60: Why is the Statue of Liberty so important?

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of hope for immigrants arriving in the USA.

A beacon of hope, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States and to a new life. The statue overlooks New York harbour, close to Ellis Island immigration centre: if the USA is a land of immigrants, Ellis Island is where those immigrants landed. Built by France for the USA, there was some debate about which city the statue should be placed in. Then there was how to pay for a pedestal large enough to hold Liberty. We are grateful to Suzanne Mannion, Director of Public Affairs at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, for arranging our visit, and to our interviewee, Jonathan da Silva, Assistant Manager of the American Family Immigration History Centre on Ellis Island. After the end theme music you'll find these questions, followed by outtakes and an extra recording we made in the Statue of Liberty Museum: Where was the first federal immigration centre for the USA? What was the 'kissing post'? Why do you think immigrants would be happy to see the Statue of Liberty when their ship arrived in New York? Who paid for the pedestal - the base platform - that the Statue of Liberty would be built on? Can you name any other city that requested that…

People in this episode

Hosts: Paul Letters, James Letters

Guest: Jonathan da Silva

Topics covered

• Statue of Liberty
• immigration
• history
• Ellis Island
• cultural significance

Keywords

• Statue of Liberty
• immigrants
• Ellis Island
• New York harbour
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

Places: New York, Ellis Island, USA, France

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