A Symbol of Welcome for Thousands

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarushttp://recuerdosclio.blogspot.com/

Exhibition Designer: Kelsey DePreta

Emma LazarusEmma was born into a

wealthy family in 1849 and was one of seven children and she grew up around

Union Square in New York.

Her father, a wealthy sugar refiner, was enthusiastic about

integrating his family with the Christian society.

The Lazarus family was able to trace their ancestry to a pioneer group of Sephardic Jews; a group of America’s

first settlers.

Emma was exposed to subtle anti-Semitism: she felt that others were nice

to her face but held judgment in private.

http://thefeministguide.com/2011/12/emma-lazarus-residence/

Lazarus as a literary figure

• Emma had a lot of pride in her heritage and “often wrote about the medieval scholars and poets of her ancestors’ land (Jewish Women’s Archive).”

• She confided in authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Heinrich Heine.

Sephardic Jews’ Immigration Routes

http://library.northeastern.edu/news-events/exhibits/emma-lazarus-voice-of-liberty-voice-of-conscience

Ralph Waldo Emerson (below) was an American poet whose

themes include morality, Christianity, and power

(Goodman).

Heine (above) was a German Jewish poet whose works varied from romantic to excessively political and satirical and

Emma identified with him.

"No enthusiast for the Hebrew faith,...he was none the less eager to

proclaim himself an enthusiast for the rights of the Jews and their civil

equality.“ (4)http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/e/

ralph_waldo_emerson/index.html

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1846/letters/index.htm

American Immigrants in the 1800’s

• There was a large population growth in Britain and an agricultural depression which resulted in many leaving, some coming to North America.

• Some English people continued to work in agriculture while others found work with their technological skills.

• In 1845 and 1846 there was a potato famine which resulted in starvation and death for people in Ireland. By the end of 1845 nearly a quarter of the Irish population had immigrated to the United States.

http://pested.ifas.ufl.ed

u/newsletters/august07/

Pesticide_Potpourri.htm

American Immigrants in the 1800’s

• Many immigrants came from Germany. “most were impoverished Germans who had lost confidence in its government's ability to solve the country's economic problems. Others left because they feared constant political turmoil in Germany (Immigration 1800-1900).”

• A large wave of immigrants also came from France. Many were political refugees from a failed revolution.

• In the late 19th century many Russians began to immigrate due to pogroms.

Russian Pogroms in the 1800’s• Anti-Jewish riots were breaking out in Russia following Czar

Alexander II’s assassination. These riots would come to be known as pogroms.

• These pogroms made the Jews of Russia feel unsafe and insecure.

• The pogroms caused many Jews to embrace Marxist socialism and Zionism.

• Jews felt that “until the Jews had a homeland of their own they would function as a pariah people subject to whatever hostility and ill will others chose to inflict on them (Diner 90).”

A French Statue• The Statue of Liberty was a

project undergone by the French in order to show their respect for American Democracy.

• A prominent French man, Rene Lefebvre di Laboulaye, held a dinner party and offered the idea of donating a monument, “a token of their common bond” with Americans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Ren%C3%A9_de_Laboulaye

Creating the Statue• Attending this party was a

sculptor, Fredrick Auguste Bartholdi, who was inspired and put this idea to work.

• The statue was based upon the Colossus of Rhodes that stood at the harbor on the Island of Rhodes. Both were built based on a celebration of freedom and the Statue of Liberty is also known as the Modern Colossus. (The Jewish Magazine)http://fadedandblurred.com/blog/lady-libertys-125th-birthday/

http://sageparnassus.blogspot.com/2011/06/emma.html

But where will she stand?• Fund raisers and auctions were set up in order to raise

funds to construct a pedestal for the statue.• Writers such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and John

Burroughs submitted works to be auctioned off. • In 1883 Emma Lazarus was approached and asked to

donate a poem to be auctioned for the "In Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund."

• Eventually the funds were raised and sixteen years after Emma Lazarus’ death.

• Georgina Schuyler, a patron and member of the New York high society, was inspired by the poem and the last five lines of her poem titled “The New Colossus” was placed on a plaque inside of the pedestal in Emma’s honor.

Inspiration for the New Colossus• Emma Lazarus was moved by Greek myths along with

Hebrew scholars and it was reflected in her work; She also wrote of America’s cultural developments.

• “Struggling beneath the poem's surface, these tensions—between ancient and modern, Jew and American, voice and silence, freedom and oppression—give Emma Lazarus's work meaning and power (Jewish Women’s Archive).”

• She often visited the immigrants’ camps because she felt a tie to her “brothers and sisters” even though she was a wealthy member of society.

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries sheWith silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Meaning within The New Colossus

“Lazarus contrasts the soon-to-be installed symbol of the United

States with what many consider the perfect symbol of the Greek and

Roman era, the Colossus of Rhodes. Her comparison proved

appropriate, for Bartholdi himself created the Statue of Liberty with the well-known Colossus in mind.” http://www.rhodesguide.com/

rhodes/colossus_rhodes.php

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles.”

Emma makes a direct comparison between the Greek Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty, or Modern

Colossus. They both represented freedom for the people of their land, however, the Greek statue was created as a

celebration of a war victory and the Statue of Liberty was created as a celebration of a new found freedom for

Americans. She describes her as the “Mother of Exiles” because she represents the acceptance of those no longer

welcome in their homeland.

From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes

commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

The light held in the Statue’s hand is the

“light at the end of the tunnel,” or a guide for

those looking for refuge and a new home.

http://ellisisland.smugmug.com/keyword/statue%20of%20liberty/239640909_k3MiZ#!i=239640909&k=k3MiZ

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries sheWith silent lips.

This shows that the Statue of Liberty contains power without having to utter a word. Just her presence alone sends the clear message that America is not looking to bring the vulgar behaviors and actions

completed by ancient lands in the past; America is a new land offering rights and chance for people to create their own lives, free from their previous

judgments.

http://library.northeastern.edu/news-events/exhibits/emma-lazarus-voice-of-liberty-voice-of-conscience

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

This helps emphasize the sense of freedom and pride that one feels upon arriving in America. The immigrants are all welcomed who look for a place to belong. It gives a sense of relief to those who were “Tempest-tost,” or hit repeatedly by hardships. The lamp in the Statue’s hand it the golden door, the landmark to which they

need to arrive to know that they have completed their journey for freedom and salvation.

Work Cited

Work Cited