The History Lesson Sarah Palin Really Needs

“It is, of course, the symbol for Americans to be reminded of other countries because this was gifted us, of course by the French—other countries warning us to never make the mistakes that some of them had made.”

Okay, so Palin is saying that France gave us the statue to warn us not to make the mistakes they made. But contrary to Sarah Palin’s characterization, historians say the Statue of Liberty was meant to serve an entirely different purpose.

It was given to us to serve as a reminder of the importance of liberty, particularly with respect to slavery.

In other words, the creator of the Statue of Liberty intended the opposite of what Palin claims. The symbolism was intended to celebrate freedom and to also acknowledge a mistake the United States made and corrected – slavery.

It is well documented that Frederic Bartholdi, the French sculptor who designed the Statue, came upon the idea of the statue in 1865 after having a conversation with a friend, noted Frenchmen Edouard de Laboulaye, who was an ardent supporter of the Union in the American Civil War.

Due to the political climate in France at the time and a lack of funding, it took several years to raise enough funds to get the project off the ground. Bartholdi’s original rendering had Lady Liberty holding broken chains in her left hand, with more broken chains at her feet both to symbolize the end of slavery in the United States. Slavery was abolished in France many years before the slaves were emancipated in the United States.

Noted author and lecturer, Dr. Joy DeGruy, frequently addresses the chains in the original renderings of the Statue of Liberty in her speaking tours and interviews. DeGruy says that when the renderings were disclosed to the American decision makers of the day, the French designer was rebuffed. The Americans insisted that he remove the chains. Bartholdi was adamant that the chains remain although he eventually was forced to compromise – removing the chains from Lady Liberty’s hand but leaving the chains at her feet along with broken shackles, where they remain today.

Interviewed on the cable show “Like It Is”, DeGruy explained where the chains are and how they can be seen today. It is no longer surprising to hear that Sarah Palin doesn’t have the facts but what is more unfortunate is that this story isn’t told as often as the story of Paul Revere’s midnight ride. The shameful history and legacy of slavery, to this day, is not given the attention it deserves else Maher, Colbert, and company could have had a field day with this.

If only DeGruy could get one tenth the media coverage Palin gets. In the video below, she addresses the chains on the Statue of Liberty at 40 seconds into the recording. She’s a great storyteller and author. Here is a link to her website. Enjoy the video (below) and please pass this along to your friends and family.