Notes on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
The Statue of Liberty is in the NY harbour, on Liberty Island.
It is 46 meters high (the green part, because the statue and the base together are 93 meters high).
It is made of copper, that’s why it changed colour over the years.
It is a symbol of liberty, immigration, hope and democracy.
It was a gift from France. It was created by Frederic Bartholdi in 1886 (and Gustave Eiffel).
Money and material for the statue came from all of France and, once done, it was shipped on a
boat in pieces.
The USA wanted to create the base but at the beginning there was no money, then J. Pulitzer
used his journal to ask Americans for donations and eventually he made it.
The statue bears in one of its hands a tablet with the inscription of the day of American
independence (4th July 1776).
On the base there’s a poem called “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, who worked with
refugees. In the poem the statue is asking for immigrants and refugees (“give me your poor”). In
fact, as already said, the statue was a symbol of immigration, hope and opportunity. That is not
only because of the poem, but also because Liberty Island is close to Ellis Island: it was an
immigration centre from 1892 to 1954; in this period more than 12 million people arrived at
Ellis Island.
Immigrants died on their way to the USA, because they travelled in terrible conditions. The trip
lasted three months. When people arrived in NY, the first thing they saw was the statue. Once at
Ellis Island, they were registered and examined. Most immigrants came from Europe,
especially in this period. Life was very difficult for immigrants because they had to face a lot
of prejudices. Most of them were Catholic and some of them were Jewish, they were not
Protestant as Americans. Immigrants’ jobs were tough, they built a lot of roads, skyscrapers, and
other constructions. In order to be accepted by the American community, some immigrants
changed their names or surnames to make them sound more American. For example: ‘O’Meehan’
became ‘Meehan’; some changed their surnames in Smith, Jones or Wilson. Sometimes people
changed their surnames on purpose, but some other times by accident.
Sometimes immigrants made their fortune in the USA. One famous example is Rudolph
Valentino. He left Italy and arrived in the US in 1913, when he was 18 years old. He worked as
a dancer and actor in NY, but then he moved to California during the era of Hollywood’s silent
films and he became a very successful film star. Unfortunately, he died from peritonitis when he
was only 31. There were thousands of fans at his funeral.
Answer the questions
1) Where is the Statue of Liberty?
2) How high is it?
3) What is it made of?
4) What does it represent?
5) Who gave the Statue to the USA?
6) Who created it?
7) Who raised money for its base?
8) What is the day of American Independence?
9) What does the poem “The New Colossus” say?
10) What was Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954?
11) How many people arrived at Ellis Island in this period?
12) What happened when immigrants arrived at Ellis Island?
13) What was life for immigrants like? Why?
14) What did immigrants build?
15) Who was Rudolph Valentino?