subsequently seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.

The idea for the statue was conceived in 1865, when the French historian and abolitionist Édouard de Laboulaye proposed a monument to commemorate the upcoming centennial of U.S. independence (1876), the perseverance of American democracy and the liberation of the nation's slaves.[14]

The Franco-Prussian War delayed progress until 1875, when Laboulaye proposed that the people of France finance the statue and the United States provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.

The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened by lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer, of the New York World, started a drive for donations to finish the project and attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar (equivalent to $34 in 2023).

The statue was built in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933, it has been maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and is a major tourist attraction. Limited numbers of visitors can access the rim of the pedestal and the interior of the statue's crown from within; public access to the torch has been barred since 1916.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Liberty_-_04.jpg

Mnemonic

The Statue of Liberty – 6 Facts Mnemonic – Frederic & Gustave CRaFT

(Picture Frederic & Gustave looking up at what they had crafted at the opening ceremony of The Statue of Liberty)

1. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed The Statue of Liberty

2. Gustave Eiffel built the metal framework for The Statue of Liberty

3. Crown spikes represent the oceans and continents

4. Reassembled on Liberty Island in 1886

5. Face modelled off Bartholdi’s mother

6. The Statue represents the Roman Goddess Libertas

Five Fun Facts

1. Gifted by France to the United States in 1886, The Statue of Liberty stands 93 metres above Upper New York Bay. It commemorates the friendship between the United States and France that began during the American Revolution. The official name for the statue is “Liberty Enlightening the World” but also known as “Lady Liberty.”

2. The Statue of Liberty represents the Roman Goddess Libertas, a Roman deity personifying freedom. Libertas also appears on Roman Coins following the assassination of Julius Caesar in support of the Republic.

3. The crown of The Statue of Liberty bears seven spikes, which symbolise the seven oceans and the seven continents of the world. This articulates inclusiveness, opportunity, freedom and a welcoming to all.

4. The face of The Statue of Liberty is said to be modelled on the face of the sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi’s mother. His mother was Charlotte Bartholdi and if you look at a portrait of her, there are definitely similarities with the stern eyes, long nose, and strong jawline. It is important to note though that Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi never formally confirmed it.

5. The Statue of Liberty attracts a lot of attention with around 4 million visitors per year. But it also attracts a lot of lightning being struck around 600 times per year. The statue’s height and conductive copper augment this attraction but luckily the statue is safely grounded through the massive concrete and granite base she stands on.

Now just speaking about attracting attention. David Copperfield attracted a lot of attention back in 1983 when he made The Statue of Liberty disappear during a live televised event. Now this type of contrived, rigged-up, illusion really doesn’t do much for me. To be honest. I just don’t see the attraction!