Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye first proposed the ...

Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye first proposed the idea of a monument for the United States in 1865. Ten years later sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was named Liberty Enlightening the World and was a joint effort between America and France.

It was agreed that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States.

However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prizefights assisted in providing needed funds. Poet Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet The New Colossus in 1883 for the art and literary auction to raise funds