Statue of Liberty

This passage describes the creation of the Statue of Liberty.

Lexile Level: 560L

Categories: History People & Places

The Statue of Liberty is a statue of a woman holding a torch. It was a present from France. The French wanted to celebrate American democracy. In 1865, a group of Frenchmen decided to build a statue for the United States. The artist used his mother as a model. The torch is a symbol of freedom. The statue was built in France. It was shipped across the ocean in pieces. The statue was finished in New York Harbor in 1876. It is the tallest metal statue ever made. It is 151 feet and one inch tall. There is a poem on the base of the statue. It welcomes people from other countries to the United States. In the early 1900s, the statue was often the first thing people saw when they came to America. During the World Wars, the statue became a symbol of freedom.