The end of October marks the 140th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. Twenty years before, Edouard de Laboulaye originated the idea that the people of France should give a monument to the people of the United States for their 100 years of freedom from English rule and for the recent abolishment of slavery after the U.S. Civil War. He was aware that his country had taken part in slave trading, including to the newly formed United States. He also hoped France could achieve a similar democracy that the U.S. had accomplished.
Laboulaye and Frederic Bartholdi, a sculptor, spent years designing the final elements, and then building the sculpture, with Bartholdi traveling twice to America to meet the people, find a site location, and generate interest in the project.
Laboulaye, who spent the rest of his life achieving that goal, died in 1883, just as the Statue of Liberty was being erected. Bartholdi attended the dedication. Millions of people know about the Statue of Liberty in America because of these two men from France. We should remember them this month and always.
