The Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York Harbor, NY

The Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York Harbor, NY
The Statue of Liberty (The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World) was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The Statue is a figure of a robed woman representing Libertas, a Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed in Roman numerals with “JULY IV MDCCLXXVI” (July 4, 1776), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The broken chains at the feet of the Statue of Liberty symbolize freedom and democracy. They also represent the end of slavery in America and the Union victory in the Civil War. The statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from other countries. 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.