the original statue of liberty

According to a persistent rumor among African Americans, the sculpture that rises grandly from Liberty Island in New York Harbor is not the original Statue of Liberty. The true original was modeled after a black woman and had African features. In addition, the point of the statue was not to honor immigrants but rather to commemorate the abolition of slavery in America, in particular, the service of black Union soldiers in the Civil War. The statue carried broken chains to symbolize emancipation. Furthermore, the rumor goes, the current white statue was substituted for the original when American politicians objected to the portrayal of Liberty as a black woman. Some have even argued that the original black statue still exists, either in France or hidden somewhere in the catacombs of New York.

the original statue of liberty with chains

The original statue was chained. When Bartholdi created the first models, the statue’s hands were holding broken chains to signify the end of slavery. American financiers were not too keen on the idea, so Bartholdi replaced the chains with a tablet. Bartholdi, however, left broken chains at the feet of Lady Liberty to remind us of freedom from oppression and servitude. These chains are unseen by visitors as they sit atop the pedestal, however, they can be seen from an aerial view.

the original statue of liberty color

At the Statue's unveiling, in 1886, it was brown, like a penny. By 1906, oxidation had covered it with a green patina. The thin layer of oxidation that covers copper (and bronze, an alloy made mostly of copper) can preserve the metal for centuries, even millennia, as shown by objects from the ancient world.

the original statue of liberty in France

In 1876, French craftsmen and artisans started construction of the statue in France, designed by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi as a celebration of the centennial of the U.S. Declaration of Independence ( here ).

The world-famous Statue of Liberty was not built by the Americans. It was completed by French sculptors Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for the steel frame of the sculpture). France originally planned to send the Statue of Liberty to Egypt, but because the Statue of Liberty depicts a woman, Egypt refused to accept it. Later, it just happened to coincide with the 100th anniversary of American independence, so it was transferred to the United States.

So, who is the prototype of the Statue of Liberty?

One version is Bartholdi's wife. Once at the age of 17, Bartholdi saw a scene that he will never forget with his own eyes. A group of Republicans and coup d'état fought fiercely. A girl loyal to the government of the Republic, holding a burning torch, crossed the defensive zone, rushed towards the enemy with the slogan "Forward", and died in the rain of bullets.

It was this scene that made Bartholdi remember the girl who held the torch high and defended the regime of "peace and freedom" with her life. After that, Bartholdi kept describing the image of the Statue of Liberty in his heart until a person appeared. In 1865, Bartholdi met a girl named Jeanne at a friend's wedding. This girl was dignified, elegant and generous. At the wedding, Bartholdi even invited Jeanne to dance. After this first acquaintance, Bartholdi began to discover the shadow of "Lady Liberty" from Jeanne, and invited Jeanne to be his model to complete the creation of the "Lady Liberty" sculpture. Naturally, after completing the sculpture, they are also lovers who eventually become married. Therefore, some people say that the prototype of the Statue of Liberty is actually the epitome of the republican warrior, the appearance of Bartholdi's beloved wife. And this statement has been recognized by many people.

Another argument is that the Statue of Liberty may have been originally built to celebrate the liberation of slaves and the prototype is still black. Newman, an African-American researcher at Harvard University in the United States, said: “The Statue of Liberty is 100% about slavery and has nothing to do with immigration... Freedom refers to the freedom of slaves. The French historian of the Statue of Liberty wanted to use the Statue of Liberty to commemorate the liberation of slaves, and to celebrate the victory of the American side supporting the federal government in the Civil War and to commemorate the American President Lincoln who liberated the slaves. It happened to be the Statue of Liberty. When it was erected in 1886, European immigrants began to flock to the United States from the New York Bay. They saw the statue of the goddess when they looked up, and the Statue of Liberty was given a new symbolic meaning. The American anthropologist in charge of national park affairs, Ruo Siguan also agreed with this view.

In fact, no matter who the prototype of the "goddess" is, she has clearly become a symbol of the friendship between the American nation and the American and French people, and will always express the American people's lofty ideals of fighting for democracy and yearning for freedom.