More than a million people immigrate to the United States to start new lives every year, and if they
are arriving in New York, one of the first sights that they will see is the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of
Liberty stands on Liberty Island, near Manhattan in New York. Though she is often thought to be
resident of New York, Liberty Island is actually federal property, which means that the Statue of
Liberty belongs to the whole country. The Statue of Liberty is not only the tallest statue in America, it
is also one of the most recognizable American symbols.
The Statue of Liberty is huge. From the tip of the torch to the pedestal which is the base of the statue
on which she stands, she is just over 151 feet tall. If you include the pedestal in your measurement,
she stands more than 305 feet off of the ground. That’s more than 30 basketball hoops or an entire
football field. Her waist size is 35 feet, which would make it awfully tough to find pants, and the
tablet she holds is 23 feet long. Don’t worry though; she hasn’t had any trouble holding that tablet
yet with her 8 foot index finger.
Though America financed and built the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands, the statue
itself was a gift from France. In this way the complete work, much like the United States, is a product
of both American and French contributions. At one time America was ruled by the British. The
founding fathers of America chose to fight against Great Britain for the independence of their
country. France supported America by providing money, men, and weapons of war. Had it not been
for French contributions during the Revolutionary War, America would not exist in the way that it
does today; therefore, it is quite fitting that the Statue of Liberty, which represents freedom, came to
being by a joint American and French effort. On October 28th, 1886, just over one-hundred years
after America declared its independence from Great Britain, the Statue of Liberty was completed and
dedicated by its designer, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.
Perhaps no person did more to bring the statue into being than Bartholdi. Not only did Bartholdi gain
both French and American approval for the project, he led the French fundraising efforts and
designed the appearance of the statue. The appearance of the Statue of Liberty is somewhat resulting
from Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. The torch represents how liberty enlightens the world.
The seven points or rays coming from the top of the crown represent the sun, the seven seas, the
seven continents, and (as with the torch) how liberty enlightens the world. Though much of the
statue was modeled after depictions of goddesses, Bartholdi modeled the face after his mother. Now
that’s a Mother’s Day gift that’s hard to top.
Though Bartholdi was responsible for the external appearance of statute, the internal design can be
largely credited to innovative designer, Gustave Eiffel. Though Mr. Eiffel is best known for his
contributions to a tower in Paris that is named after him, he also engineered the internal structure
that holds up the Statue of Liberty. Eiffel chose to use a flexible structure, so that changes in the
temperature and strong winds from the ocean would not cause the statue to crack. Because of Eiffel’s
crafty design, the Statue of Liberty may sway as much as three inches on a windy day. If the winds
exceed 50 miles per hour, the torch may sway five inches. Eiffel is also responsible for including two
spiraling staircases on the interior of the statue to help visitors reach the observation point in the
crown.
A.Answer the following questions:
1. Why is it significant that the Statue of Liberty is a product of both French and American efforts?
2. Eiffel chose to use a flexible structure. Explain.
3. The statue of liberty belongs to one state only. True or False. Support from the text.
4. Why does the Statue of Liberty look the way that she does?
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
B.Choose the correct answer:
6. Which is not represented by the seven points on the crown of the Statue of Liberty according to the
text?
a. The points represent how liberty enlightens the world.
b. The points represent the seven continents.
c. The points represent the sun.
d. The points represent the seven days of creation.
7. What is meant by pedestal?
a. The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island.
b. It is a federal property.
c. the statue itself was a gift from France.
d. the base on which the Statue of Liberty stands.
8. Which best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph?
a. France assisted the United States in the Revolutionary War.
b. The statue was a joint effort between France and the U.S. just like U.S. independence.
c. The U.S. was once a colony of Great Britain.
d. The statue of liberty was dedicated 100 years after America declared its independence.