1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,519 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 2: What's that Mango? 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: Did you know that Ellie the Elephant, who is the 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: mascot of the WNBA team here at the New York Liberty, 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: Did you know she has two stylists? 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 2: Two stylists. 8 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 3: I'm definitely familiar with Ellie the Elephant, and it has 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 3: been so much fun to see how much buzz she's. 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 2: Gotten over the past year or so. 11 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 3: But I did not think about a mascot needing a stylist. 12 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: Well, you know, Ellie isn't just any old mascot. She twerks, 13 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: she goes to childish Gambino concerts, and she is a 14 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: fashion trendsetter. And in the twenty twenty four WNBA season, 15 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: she was spotted carrying a four hundred and twenty dollars 16 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: person She's even been featured in Vogue for her style. 17 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 3: I don't know, it makes me feel sort of sorry 18 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,319 Speaker 3: for mister Mett. He just seems pretty pretty normcore at 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 3: this point. But I can't say that I were member 20 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 3: seeing Ellie like way back when, Like how long has 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 3: she actually been representing the Liberty? 22 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I was actually wondering about this too. Apparently she 23 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: only debuted in twenty twenty one, but she has obviously 24 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: made quite an impression, and it makes sense considering she's 25 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: kind of a tribute to so much New York history, Like, like, 26 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: what the fact that she's an elephant? For one, I'm 27 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: not sure if you remember this, but P. T. Barnum 28 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: brought twenty one elephants and seventeen camels over the Brooklyn 29 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: Bridge in eighteen eighty four, and that was to help 30 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: prove it was really sturdy. And then there's her name, Ellie, 31 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: which is an obvious name for an elephant, but also 32 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: a nod to Ellis Island. And of course she wears 33 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: a crown that looks just like the Statue of Liberties. 34 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: But watching Ellie's rise to fame and the Liberty becoming 35 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: WNBA champions this year, it had me thinking more about 36 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: the Statue of Liberty itself. And you know, it's kind 37 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: of easy to take it for granted as this ever 38 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: present symbol of freedom and immigration, but it got me 39 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: to wondering, why did the French give this thing to us? 40 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: And how do we get it here? So why don't 41 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: we dive in. 42 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 3: Hey their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 3: Will Pearson and as always, I'm here with my good 44 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 3: friend Mangesh hot Ticketter and sitting somewhere behind that big booth, 45 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 3: that's our pal and producer Dylan. 46 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 2: Now he looks like he's. 47 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 3: Getting warm from carrying that big torch over his head, 48 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 3: don't you think, Mango. 49 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: I don't know why he's got a torch in there. 50 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: He's always complaining that we're lighting scented candles and birthday 51 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: aches around his equipment, and this. 52 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 3: Doesn't really seem fair, It really doesn't. But I hope 53 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 3: that he finds a big bucket of water or fire exting. 54 00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 3: We're sure to put that out because we've got an 55 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 3: episode record here, but let's get to it. So, Mango, 56 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 3: you obviously live in New York City, and I'm curious 57 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 3: how many times have you actually visited the Statue of Liberty. 58 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: I mean so many times. I ended up going so 59 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: many times that I decided to create like a different 60 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: tour of weird things to take people to just so 61 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: I didn't have to go to the Statue of Liberty. 62 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: So there was a nap room in the Empire State 63 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: building for a while, there was a secret museum and 64 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: an elevator shaft. There's a jewelry store that sells bond 65 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: me in the back, like that type of thing. But weirdly, 66 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: after working on this episode, I kind of want to 67 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: make another trip to the Statue of Liberty because I'm 68 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: really in awe of this thing and I kind of 69 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: want to see it up close. 70 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, I get that. 71 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 3: It's definitely one of those things that I think you 72 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 3: appreciate it more with time and the more you just 73 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 3: think about the fact that this giant statue exists. 74 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 2: There, like right in the middle of the water. 75 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 3: I noticed it every time I fly in, Like every time, 76 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 3: for whatever reason, I always want to try to catch 77 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 3: a quick glimpse of it, just because it's such a 78 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 3: remarkable thing. But all right, well, why don't you kick 79 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 3: off the story for us, So tell us, let's let's 80 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 3: go back to the beginning. Tell us who came up 81 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 3: with the idea of putting up a giant statue in 82 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 3: the New York Harbor? 83 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: Right? So the whole thing began in eighteen sixty five 84 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: at a dinner party at the house of Eduard de 85 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: la Boulie, and he had a bunch of politicians and 86 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: intellectuals over they were chatting about politics and current events, 87 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: and the discussion kind of moved into the topic of 88 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: the United States. And to be clear, this probably wasn't 89 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: totally random, considering that la Boulie was the author of 90 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: a three volume history of the US right. So he's 91 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: bringing people onto his home turf. And this party also 92 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: came pretty soon about after the Confederates had surrendered to 93 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: the Union and after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Apparently the 94 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: French and actually the rest of the world had been 95 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: watching the US Civil War closely seeing if this Republic 96 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: could hold, and the people at this party were definitely 97 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: courage when it did. But the news of Lincoln's assassination 98 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: really hit them hard. In fact, according to a peace 99 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: by our pal Linda Rodriguez Mcrabbie, frenchmen across the country 100 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: were heartbroken by this news, and so much so that 101 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: more than forty thousand French citizens contributed to a fund 102 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: to award Mary Todd Lincoln a gold medal as a 103 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: gesture of gratitude to her husband. 104 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it is a touching tribute. And I 105 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 3: actually had not heard that story before but it's also 106 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 3: a little bit weird, right, like, we're sorry your husband 107 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 3: was assassinated, but you know what, here's a gold medal 108 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 3: from our country. 109 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I guess it's better than a silver 110 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: or bronze. But back to this dinner party, this group 111 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: of intellectuals was talking about how impressed they were that 112 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: the US had persevered through these events, right, and it 113 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: was obviously linked to current events there. France too, at 114 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: the time, was dealing with issues of abolition, and many 115 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: of these partygoers were part of the efforts to abolish 116 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: slavery in France's African colonies. And also France had fairly 117 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: recently had a whop of their own. 118 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 3: You know, honestly, it's so hard for me to keep 119 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 3: track of French revolts, Like I did not realize that 120 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 3: one happened in the eighteen sixties. 121 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: Yeah, so this one actually happened in eighteen fifty one. 122 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: But Napoleon the Third, who was Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, refused 123 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: to leave the office of the president when he was 124 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: supposed to, and he declared himself Emperor France. So at 125 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: this dinner party, the group was like, how is this 126 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: baby country keeping it together while we're still struggling. 127 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 3: Mm hmm. I can imagine, you know, like lots of 128 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 3: French dinner parties in the eighteen sixties where this was 129 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 3: being discussed, and just trying to picture all of this discussion. 130 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 3: But how is it that this one led to the 131 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 3: building of a massive statue. That's what's still so strange 132 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:40,919 Speaker 3: to me. 133 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: Yeah. So there was also a sculptor in attendance there. 134 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: His name was Frederic Auguste Bartoldi, and Bartoldi became famous 135 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: in the eighteen fifties for a statue of a French 136 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,840 Speaker 1: general named gene Rapp and La Boulie was kind of 137 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: spitballing at his party, and so he said, well, France 138 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: and the US are great friends, we supported the American 139 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: Revolution and everything. What if there was a statue for that? 140 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 3: And then they actually did it. I mean, that's what's 141 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 3: so amazing about this whole thing. They built the statue, 142 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 3: We've covered it, so it's time for the fact off, right. 143 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,119 Speaker 1: Not exactly so, after the party ended, Bartoldi started working 144 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: on plans for a different idea he had. He had 145 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: this vision of a statue slash lighthouse for Egypt. It 146 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: was going to sit at the entrance of the Suez Canal. 147 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: He titled it Egypt carrying the Light to Asia. And 148 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: if you squint at his painting of what this would 149 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: look like, you could kind of mistake it for Lady Liberty. 150 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: It's a woman on a pedestal holding a torch. She's 151 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: dressed in different garb, and she's raising her other hand. 152 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: But the Egyptian government turned him down and the idea 153 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: was scrapped, you know, for the time being. 154 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's tough when your whole thing is 155 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 3: making massive statues and putting them in very prominent places, 156 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 3: you do have to get used to some rejection in 157 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 3: the process. 158 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, And that might be especially true for Bartoldi, who 159 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: actually should be noted that he had the most supportive 160 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: mom any artist could dream of. After his dad died 161 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: when Bartoldi was a young child, his mom moved him 162 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: and his brother from the city of Colmar, which is 163 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: closer to that i'll says, Lorraine region, to Paris, and 164 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: as he got more and more into drawing and sculpture, 165 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: his mom totally supported his art career, not just by 166 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: buying him chisels and stuff. She actually used to reach 167 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: out to journalists to get them to write about her son. 168 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: She also paid for his art studio where he made 169 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: these massive creations. Apparently that statue of General Rapp which 170 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier, it almost hit the studio ceiling he 171 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,959 Speaker 1: was in, but the statue ends up winning him twenty 172 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: thousand francs in an art contest. It was actually too 173 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: big to fit into the doors of the expo building 174 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: where all the other contest pieces were, so it had 175 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: to be placed in front of the building. And the 176 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: whole thing that Bartoldi takes away from this experience is 177 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: that big art gets big attention. 178 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that makes a lot of sense. So 179 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 3: after the Egyptian government rejects Bartoldi, does he start thinking 180 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 3: about the United States again or what? 181 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: Well, first he goes off and fights in the Franco 182 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: Prussian War, and then in eighteen seventy one, after that 183 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: war ends, le Boulier and Bartoldi meet back up and 184 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: get refocused on this statue idea. The problem was they 185 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: still don't have any idea who would pay for it, 186 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: which is something I know you looked into. But before 187 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: we talk about that, let's take a quick break. 188 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 3: Welcome back, to Part Time Genius, where we're talking about 189 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 3: the Statue of Liberty, and it's becoming clear that this 190 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 3: thing isn't quite as simple as just a gift from 191 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 3: the French government to the United States. 192 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: No, it's more like a couple of French civilians thought 193 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: it would be a cool idea because they liked history 194 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,080 Speaker 1: and art and saw the US from across the bar 195 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: and liked its five. I then decide to send it 196 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: a statue. But uh, let's talk fundraising. 197 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 2: All right. 198 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 3: So Leabulia and BARTHOLDI needed to figure out if there 199 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 3: were statue fundraising opportunities in the US. Plus Lbulier thought 200 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 3: it would be a good idea for BARTOLDI to spend 201 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 3: some time there for the statue brainstorming, because they still 202 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 3: hadn't finished what this statue could look like. So Bartoldi 203 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 3: takes a small clay model he's made and he crosses 204 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 3: the Atlantic. Now this was June of eighteen seventy one. 205 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 3: When he arrives in New York City. He wrote Laboulia 206 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 3: a letter describing the city wide eyed like he wrote, quote, 207 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 3: everything is big here, even the green peas. 208 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 2: I love that. 209 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 3: But despite the inspiring size of the peas Bartholdi still 210 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 3: had some concerns. So he thought the biggest barrier to 211 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 3: his statue project would be quote, the American character, which 212 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:50,959 Speaker 3: is hardly open. 213 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 2: To things of the imagination. It's pretty big dig there. 214 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 3: But also the English wasn't great, so this whole thing 215 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 3: was going to be a challenge from the very beginning. 216 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, that sounds particularly hard if you don't speak the language. 217 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: So how did Bartoldi adapt to our would you say, 218 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,359 Speaker 1: unimaginative way? 219 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 2: Exactly? 220 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 3: Well, he quickly learned that he couldn't pitch the statue 221 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 3: to people as a joint project between France and the US. 222 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 3: He wasn't going to get much traction if he did that. 223 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 3: So he did some quick thinking and he rebranded it 224 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 3: as a quote, commemorative monument for eighteen seventy six, acting 225 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 3: like France was already on board to pay for this piece, 226 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 3: and that all the Americans had to do was sit 227 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 3: back and you know, maybe chip in a little for 228 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 3: the pedestal or something. 229 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: Which is obviously stretching the truth a little bit there. 230 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 2: It definitely was. 231 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:39,959 Speaker 3: I mean, in reality, it was just a few men 232 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,719 Speaker 3: who even knew about the statue. No money had been 233 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 3: set aside for it, and BARTOLDI had been expecting that 234 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 3: Americans would pay for half the thing. In the end, 235 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 3: he spends four months in the US. He makes his 236 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 3: way through New England, then crosses the country to California 237 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 3: and returns all the way back to the East Coast. 238 00:11:57,559 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: I mean, that's kind of a lot of travel for 239 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: that time, right, like going coast to coast. 240 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 3: I thought the same thing. But it's also crazy to 241 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 3: see who he meets along the way, Like he sits 242 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 3: down with some really heavy hitters, including President Ulysses S. 243 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 2: Grant in New Jersey. 244 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,440 Speaker 3: In Salt Lake City, he meets Brigham Young and in 245 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 3: all his meeting people in fact finding, that's how he 246 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,959 Speaker 3: lands on the theme of his statue, which is, drum roll, 247 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 3: please liberty. 248 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: I'm not like a famous sculptor or anything, but I 249 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: feel like I could have gotten there without a four 250 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: month brainstorming vacation through the US. 251 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 3: I don't know, Mango, sometimes you got to do all 252 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 3: those things to come up with that. But it wasn't 253 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 3: as anticlimactic as it might sound like. Liberty was actually 254 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 3: hot button term at the time. It didn't just mean 255 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 3: freedom to everyone. A lot of people associated the idea 256 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 3: with revolutions and violence, but Bartholdi and Laboulie decided to 257 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 3: show a different side of liberty. The statue would be 258 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 3: lighting the way to freedom in a peaceful, lawful way. 259 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 3: They named it Liberty and Lightning the World. Plus that 260 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 3: nugget of an idea bought Bartoldi and Libulier to the 261 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 3: Roman goddess of freedom Libertas. She was on the seal 262 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 3: of the Second French Republic and some American currency at 263 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 3: the time, which is why the Statue of Liberty wears 264 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 3: a Roman robe. And Libertas was an important figure to 265 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 3: formally enslaved people in ancient Rome, so that made the 266 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 3: choice especially fitting. But like you mentioned earlier, Bartoldi also 267 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 3: took a lot of inspiration from the Suez Canal idea. 268 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: So speaking of the connection between the Statue of Liberty 269 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: and slavery, I think people sometimes forget that she has 270 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: shackles at her feet, and it is interesting to read 271 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: about the different takes on the statue and how explicitly 272 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 1: anti slavery people believed it to be. So you know, 273 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: as we mentioned earlier, people at Libulia's party were abolitionists, 274 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: including Libulia himself. But Bartoldi he was actually aiming to 275 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: be more a political with this thing. So, according to 276 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 1: an author Kara Sutherland and her book The Statue of Liberty, 277 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:05,199 Speaker 1: Bartoldi wasn't trying to comment on slavery specifically. To him, 278 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: those shackles represented political freedom in general, like America breaking 279 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: free from England and persevering through internal conflict. And weirdly, 280 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,959 Speaker 1: those chains were even more prominent in his early sketches. 281 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: Originally Lady Liberty was supposed to hold chains in her 282 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: left hand where there's now a tablet. So, regardless of 283 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: Bartoldi's intent or his claimed intent, abolition and slavery were 284 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: certainly part of the conversation and actually just one more 285 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,960 Speaker 1: thing on political views of the time. In eighteen seventy one, 286 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: the working in middle classes attempted in uprising in Paris, 287 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: which you know, the government ruthlessly ends up squashing. But 288 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: Lubouliet actually supports the government in this situation because he 289 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: was against the uprisings violent strategy. He did want friends 290 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: to be a democracy, but he didn't think this was 291 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: the right way to get there, which doesn't sit well 292 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: with his friends and colleagues. So in a sort of 293 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: self branding way personal for him, it was like a 294 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: good time to come out and announce that he was 295 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: working on a statue about the beauty of liberty and democracy. 296 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 3: Oh that's funny, all right, Well let's just get back 297 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 3: to the fundraiser for just a second. Because you know, 298 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 3: as you know, art can't be rushed. So it took 299 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 3: a few years for Bartoldi to make a bigger model 300 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 3: out of Terra Cotta for quote liberty and lightning the world, 301 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 3: And finally in eighteen seventy five they were ready to 302 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 3: start fundraising. So Laboulia and his liberal friends began reaching 303 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 3: out to potential donors and holding these fundraiser concerts. They 304 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 3: were looking for donations big and small, so they tried 305 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 3: to connect people from all stations of life, and they 306 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 3: kind of thought the fundraising would go easier because of 307 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 3: what had happened with the gold medal for Mary Todd Lincoln. 308 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like if these people only knew 309 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: how historically significant their donations would be, Like the statue 310 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: of Liberty has a critical role in Cloverfield and Independence Day, 311 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: Batman Forever. 312 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 3: And Batman forever, Like that alone, you think people would 313 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 3: understand but also things like Mad magazine covers. Anyway, they 314 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 3: start working on the statue and Bartoldi gets in touch 315 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 3: with Alexander Gustav Eiffel, who of course would go on 316 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 3: to design the Eiffel Tower later in his career, but 317 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 3: at this point he's more famous for designing bridges. They 318 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 3: also team up with another important artist and engineer, Eugene 319 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 3: Violette LeDuc to create the statue skeleton, which is made 320 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 3: of iron pylon. 321 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: I kind of love how this story is like a 322 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: who's who of the eighteen hundreds. We have presidents, religious leaders, 323 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: and now the creator of the Eiffel Tower. Yes, it's amazing. 324 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 3: It's pretty wild seeing it all come together, and their 325 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 3: contributions are pretty significant, which we'll talk about a little 326 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 3: bit later. But even with all of these famous friends, 327 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 3: Bartoldi and Laboulie still needed more money. They knew they 328 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 3: needed Americans to pay for the statue's granite pedestal. It 329 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 3: would cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which is 330 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 3: over six million dollars in today's terms, and they hadn't 331 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 3: gotten much money or interest in this just yet. So 332 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 3: in eighteen seventy six, Bartoldi heads back to the United States, 333 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 3: and this time he goes straight to Philadelphia for the 334 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 3: centennial exposition. Now, right now, they basically only have enough 335 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 3: money for the arm, so they ship that to the 336 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 3: United States to put it on display in Philly. 337 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: And any idea why they start with the arm, like 338 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: instead of the face. 339 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 3: Well, they had some rationale behind it, like if they 340 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 3: couldn't raise enough money, it simply would have been a 341 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 3: standalone piece. 342 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess that makes sense. But did this 343 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: publicity start work? 344 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 3: Actually, it got a lot of people excited, and when 345 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 3: you hear about it, the World's Fair of that time 346 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 3: is kind of amazing. So over the course of that 347 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 3: summer in eighteen seventy six, ten million people from over 348 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 3: thirty countries visited the exhibits, and Linda wrote about this 349 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 3: for mental flaws. 350 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 2: As you mentioned. 351 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 3: Before, the exhibits featured quote, working elevators, electric lights, and 352 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 3: even a live walrus, a live walrus maybe, And apparently 353 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 3: the programming changed daily, and of course this giant arm 354 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 3: with a torch that we talked about. But you know, 355 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 3: the funny thing is that most people there didn't realize 356 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 3: this was a fundraising gimmick or even a celebration of 357 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,159 Speaker 3: liberty or whatever it was. They just thought it was 358 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 3: a way to get a view of surrounding counties, so 359 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 3: they stood in line. They paid fifty cents to climb 360 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,479 Speaker 3: up the arm and stand on the torch's balcony. And meanwhile, 361 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 3: Bartholdy kind of stood under it, hustling photos for extra 362 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 3: cash whatever he could do. 363 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: Which sounds a little desperate, but I guess that's because 364 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: he was right. 365 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:26,440 Speaker 2: Absolutely. 366 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 3: And the press commented on this, and a September eighteen 367 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 3: seventy six article The New York Times wrote quote, had 368 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 3: the French sculptor honestly intended to complete the Statue of Liberty, 369 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 3: he would have begun at its foundation. From present appearances, 370 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 3: we have now all of the statue that we have, 371 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 3: unless we are willing to pay the cost of finishing it. 372 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 3: And it is more than doubtful if the American public 373 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 3: is ready to undertake such a task. Now that said, 374 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 3: they were all so kind of impressed by the size 375 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 3: of the thing, And the same article it reads quote 376 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 3: our eyes were gladdened by the actual receipt of a 377 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 3: section of liberty consisting of one arm with its accompanying hand. 378 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 3: Of such enormous proportion that the thumbnail afforded an easy 379 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 3: seat for the largest woman now in existence. 380 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: That's kind of a weird way, very weird way to 381 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: get back to your first point. It sounds like the 382 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: New York Times didn't really believe we were going to 383 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: get much more of a statue. 384 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true. 385 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 3: But Bartoldi was determined, so he put out a statement 386 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 3: that he was thinking about letting Philadelphia have the statue 387 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 3: instead of New York City, which definitely got New York's attention, 388 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 3: and the city quickly responded was like, no, no, no, 389 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 3: we'll take it. And they announced that the hand and 390 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 3: torch would go on display in Madison Square until the 391 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 3: whole statue was ready to be put up in New 392 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 3: York Harbor. 393 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: And how long are we talking about here? 394 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 2: It took a while. 395 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,399 Speaker 3: I mean this took years. The torch was on display 396 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 3: in Madison Square until eighteen eighty two, and as you 397 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 3: can imagine, it had quite the presence, was as tall 398 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 3: as the trees and buildings, and you could see it 399 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 3: from blocks away. They sold souvenir photos to raise money, 400 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,399 Speaker 3: and tours could still climb into the arm for that 401 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:13,160 Speaker 3: same price of fifty cents. It was pretty exciting at first, 402 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 3: but as the years went on, it just kind of 403 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 3: became like any other structure in the city and people 404 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 3: got used to seeing it. 405 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: Actually, and so what happens here, like the fundraising just 406 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: keeps going. 407 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 3: I mean, basically, so Laboulia and Bartoldi had put on 408 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 3: an opera performance in Paris other high profile fundraising events. 409 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 3: So in eighteen seventy nine he had received two hundred 410 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 3: and fifty thousand francs from the French public, which were 411 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 3: enough to pay for the statue itself, but the Americans 412 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 3: still had to pay for the pedestal. 413 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 2: I love how that just keeps coming up as you 414 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 2: read about this. 415 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 3: Is like the Americans got to get it together for 416 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 3: the pedestal, and there were some real roadblocks, like Grover 417 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 3: Cleveland was the governor of New York at the time. 418 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 3: He wouldn't allow for the use of city funds for 419 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 3: the pedestal. Congress didn't help out. President Grant tried to 420 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 3: ask Tiffany and Company to put up five thousand dollars 421 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,400 Speaker 3: for the project. It's unclear whether Tiffany's helped, but they 422 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 3: did design and engrave the invitations for the statues dedication 423 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 3: in eighteen eighty six. 424 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: So there's a statue that's ready and money for invitations, 425 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: but no pedestal. 426 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 3: That's exactly right. And by this point other cities are 427 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 3: begging for this thing. You've got Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, 428 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 3: they all reach out and they say, we will pay 429 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 3: for this, and New York is really at risk of 430 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 3: losing the statue. 431 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 2: Now. 432 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 3: That's when Joseph Pulitzer swoops in to save the day. 433 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 3: In eighteen eighty three, he starts a fundraising campaign in 434 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 3: his newspaper Than New York World, and they're constantly publishing 435 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 3: updates on the project in every donation they're collecting, and 436 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 3: Pulletzer starts incentivizing people too, like he gave gold coins 437 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,639 Speaker 3: to the biggest donors and was trying to think of 438 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 3: anything he could do. 439 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: It's so weird that we keep running into gold coins 440 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: in this episode. Very Scrooge McDuck. But I guess this 441 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 1: whole scheme works for them. 442 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 3: It's actually unbelievable how well it works. Kids are donating, 443 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 3: so our business people, street cleaners, people. 444 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 2: From all walks of life. 445 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 3: The mayor of Buffalo donated his entire two hundred and 446 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 3: thirty dollars annual salary, and over forty New Yorkers gave 447 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 3: two hundred and fifty bucks. Now, thanks to this Pulleitzer push, 448 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 3: it only took them five months to finish raising all 449 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 3: the money they had needed. They ended up with over 450 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 3: one hundred and sixty thousand donors and more than seventy 451 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 3: five percent of the donations being less than a dollar. 452 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 3: So all these people were chipping in what they could. 453 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,199 Speaker 3: And so it's finally time to install the thing. But 454 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 3: before we get to that, let's take one more quick break. 455 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 3: Welcome back to Part Time Genius. We're talking about the 456 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 3: Statue of Liberty. 457 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 2: So mego. 458 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 3: We've covered the origins of the statue or at the 459 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 3: point where the pedestal and the statue are finally finally 460 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 3: paid for. But one thing I've always wondered is how 461 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 3: does this thing get to New York? Like it's designed 462 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 3: in Paris and built in the US, and how do 463 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 3: you build this statue of this size? Like it's definitely 464 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 3: still such a mind boggling thing to think about. 465 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's astounding, Like when you live in New York, 466 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: it's honestly so much just a part of the scenery. Yeah, 467 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: but the more I read about the construction, the more 468 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: insane it feels. So I guess Bartoldi started out with 469 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: a four foot model of Lady Liberty, right, and it's 470 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: like pocket size or whatever. But then they kept building 471 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: more and more replicas and increasing the dimensions. So they 472 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,879 Speaker 1: start with this four foot thing, and then they double 473 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 1: it so it's about eight feet tall, and then they 474 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: quadruple it into a plaster model that's a little over 475 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:58,200 Speaker 1: thirty six feet tall. And then Bartoldi and his men 476 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: they break down this structure into three hundred little sections 477 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: and they enlarge every one of those pieces to four 478 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,959 Speaker 1: times its size, which means now they've got this whole 479 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: jigsaw puzzle of the full size statue. 480 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 3: And so what happens after that, like they just put 481 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 3: all those together. 482 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,439 Speaker 1: No, so they still have to figure out how to 483 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: make a copper version of this. So they take those 484 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,719 Speaker 1: three hundred sections and create molds for the copper, and 485 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: then they hammer it against all the molds to create 486 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: the shape. And they can do this because apparently the 487 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: statue of Liberty is pretty thin skinned, like the copper 488 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,920 Speaker 1: that's being used is only the thickness of two pennies 489 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: or three thirty seconds of an inch. 490 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 2: God, that is crazy. And so what's holding it all together? 491 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 1: I mean, that's really where Eifel comes in. So there's 492 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: a flexible iron skeleton that's the scaffolding of the statue. 493 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: And because Eifel was a genius with bridges, he knows 494 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: all about how structures expand in the heat or need 495 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: to bend to withstand the wind. Like if you think 496 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,359 Speaker 1: about it, all that sun could actually crack Liberty's face 497 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: if it wasn't constructed in this very flexible way. And 498 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: so they build a statue in France in eighteen eighty four, 499 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: and it basically sits there waiting to get shipped over 500 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,920 Speaker 1: to the US until you know, this pedestal money comes through, 501 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: and then when it's already the statue of Liberty gets disassembled, 502 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: packed up into two hundred and fourteen boxes, and then 503 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,360 Speaker 1: sent to America to get reassembled. But even then it's 504 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 1: kind of a pain, Like apparently the pedestal was so 505 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: small that they couldn't put up a rig around her, 506 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: so the workers while they were working were actually dangling 507 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 1: from ropes latched to the framework of this structure, all 508 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: while the wind and elements are kicking up around them. 509 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: I mean, it is insane to think about. And finally, 510 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: on October twenty eighth, eighteen eighty six, the statue is complete. 511 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: So you know, it's just twelve years and a couple 512 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: months past the original deadline that they set for themselves 513 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: of the American Centennial, and that's what France had had 514 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 1: been aiming for. But you know, like you said, great 515 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: art takes great time. 516 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's obviously just a huge, huge feat 517 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,959 Speaker 3: to finish this thing, and there's a ticker tape parade 518 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 3: and people in Manhattan cheer for it. But what's interesting 519 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 3: is that the statue wasn't immediately embraced by everyone. In fact, 520 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 3: it became a lightning rod of protests. Really yeah, I mean, 521 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 3: first of all, only two women were invited to the 522 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 3: unveiling on Bedloe's Island, which is now Liberty Island. So 523 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,959 Speaker 3: members of the New York State Women Suffrage Association chartered 524 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 3: a boat, got in a front row right up there 525 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 3: in the center on the water, and after the unveiling, 526 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 3: Lily Devereux Blake gave a speech and in it she said, 527 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,439 Speaker 3: quote in erecting a statue of liberty embodied as a 528 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 3: woman in a land where no woman has political liberty. 529 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 3: Men have shown a delightful inconsistency which excites the wonder 530 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 3: and admiration of the opposite sex. 531 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: That's, you know, a really fair point. And it's so 532 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: crazy to me, Like, I just assume once they finally 533 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: get this thing up, everyone's just going to appreciate it. 534 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, and actually they weren't the only ones 535 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 3: with something to say so. In November of that same year, 536 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,760 Speaker 3: the Cleveland Gazette published an editorial that read, shoved the 537 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,439 Speaker 3: Bartoldi statue, torch and all into the ocean until the 538 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 3: liberty of this country is such as to make it 539 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 3: possible for an inoffensive and industrious colored man in the 540 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:20,120 Speaker 3: South to earn a respectable living for himself and family 541 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 3: without being ku Klux murdered, his wife and his daughter outraged, 542 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 3: and his property destroyed. Also undermining the idea of liberty 543 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 3: was the fact that the federal government had only just 544 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 3: passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. These were the ones restricting 545 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 3: immigrants based on race. This was in eighteen eighty two. 546 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: I mean, it's funny or ironic because now the Statue 547 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,240 Speaker 1: of Liberty feels like such an important symbol of immigration. 548 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: Like you think about the poem at the base, like 549 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: it's not quite the tired, poor huddle masses that we 550 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: so often reference. 551 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 3: That's exactly right. And actually only one person died during 552 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,679 Speaker 3: their construction of the statue in New York, and that 553 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 3: was an immigrant. So in eighteen eighty three, Italian immigrant 554 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 3: Francis Longo was working on the statue's foundation when a 555 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 3: wall collapsed on him and he died tragically. So the 556 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 3: statue's history with immigrants had a bad start, but things 557 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,439 Speaker 3: turned around in eighteen ninety two when nearby Ellis Island 558 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 3: opened as an immigration processing center and received its first immigrants. 559 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 3: So over the next sixty two years, more than twelve 560 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,720 Speaker 3: million people went through Ellis Island on the way to 561 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,679 Speaker 3: the United States. Now this helped cement the Statue of 562 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 3: Liberty as a symbol of immigration. It was all of 563 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 3: those immigrants who passed by the statue and saw it 564 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 3: as a welcome on their journey to America and really 565 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 3: gave it its meaning and significance. And as for that 566 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 3: famous poem he referenced, it's called the New Colossus. It 567 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 3: was written by Emma Lazarus. This was back in eighteen 568 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 3: eighty three. She actually wrote it for one of the 569 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 3: statue pedestal fundraisers. It was an art auction at the time, 570 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 3: and it wasn't added to the statue until nineteen oh three, 571 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 3: and that actually after a lot of lobbying by one 572 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 3: of Lazarus's friends, Georgina Schuyler, a descendant of famous immigrant 573 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 3: Alexander Hamilton. 574 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: I love it. You're always bringing it up that. 575 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 2: You can't you can't not do it. We watched it 576 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 2: again last week, so you have to. 577 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,239 Speaker 1: Well, you know, like I said at the top, I 578 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: just feel like I have so much more admiration for 579 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: the statue. It always felt like this thing that was 580 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: just like gifted to America the way the history books 581 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: talk about it, and it is amazing to think how 582 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: much work went into that. 583 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 2: It really is. 584 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 3: But you know, BARTHOLDI didn't just pick up his spurs 585 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 3: and retire after that. He went on to keep crafting 586 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 3: other masterpieces, including the Lion of Belfort, which is this 587 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 3: incredible sandstone sculpture that you really should check out. 588 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: Oh that's really cool. I will definitely check that out. 589 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 1: But I guess, in honor of BARTOLDI, why don't we 590 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: push on just a little bit more after this masterpiece 591 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: with a little fact off? 592 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 2: All right, so I'll kick us off here. 593 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 3: You may remember that Bartholdi's original statue idea for Egypt 594 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 3: would have also been a lighthouse. Well, the Statue of 595 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 3: Liberty was almost a lighthouse too, but engineers in New 596 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 3: York couldn't figure out how to make lighthouse beacons work 597 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 3: properly inside it. Apparently BARTHOLDI was incredibly upset about this, 598 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 3: until everyone realized that Bedloe's Island wasn't a good spot 599 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 3: for a lighthouse. 600 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 2: Anyway. 601 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,960 Speaker 1: That's funny, So here's one. There are a lot of 602 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: Statue of Liberty replicas around the world. BARTHOLDI himself actually 603 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: built another one into a fountain he made in Bordeaux 604 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty eight. Salvador Dhlly created a take on 605 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: the statue in nineteen seventy two. His statue has both 606 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: arms up and it's also in France. There's a thirty 607 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: nine foot tall Lady Liberty in Tokyo Bay. There's one 608 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: in Ukraine that's referred to as the Lazy Statue. This 609 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: one is sitting down next to two shirtless men, and 610 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: they are also replicas in Greece, Hungary and Peru. You 611 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: really kind of escape the Statue of Liberty no matter 612 00:30:58,520 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: where you go. 613 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 2: That's very true. All right. 614 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 3: Well, I found a twenty seventeen article from Popular Mechanics 615 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,479 Speaker 3: that talks about a company that calculates the value of 616 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 3: some very famous statues. So if we turned the Statue 617 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 3: of Liberty into scrap metal, we get thirty one tons 618 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 3: of copper and one hundred and twenty five tons of steel, 619 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,320 Speaker 3: this would all be worth two hundred and twenty eight 620 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 3: thousand dollars. Somehow, I doubt they're going to resort to 621 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 3: that at any point. 622 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: That is insane. 623 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 3: That's like, I definitely thought it would have been worth 624 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,240 Speaker 3: a lot more than. 625 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: That, right, Yeah, it's a very small apartment in nearby. 626 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: Speaking of expense, you know what's funny. Originally Bartoldi wanted 627 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: the Statue of Liberty to be gold, but you know, 628 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 1: given how difficult it was for them to raise the 629 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: money to make her out of copper, that definitely feels 630 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: over ambitious. 631 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, well, speaking of over ambitious, Bartoldi also 632 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 3: wanted to build a sort of quote American pantheon on 633 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 3: Liberty Island. He thought the island should feature statues of 634 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 3: American heroes like George Washington and his generals, and he 635 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 3: wanted the US government to put more money aside every 636 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 3: year so they could continually add monuments to this pantheon. 637 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,160 Speaker 1: I love that. Like after spending decades trying to get 638 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: a statue together, like BARTOLDI just couldn't stop. And he 639 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: wanted them to put out a statue every year. 640 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 2: It's insane. 641 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 1: I think that earns you this week's trophy. 642 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 3: You can go, oh wow, I did not see that coming. Okay, well, 643 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 3: thank you very much. And to the New Yorkers out there, 644 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,200 Speaker 3: I hope now when your friends and family come to 645 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,200 Speaker 3: visit and demand you do the touristy thing, you at 646 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 3: least have some interesting backstory to think about along the way. 647 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:41,719 Speaker 3: And to all you listeners out there, thank you so 648 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 3: much for tuning in. That's it for today's part time Genius. Now, 649 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 3: if you want to talk abo with the Statue of 650 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 3: Liberty or anything else related to the show, just email 651 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 3: our mothers at ptgenius Moms at gmail dot com. They 652 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 3: always love hearing from you and Most of the time 653 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,200 Speaker 3: they pass it on to us, but you can also 654 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 3: hit us up on our instant at Part Time I'm Genius. 655 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 3: For this week's episode, we had special help with research 656 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:16,960 Speaker 3: and writing from Meredith Danko. 657 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,440 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 658 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and me Mongaschatikler, 659 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,280 Speaker 1: and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 660 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan 661 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced 662 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 1: for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with social 663 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:45,320 Speaker 1: media support from Sasha Gay, trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. 664 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,480 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 665 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:58,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 666 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 3: Oh