1986. I just picked up a penny, and that was the year on the coin. So I asked myself: What “fantastic historical thing” happened in 1986? I mean the date is so recent. So it took a little investigating and actually going beyond the date, using a historical moment within the date itself.
1986 marked the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. Any anniversary is significant, so I wanted to look at the significance of the statue itself.
I feel like we only appreciate the statue for the beauty of art. But we often forget the symbolic meaning of why it exists in our country.
The Statue of Liberty was completed in 1886 and is a symbol of “international friendship”. And truly a symbol of friendship it was. France gave the United States the statue as a gift after the American Revolution – a war over taxation (the taxation of sugar, stamps, currency, and probably other ridiculous items). We fought taxation and we fought against a ruling society over our own. Maybe that is what set off America’s ego and desire for power, but aside from that, the Statue of Liberty symbolized the freedom that we gained from the governing British colonies.
But what I don’t understand is if America and Britain were involved, why did France give us a gift? An ally who had a past with the defeated country was all too gracious on our behalf. And I can’t think of a time in history, ever, where a gift has been given (as glorified as the Statue of Liberty). Perhaps that is because nobody has truly won a war?
France and Britain may have been enemies, however, a gift – as unique as the Statue of Liberty is just incredible. It’s too bad that we don’t have any allies in the war now. I can only imagine what our gift could be? After this war is over (whenever that may be), I can guarantee that the gift won’t be as glorified and as nice as the Statue of Liberty. Maybe it will be a giant statue of a post-it note, reminding us not to get involved in something without thinking first.
http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/tline.asp
http://www.nps.gov/archive/stli/prod02.htm#Statue%20of
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