The Statue of Liberty at 125 Years
An American Base of Support
In America, the Panic of 1873 plunged the country into an economic depression that would continue for the next several years. After repeated attempts to allocate government funds for constructing the statue's pedestal had been vetoed by congress, Joseph Pulitzer announced he would print the names of every contributor in his New York World and raised $102,000 within five months. As the pedestal's construction progressed through the early 1880s, the Statue was disassembled in Paris and loaded aboard over 100 shipping containers to be taken overseas to New York. The pieces arrived in the U.S. on June 19th, 1885, and were assembled in time for an unveiling on 1886. Pictured here, the copper face awaits attachment to the main statue in 1885.