The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World first stood on Bedloe's Island in
1886 as a
gift from the people of
France to the people of
America.
A French historian named
Eduardo de Laboulaye first suggested the idea for the people of France to provide the statue while the people of America provide the
pedestal and the site. Accordingly, the statue and pedestal was built with donation
and no tax money, and was placed on Bedloe's Island, owned by a
Walloon named
Isaac Bedloe. The island was later renamed to
Liberty Island in
1956.
An
inscription on the base of the statue says:
"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-tossed, to me;
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Millions who aspired to be free from
Europe's "storied pomp" of governmental control, would reach to the
land of the free. Later in
1924, the island became a government owned
national park, coinciding with the year when immigration became greatly restricted with the
Immigration Act.
Source: http://www.libertystatepark.com/