The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor as one of the most iconic symbols of the United States. For generations, it has been described in classrooms as a monument to immigration, freedom, and the American Dream. But as historian James Loewen famously argued in Lies My Teacher Told Me, much of what we learn about American history in school is filtered through a lens of nationalism, sanitized patriotism, and corporate publishing constraints.
The true origins of the Statue of Liberty—and how its meaning was reshaped—offer a revealing case study in the politics of historical memory, especially relevant in a time of widespread textbook censorship in states like Texas and Florida.
A Monument to Emancipation, Not Immigration
The Statue of Liberty was born out of abolitionist hope. In 1865, French jurist and anti-slavery advocate Édouard René de Laboulaye proposed a gift to the U.S. to celebrate the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a monument that embodied liberty as a universal right, not just a national slogan.
Early concepts for the statue included overt symbols of emancipation, including broken chains and references to the 13th Amendment. Though the final version downplayed these features, Bartholdi included broken shackles at Liberty’s feet—largely hidden from view today. This history is rarely taught in public schools and barely acknowledged at the statue itself.
History Rewritten for Comfort
Instead of honoring emancipation, the dominant narrative of the statue quickly shifted. By the early 20th century, as immigrants passed through Ellis Island, Lady Liberty was rebranded as a welcoming mother figure for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.” Emma Lazarus’s poem, added in 1903, sealed this reinterpretation.
Meanwhile, African Americans, Native peoples, and others excluded from the nation’s promises saw the statue not as a beacon of liberty but as a symbol of American hypocrisy. As W.E.B. Du Bois and later James Baldwin noted, liberty without equality is a hollow ideal. But those perspectives were rarely included in school curricula.
Textbooks—especially those approved in conservative-controlled states like Texas—often omit or gloss over this contradiction. Instead, the narrative is one of uninterrupted progress and benevolent nationalism.
Lies My Teacher Told Me and the Myth of Innocence
In Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen documented how U.S. history textbooks routinely distort or omit uncomfortable truths. The real story of the Statue of Liberty—its abolitionist roots, the racial critique it provoked, and its hijacking by immigration mythmakers—is one such truth.
Loewen exposed how textbook publishers tailor content to meet the political requirements of textbook adoption committees, especially in Texas and California, where decisions affect national markets. As a result, statues become decontextualized symbols, and historical figures are flattened into caricatures.
In recent years, state governments in Florida, Texas, and elsewhere have escalated these distortions through direct censorship. Books and curriculum frameworks have been edited to downplay slavery, deny systemic racism, and suppress discussions of gender and sexuality. A 2022 Texas law, for instance, required teachers to present “opposing viewpoints” on issues like the Holocaust and racial inequality. Florida’s Department of Education removed references to “social justice” and “diversity” from textbooks entirely.
These efforts are not new, but they are intensifying. And they reflect a broader struggle over who controls historical memory—and who gets to be remembered.
A Symbol Still in Contest
Today, the Statue of Liberty continues to appear in textbooks, tourism ads, and political speeches. But rarely is it presented as what it originally was: a radical, abolitionist gesture from one republic to another.
By hiding the broken chains at Liberty’s feet—both physically and metaphorically—textbooks have helped maintain a myth of American innocence. They have obscured the ways in which the United States has failed to live up to its promises of freedom and equality.
Reclaiming the true story of the Statue of Liberty is not just a historical correction. It is an act of resistance against political censorship and historical amnesia. It is a reminder that symbols matter—and that who tells the story matters even more.
Sources:
James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Yasmin Sabina Khan, Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty
Tyler Stovall, White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea
Edward Berenson, The Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story
National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/stli
Florida Department of Education curriculum guidelines (2022-2024)
Texas Senate Bill 3 (2021)
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