What America Is About

What America Is About Liberty Enlightening the World (La Liberté éclairant le monde) Overlooking New York Harbor. A gift from France cast in copper: To commemorate French and American alliance. In shared ideals of freedom and democracy For which many sacrificed bravely. Upon the pedestal wearing sandals and a toga, Lady Liberty walks on the chains of bondage, Bearing a beacon and a tablet, Declaring the date of America’s Independence. “We are Americans from Lexington and Concord To Philadelphia; that is what America is about!” *** Notes: The ‘Statue of Liberty’ is a copper statue of the Roman goddess ‘Libertas’ that was designed by the French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904). It was given to the people of the United States of America by France to commemorate the friendship and shared ideals between the two nations (dedication ceremonies took place on October 28, 1886). The statue is located on Liberty Island (formerly Bedloe’s Island) in New York Harbor, U.S.A. The American Revolutionary War aka American War of Independence (1775-1783) officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, in Paris, France, between Britain and the thirteen American colonies (Patriots). Three years later, on July 4, 1776 (July IV, MDCCLXXVI), the Second Continental Congress of the United Colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. On September 9, 1776, the name was changed to the United States of America.