Friday morning began with a pure luxury as we ran through Central Park in clear blue sunshine. We feel incredibly lucky to have the freedom to do such things. And freedom was a theme of our day, as we headed to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Obviously I paid no attention to History at school, because I had no idea that the Statue was a gift from France in the late 1880's. The idea was both a tribute and a provocation, as certain French thinkers believed France had lost its concept of Liberte, while
America increasingly stood for it. The gift was meant to give praise to America for its values and to push the leaders of France to embrace freedom as a fundamental value again. It was a great surprise to us that Gustave Eiffel was involved 5 years before he even started work on his tower in Paris, and funds were raised by Joseph Pulitzer (same guy who inaugurated the Pulitzer prizes for Literature, Peace etc).
There is something dramatic about the Statue of Liberty. We learned that it was built to a size 22 blocks high, at a time when most of New York was just 5 stories high. It must have been an amazing and imposing sight at the time. The statue's view to the “old world” was deliberate and it became the emblem of hope for the immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's – the first thing they saw as they came in their 1000's by ship. Today, it is probably the most familiar icon in the world.
We took the audio tour around the statue on Liberty island, and went on by ferry to Ellis Island – the place where 12 million immigrants were “processed” at the turn of the 19/20th century. The m
ajority came from East and West Europe, as well as Mexico, Canada and Asia, as America at that time was a place of hope and opportunity. The exhibition at Ellis showed pictures of people arriving in droves having arrived by Steerage class (the lowest and cheapest way to travel), jammed into the lower decks with almost no air or sanitation and plenty of illness rife over a journey that could take between a week and a month.
It seemed amazing to us that people would take such a voyage – imagine leaving Poland, Italy or Ireland to a land which you had never seen a picture of. Probably they had only heard the vaguest stories of the possibility of a better life in America, and those people took their belongings in one case, got onboard, and hoped. It made us wonder what made them so desperate and it became clear from the exhibition that especially the persecution of Jews in Eastern Europe, which was standard and legal, was a big factor. Italians seem to have left because of continual upheaval in the country causing increasing poverty and hardship.
The amazing thing about the immigration process is how many were passed to come into the country – 98% of people were accepted. There were all kinds of tests – physical, mental, legal – and yet there must have been an incredible leniency at the time. So many people made it through.
It was a fantastic trip for us to learn about this incredible history – the whole tour was around 5 hours - and it was a reminder that America stood for both a Country and a Concept. The concept of the country was all about freedom, as expressed by Roosevelt in 1941 – Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. As we have been around New York, we've been amazed at the diversity, there seems to be no typical New Yorker as there is every race and colour possible (although admittedly with the exception of an obvious Muslim group, at least not obvious to us). So the other concept was definitely an acceptance of diversity. Despite the Ellis Island immigrants being from numerous locations with almost no grasp of the English language, the country welcomed them as possible contributors to the its growth. The value of freedom and opportunity flourished as numerous immigrants over generations turned starvation and poverty at home into millionaire success in USA.
We wondered how that idea of Freedom and USA's image across the world as “Land of the Free” has been lost. The Vietnam war – played out on TV throughout the world – bombings of Libya, attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, an amazingly damaging 8 years of presidency from G.W.Bush (how on earth was he re-elected?) – all of these have played their part. The hope that America has in Obama is surely to change that image and restore the value of America which is certainly still there. Only yesterday, a health bill was passed that “aims to extend health insurance coverage to 36 million more Americans and provide affordable healthcare to 96% of Americans.” It seems his domestic changes are genuinely targeted towards improving the lives of average Americans, and his foreign policy to repairing the damage done since 9/11. You can feel the hope in Obama posters, car stickers and T-shirts all over the city.
Obviously I paid no attention to History at school, because I had no idea that the Statue was a gift from France in the late 1880's. The idea was both a tribute and a provocation, as certain French thinkers believed France had lost its concept of Liberte, while
America increasingly stood for it. The gift was meant to give praise to America for its values and to push the leaders of France to embrace freedom as a fundamental value again. It was a great surprise to us that Gustave Eiffel was involved 5 years before he even started work on his tower in Paris, and funds were raised by Joseph Pulitzer (same guy who inaugurated the Pulitzer prizes for Literature, Peace etc).There is something dramatic about the Statue of Liberty. We learned that it was built to a size 22 blocks high, at a time when most of New York was just 5 stories high. It must have been an amazing and imposing sight at the time. The statue's view to the “old world” was deliberate and it became the emblem of hope for the immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's – the first thing they saw as they came in their 1000's by ship. Today, it is probably the most familiar icon in the world.
We took the audio tour around the statue on Liberty island, and went on by ferry to Ellis Island – the place where 12 million immigrants were “processed” at the turn of the 19/20th century. The m
ajority came from East and West Europe, as well as Mexico, Canada and Asia, as America at that time was a place of hope and opportunity. The exhibition at Ellis showed pictures of people arriving in droves having arrived by Steerage class (the lowest and cheapest way to travel), jammed into the lower decks with almost no air or sanitation and plenty of illness rife over a journey that could take between a week and a month.It seemed amazing to us that people would take such a voyage – imagine leaving Poland, Italy or Ireland to a land which you had never seen a picture of. Probably they had only heard the vaguest stories of the possibility of a better life in America, and those people took their belongings in one case, got onboard, and hoped. It made us wonder what made them so desperate and it became clear from the exhibition that especially the persecution of Jews in Eastern Europe, which was standard and legal, was a big factor. Italians seem to have left because of continual upheaval in the country causing increasing poverty and hardship.
The amazing thing about the immigration process is how many were passed to come into the country – 98% of people were accepted. There were all kinds of tests – physical, mental, legal – and yet there must have been an incredible leniency at the time. So many people made it through.
It was a fantastic trip for us to learn about this incredible history – the whole tour was around 5 hours - and it was a reminder that America stood for both a Country and a Concept. The concept of the country was all about freedom, as expressed by Roosevelt in 1941 – Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. As we have been around New York, we've been amazed at the diversity, there seems to be no typical New Yorker as there is every race and colour possible (although admittedly with the exception of an obvious Muslim group, at least not obvious to us). So the other concept was definitely an acceptance of diversity. Despite the Ellis Island immigrants being from numerous locations with almost no grasp of the English language, the country welcomed them as possible contributors to the its growth. The value of freedom and opportunity flourished as numerous immigrants over generations turned starvation and poverty at home into millionaire success in USA.
We wondered how that idea of Freedom and USA's image across the world as “Land of the Free” has been lost. The Vietnam war – played out on TV throughout the world – bombings of Libya, attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, an amazingly damaging 8 years of presidency from G.W.Bush (how on earth was he re-elected?) – all of these have played their part. The hope that America has in Obama is surely to change that image and restore the value of America which is certainly still there. Only yesterday, a health bill was passed that “aims to extend health insurance coverage to 36 million more Americans and provide affordable healthcare to 96% of Americans.” It seems his domestic changes are genuinely targeted towards improving the lives of average Americans, and his foreign policy to repairing the damage done since 9/11. You can feel the hope in Obama posters, car stickers and T-shirts all over the city.
My own feeling after the visit to Ellis Island and on seeing the Statue of Liberty against a beautiful sunset was that I had been reminded what a privileged position I've been in to have such freedom all my life. I was born in a country which has not been occupied in recent history, I grew up with loving parents in a peaceful democracy where education was available and basic freedom was a given. I've been able to choose to change country and take all my belongings with me, when I chose to do it – not due to starvation or escape from a repressive regime.
The immigrants to New York had not experienced any of those things and America afforded a place where the basics that we take for granted became precious opportunities.
