Reading log #1//What is the Statue of Liberty? by Joan Holub // Topic 6 Non-fiction texts

​ After reading What is the Statue of Liberty? by Joan Holub I learned that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France for its one-hundredth birthday of the United States, the pedestal was made in America and its unveiling was protested by suffragettes. In an article about the statue on Wikipedia, it states, "A gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886." Surprisingly on page 7 of this book, it shares that Americans weren't sure if they wanted the statue and almost said no to France.  The pedestal, however, was made in America by an architect named Richard Morris Hunt. Chapter seven in this book discusses how insufficient funds and setbacks stopped construction on the pedestal many times. The liberty Ellis Foundation website informs that"Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April 1886."  When the statue was being prepared to be unveiled in 1886 women were not treated equally as men and barely had any rights. They were angry when they heard the statue was a woman that stood for freedom but, they weren't even allowed to vote. "They blasted protest, speeches, but those could not be heard over the din of steam whistles and cannon blasts in the harbor." as said in the article "Lady Liberty: A Counter Narrative" by Louise Bernikow. I enjoyed learning about the Statue of Liberty since I hope to visit it this Spring.