The Statue of Liberty’s 1886 ceremony ignored its immigrant-refugee meaning.
Evidence
But though the idea was not often invoked, it was rarely repudiated. The grand dedication ceremonies for the Statue of Liberty in October 1886 passed off without a single reference to the poetic welcome that Emma Lazarus had penned three years before to “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Orators expatiated far more on liberty radiating outward into the world than on oppression seeking refuge here. — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 380
Categorization
- SHARE: Good tidbit for someone interested in mythologized American symbols vs. actual inaugural rhetoric.
- CANDY: flagged by the selector, no supporting note recorded
- XREF: connects to: Americans glorified liberty radiating outward more than receiving the oppressed
Broader Connections
- Americans glorified liberty radiating outward more than receiving the oppressed
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