Chapter 4: Symbols of the USA

Chapter 4: Symbols of the USA

The Statue of Liberty

France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886 to show the friendship between the two countries. Building the statue was a combined effort between the two countries. France paid for the statue and the United States paid for the pedestal.

In 1876, a French sculptor called Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue in France, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence.

Soon, it was ready and they divided the statue into 350 individual pieces and put them into 214 boxes. The pieces arrived in New York, and then workers built the statue on the pedestal.

In the 1800s and 1900s, most immigrants arrived in the USA on ships. The Statue of Liberty was the first thing these immigrants saw as their ships sailed into New York Harbour. It meant the start of a new life for them.

The Statue is 93.1 metres high and there are 354 steps from the pedestal to the head of the statue. Her first finger is 2.44 metres long. The outside of the statue has got copper on it. The green colour is from the copper naturally changing colour in the air. There is a thin cover of gold on the torch to make it look like a flame. People can climb up to the head and look out at the view.

Today, this magnificent statue still symbolises freedom and democracy.

The American Flag

In 1777, government officials passed the Flag Act. They decided to have a flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent all 13 colonies of the United States of America. But more states joined the Union, so they changed the flag many times. At first, they added a star and stripe for each state. But soon, the flag was full of stripes. In 1818, they decided to have a flag with 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies, and a star to represent each state in the Union.

Today, the flag has got 13 stripes and 50 stars - for all 50 states of the USA.

The American Eagle - Emblem of Freedom

In 1782, Congress selected the bald eagle as the official emblem of the United States, because it symbolised beauty, strength and long life.

The eagle appears on the official seal of the USA with an olive branch with 13 leaves in one talon and 13 arrows in the other. The eagle faces the olive branch to show that the USA prefers peace, but is always ready to fight.

Some people believe Congress chose the eagle because of a story from the War of Independence. During a battle, the noise woke some eagles and they flew over the fighting men, screeching loudly. The soldiers shouted, “The eagles are calling for freedom!”

So this bird became a symbol of freedom and power for the new country.