06/17/2026
On this day 141 years ago, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States.
In her left hand is a tablet inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776) in commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and at her feet are broken shackles representing the abolition of slavery. In her right hand, held aloft, is a burning torch, echoing the words by poet Emma Lazarus inscribed on a bronze plaque at the statue's base:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Lady Liberty, a larger-than-life celebration of our shared heritage of freedom and independence.
