Celebrating the 250th anniversary of our national birth certificate and mission statement, half my columns this year will be about the great American adventure.
National symbols are objects or ideas that become a shared language among the people of a nation. Such structures act to remind Americans of our history and point us to the future. The late poet and novelist Maya Anglou explains, “Symbols speak a universal language that can unite even the most diverse of nations under a common source of pride.”
Since ancient times, sculpture has been one of humanity’s most powerful forms of art. Whether carved from stone, cast in bronze, or molded from clay, sculptures have the three-dimensional ability to move people in profound ways. The United States is home to many famous and influential sculptural works, including the National; Monument, the LincolnMemorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, which have become deeply embedded in our national identity.
Pun alert #1!: Can you identify two rock groups, both of which consist of four men, one of whom has the first name of George and another who was assassinated? The first rock group is, obviously, the Beatles. The second rock group is — ta-da! — Mount Rushmore. Please take my answer for granite (igneous granite).
Pun alert #2!: A century ago, the natural beauty of Mount Rushmore was un-president-ed.
This coming Monday, February 16, we Americans will celebrate Presidents’ Day, not President’s Day, which is afflicted with what I call a prepostrophe.
The 60-foot-high heads of Presidents George Washington (completed 1934), Thomas Jefferson (1936), Theodore Roosevelt (1939), and Abraham Lincoln (1937) appear on 5,725-foot-high Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The massive sculpture, titled Shrine of Democracy, is included as part of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941) directed 400 workers in the creation of the monument from 1927 until his death. His son, Lincoln, completed the project a few months later.In 1937, a grassroots campaign emerged to add another face to Mount Rushmore: women’s rights activist, Susan B. Anthony. But with money scarce during the Great Depression, Congress decided that only the four heads already in progress would continue. The original concept was to show the four presidents from the waist up, but ultimately there wasn’t enough money to complete that design. Only George Washington has any detail below the neck. Since then, engineers have judged that the surface is inadequate to support another sculpture. Still, names are suggested from time to time. The most recent nominees include Presidents Reagan, Obama, and Trump.
How can we tell that the Statue of Liberty loves America? She carries a torch for us.
The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States. This towering neoclassical sculpture commemorates the alliance between the two nations during the Revolutionary War and the freeing of enslaved people after the Civil War. It’s a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. Sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the seven rays on Liberty’s crown represent the sun, the seven seas, and the seven continents. She cradles in her left arm a tablet that reads, “JULY IV MDCCLXXVI,” (July 4 th 1776). She steps into the future leaving a broken shackle and chain (freedom from oppression) at her feet.
An iron framework created by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who later designed the Eiffel Tower, supports 3/32 nd -of-an-inch copper skin.
The entire statue arrived in the U.S. in 1885 aboard the French freighter Isere as 350 individual pieces packed in 214 crates. With a height of more than 151 feet and a waist 35 feetthick, she may be the most massive woman in America. On her pedestal, the entire Statue of Liberty reaches 305 feet, which made her the tallest structure in the United States when she gained her place.
Lady Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a national monument in 1924, and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986. She stands on Liberty Island (formerlyBedloe’s Island) in New York Harbor.
A bronze plaque inside the base displays the Emma Lazarus sonnet, “The New Colossus” (1883), in which the poet transformed the Statue of Liberty into a global symbol of welcome and hope for immigrants:
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
Please send your questions and comments about language to richardhlederer@gmail.com website: www.verbivore.com.