It took nine years from the time of Congress’ approval of the perfect location for the gift proffered by the people of France to the people of the United States in commemoration of their alliance during the American Revolution a century earlier.
In 1877, it was agreed that the 151-foot statue originally known as “Liberty Enlightening the World” would stand on Bedloe’s Island (later renamed Liberty Island) in New York Harbor. She was built in France, completed in May of 1884, dismantled, and shipped in pieces to New York in more than 200 packing cases, where she was reassembled and installed on the pedestal that had been constructed for her.
And on October 28, 1886 — 140 years ago today — President Grover Cleveland presided over the dedication ceremony attended by hundreds of thousands of people. [“This Day in History,” History.com, October 28, 2026.]
In 1892, an adjacent spot of land in the Harbor — Ellis Island — opened as the principal entry station for immigrants to the United States. And in 1903, a bronze plaque was mounted inside the lower level of Lady Liberty’s pedestal, on which was inscribed a poem that has welcomed newcomers seeking the American dream ever since:
“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.”
– Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus”
That dream has lately been shattered for millions by the abhorrent racism and xenophobia of a rogue administration. But political administrations are short-lived, and the American dream is 250 years old. It has outlived crises in the past, and it will outlive this one.
Our country was built by immigrants, including my own grandparents, as well as the mother and both sets of grandparents of Donald Trump. In fact, unless you are a full-blooded member of a Native American tribe, you are descended from immigrants.
The steady influx of new citizens may have been temporarily interrupted; but I am confident that it will begin again, and the “melting pot” that is America will continue to flourish in all of its beautiful diversity.
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka
10/28/26
