×
The Statue of Liberty looms not only over New York Harbor, but alsoover Americaand the world. France’s giftto the United Statesbecame a universally cherished monument, a colossal representation of the bestAmerican valuesnot greed and self-interest, but generosity and the pursuit offreedom. In Enlightening the World,Yasmin Sabina Khan explores Lady Liberty’s long gestation. Conceived by Frenchscholar Edouard-Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye in 1865 and designed by sculptorFrederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was erected in 1886 after years offrustration and fund-raising, growing from a terra-cotta model to a copper-cladtitan. Khan’s insight is to examine the thinking of Laboulaye, who understood thegenius of the American Constitution as its balance of liberty and orderaharmony his own country found difficult to achieve.
