560 Liberty At War
Fun Fact # 560
Liberty At War
In 1886 we had the Statue of Liberty in all her Reddish-Brown Liberty for all Glory, but how did she become the Blue-Green Symbol of Personification of The US we know today? In short, time marches on.
For the Color Changing part it’s somewhat simple: Over a span of 30 years The Statue oxidized. Which then combined with chemicals and some ocean spray in the air to change The Statue’s Surface to be Brochantite (where the rain washes off the salt), and Antlerite.
As for how her role has changed over the years its a little harder to explain starting off in 1901 when it stopped being run by The US Lighthouse Board and transferred to The US Department of War, because it was found to be useless as a lighthouse. Yet this proved to be a blessing as along with it came other islands like nearby Ellis, which in the aftermath of WW1 saw an immigration post put there to assist with the large numbers of people seeking to leave Europe for fear that The Great War would start anew someday. She did still need repairs to her base though after German Sabatours tried blowing her up with a hijacked shipment of Dynamite. Thus The Statue –a survivor of war like them– came to be one of the first things people could see as they sought better lives and it became common for people waiting in line to sing the Sonnet “The New Collossas” which was written to help fundraise for the statue and included the line “The Mother of Exiles” which stuck to her as a Title until World War II.
In World War 2 the US had another issue, money. Preparing the Armed Forces for War was a costly endeavor, and the easiest solution was WarBonds. Thus Lady Liberty became one of several notable Mascots called into action with her likeness being plastered on Bond posters across the world with the likes of Uncle Sam, and Jack Brutus(more on Jack Tomorrow) –which does technically mean Lady Liberty is a Bond Girl though I doubt she’s appeared in any 007 movies. Her slogan became one of the most famous however with “To Ensure Liberty” which was particularly popular within French-American communities, although more of her alternative slogan were made: “Buy a Liberty Bond, Lest I Perish.”
As always thanks for reading and please have a Fangtastic and Fa-boo-las Halloween!
