Today in History: The Statue of Liberty
Today in History–June 19–the Library of Congress features the Statue of Liberty, which arrived in in New York Harbor on this day in 1885. The 151-foot-tall statue was a gift from France to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more primary sources related to this symbol of freedom and democracy. You might also be interested in checking out these statue-related PSN posts.
Statue of Liberty primary source set
Selected Views of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty (film, 1898)
The Statue of Liberty Grand March (sheet music, 1884)
Liberty sheet music
- Harry Kennedy 1884
- Silvia M. Calabrese, Christopher Demma 1917
- Clara Mae Callahan, Sutton Earl Reece 1917
- Rev. William D. O’Brien 1918
- G. R. Dunning 1919
The Statue of Liberty: Topics in Chronicling America timeline & select newspaper articles
Statue of Liberty 1885-86 newspaper coverage
The Statue of Liberty Arrived at Bedloe’s Island from America’s Library
Teaching resources
- A Different View of the Statue of Liberty through Primary Sources Teaching with Library of Congress
- Literature Links: Her Right Foot
Library of Congress blog posts
- Our Statue, Our History, Our Nation Library of Congress Blog April 23, 2010
- The Statue of Liberty and “The New Colossus” From the Catbird Seat July 6, 2015
- Statue of Liberty – Pics of the Week In Custodia Legis March 10, 2017
The Statue of Liberty was created to celebrate freed slaves, not immigrants, its new museum recounts Washington Post May 23, 2019