![]() "The New Colossus" shaped and continues to shape national identity in the United States. All of these facets of Lazarus intrigue me, but my interest emanated from a simple question: Can the voice of a woman, poems by a woman, speak to and for all people? Or, more simply: Can the voice of a woman be universal?Įmma Lazarus wrote a poem embraced as universal. Nor her friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was not her early emergence as a poetic prodigy. What drew me to Emma Lazarus was not her finely wrought poems. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."A Mighty Woman": On Emma Lazarus's "The New Colossus" Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. Glows world-wide welcome her mild eyes command Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand With conquering limbs astride from land to land Here’s the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus Nevertheless, the phrase “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” is now part of the collective American consciousness. In addition, the poem wasn’t placed on the statue’s pedestal until 20 years after it was dedicated. The fact is that the poem was reluctantly written as one of many artistic and literary works to raise money for the construction of the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands. Many people mistakenly believe it’s an immigration mandate. Most people erroneously believe the famous phrase came from the U.S. Or how it came to be associated with the quintessential monument. But I doubt if anyone could tell you who wrote it. The poem is now synonymous with the Statue of Liberty. In 1903, two decades after the poem was written, a plaque bearing the text of her poem was placed on the pedestal under the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus died the following year and her poem fell into obscurity.įifteen years later, Georgina Schuyler, a friend of Emma Lazarus, began an effort to memorialize her friend’s poem. The pedestal was completed and the Statue of Liberty was finally dedicated in 1886. Joseph Pulitzer published her poem in his newspapers. It was the first entry read at the exhibit’s opening on November 2, 1883. She wrote the sonnet “The New Colossus” in 1883. So Emma had to be persuaded to write something for the fundraising effort. The “Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty” was raising money for the construction of the pedestal.Īt first she refused. Poet Emma Lazarus was asked to donate an original poem for an auction of art and literary works. A Davenport, Iowa, kindergarten class mailed in a donation of $1.35. Joseph Pulitzer created a program to raise $100,000 ($2.3 million today). Laboulaye died the year before, having never seen the finished work.Īlthough the French government agreed to pay to transport the statue to America, the pedestal still had to be built. The framework was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame).Īfter years of designing, fundraising, building, and with several trips to America, Bartholdi and his extensive team finally completed the statue in 1884. ![]() He discussed his idea with sculptor Frederic Bartholdi in 1865, who was inspired to design the statue. As a supporter of the Union’s efforts during the Civil War, he saw the monument as “a common work of both our nations,” freedom for France and an end to slavery in America. Édouard René de Laboulaye (la-bō-lay’) was president of the French Anti-Slavery Society. Most obscure is what prompted the writing of the poem. Even less well known is that these familiar words are from a largely unknown poem. People don’t know what prompted France to design, build, and donate the statue to America. President Grover Cleveland presided over the event.īut as with every aspect of American history, there’s a lot more to the story. After the parts were reassembled and the pedestal was constructed, the statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The poem title was a reference to the Greek Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.įrance gave the statue to America in 1885. She donated the poem to raise money for the construction of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. American poet Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) wrote the poem “The New Colossus” in 1883. This oft-quoted phrase is actually a small part of a poem. It’s used to promote unfettered and unrestricted immigration. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …” is on a plaque of the Statue of Liberty pedestal.
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