Give Me Your Tired...

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most well-known images around the world. Ever since 1886, her light has welcomed immigrants to America, a country born from the revolution of English colonists aided by the French. Lady Liberty was a gift to the American people by the French, who themselves had a revolution after the American Revolution. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The story goes that French law professor Édouard René de Laboulaye stated in 1865 that if there were to be a memorial in America for independence, it would have to be a united effort between the two nations. Whether he said this or not, it was indeed a united effort. 

Photo: www.nps.gov

Frédéric Aguste Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty in the neoclassical style after the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas, and it very much resembles descriptions of the lost Colossus of Rhodes. In 1871, Bartholdi visited America and selected an island in the Hudson called Bedloe's as the future location.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The French financed, designed and built the statue while the Americans provided the location and built the pedestal, and on October 28, 1886, the statue was dedicated by President Cleveland. At the time, the statue was meant to pay tribute to democracy and independence, not to immigrants. It was the immigrants themselves who made Lady Liberty a universal symbol, and then in 1903 The New Colossus poem by Emma Lazarus was dedicated, cementing the image of Lady Liberty as the beacon for newly arrived immigrants. 

Photo: www.uh.edu

The Statue of Liberty, along with Ellis Island, is a National Park and has been since the 1930s. Visitors take a boat out to see her and when they depart Liberty Island for Ellis Island, visitors witness what the immigrants who came through Ellis Island witnessed: Lady Liberty shining through the darkness, welcoming them home to a land of opportunity. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Invasion!

In 1066, Edward the Confessor, King of England, died and left behind a succession question. His heir was just a boy at the time and could not be king. A powerful earl, Harold Godwinson, claimed the throne, despite having no royal ties. And a Viking lord believed he had a claim, as did William of Normandy, Edward's cousin. The stage was set for a succession battle.

Photo: Edward the Confessor, englishmonarchs.co.uk

On September 27, 1066, William of Normandy set sail for England. All interested parties were preparing for a battle.

Photo: http://paulinespiratesandprivateers.blogspot.com/2011/09/seafaring-sunday-conqueror-sets-sail.html?m=1

By the time William arrived in England, Harold had defeated the Viking lord as well as his own brother. The question of succession would be decided on October 14 in the Battle of Hastings.

Photo: britishbattles.com

The battle was fought between infantrymen on the English side and cavalry and archers on the Norman side. Despite the clear advantage, the Normans were not victorious until the end of the day. The battle ended with the death of Harold. His death allowed William the Conquerer to be crowned king of England on Christmas Day.

Photo: mytimemachine.co.uk

Empire State of Mind

In 1799, John Thompson was sold a tract of land near the center of Manhattan island for farming. This land would be sold to a number of different owners until 1929 when Empire State, Inc. was formed and plans for a building began. 

Photo: rootsweb.ancestry.com, modified by Hilary Grabowska. Red indicates the location of the farm and the future location of the Empire State Building.


March 17, 1930, despite the Great Depression, construction on the Empire State Building began. Over 3,000 men, mostly European immigrants but hundreds of Mohawks also contributed, built the building in a year and 45 days. 

 

Photo: boredbuilder.com

The building features the artistic style of art deco, which was popular before World War II. Initially, the art deco spire was meant to be a mooring mast for dirigible. It was quickly discovered that this was not a good idea and a TV antenna replaced the mast.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The 86th floor is the observation deck that is visited by tourists every year. It has been estimated that over 100 million people have visited the deck and viewed NYC. On a clear day, viewers can see 80 miles away from the tower. 

Photo: njpostalhistory.org

The Vote is "No"

Last night Scotland voted on whether or not it should become its own country, separate from the United Kingdom. The results of the vote showed strong support for remaining in the union, but the question of Scottish independence has a long history. 

Photo: educationscotland.gov.uk

Viking raids and the separation from the Roman Empire by Hadrian's Wall caused the Picts and the Dál Riata tribes of the north to unite and in 843 officially become the Scottish Kingdom.

Photo: theguardian.com

In 1237, the Treaty of York with the English kingdom to the south established the border between England and Scotland. However, under English King Edward III, Scotland was invaded. This was resisted by Scots like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, who fought the Wars of Independence in the late 1300s to early 1400s in order to preserve Scottish sovereignty. 

Photo: bbc.co.uk

In 1603, when Shakespeare was writing, James VI of Scotland, cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, inherited the thrones of England and Ireland and created a "Union of the Crowns", although all three remained sovereign states. Periods of instability followed his death but while Scotland managed to retain its separate identity and institutions, the center of political power remained in London, and in 1707 Scotland united with England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Photo: bbc.co.uk

In the 1800s the Home Rule movement gained traction. While Scotland was represented in Parliament, the Scots, like the Irish, wanted more control over their own affairs. However, due to the Irish rebellion and two World Wars, Scottish home rule was not fully addressed until the 1960s. 

Photo: thescottishdiaspora.co.uk

Independence is desirable but so is security. Voting to remain within the UK indicates the Scottish people wish to maintain economic security for Scotland, among other reasons. 

Photo: today.co.uk

Volunteerism in America

Americans have long valued community service. Many students are required to donate a certain number of service hours, kids get awards for their hours and volunteering in the community is a foundational part of our society. Tocqueville even noticed this spirit of community in his "Democracy in America."

Photo: habitat-nola.org

In the early 1990s, a number of pieces of legislation were signed into law committing the government to aid citizens in their service to community. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act, creating AmeriCorps, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

 Photo: gpo.gov

On Friday, September 12, all across the country AmeriCorps alumni and current volunteers came together to recite the AmeriCorps pledge. For those who just began their service, it was a time in which they were truly welcomed into the "AmeriFamily" and it confirmed their decision to dedicate a year to national service. For those nearing their end of service, it was a time to reconnect. And for the alums, it was a time to reflect.

 Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Twitter was abuzz with AmeriLove. Alums wished the Corps a happy birthday and encouraged the new members by saying their service was one of the best decisions of their lives. And new members swelled with the pride of getting things done for America. 

Photo: nj.gov

Never Forget

Everyone over the age of 19 remembers where they were when it happened, like everyone in the generation before knew where they were when Kennedy was assassinated. President Kennedy's assassination was a huge event in our nation's history but September 11, 2001 changed every person and the country. 

Photo: september112001.com

13 years ago, I was sitting in elementary school on a day that was good, but weird. Every couple of minutes, our principal would call another student to the office to go home. All day, I was waiting for my name to be called because I thought something fun was happening. Finally, just before school was over, my sister and I were released to our mother. It wasn't until we actually got home and I saw the tv did I know that something terrible had happend. 

Photo: nytimes.com

Today, I sat in my cubicle, a few blocks away from Ground Zero, and I watched the news coverage of the ceremonies. It was frustrating to know that I was so close yet so far away but, when work was over, I made my way to see the Tribute in Light. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Everyday that I've been in NYC, the streets have been noisy. I recently spoke with a first responder who was at the site 13 years ago and he told me that downtown was blown out acoustically. Even if you had yelled, the sound was muffled. The streets today around the site were filled with people but hardly anyone spoke and if they did, it was in hushed tones. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

13 years ago, Islamic radicals attempted to divide us but instead, they united us. We will never forget those we lost on that September day. 

Cheers to Brooklyn!

In 1646 the Dutch founded Breuckelen, named for a town in the Netherlands. This Dutch community on the western edge of Long Island became Brooklyn when the British captured it 350 years ago today, on September 8, 1664.

Photo: nps.gov

Over the years Brooklyn became a destination for immigrants, particularly Germans, and with them they brought aspects of their culture, including an affinity for beer. Prior to Prohibition, breweries in Brooklyn produced a large portion of the beer brewed in America with 45 breweries in the borough. 

Photo: brooklynbrewery.com

But by 1984 there were no more breweries in Brooklyn. That was about to change: Steve Hindy was a foreign correspondent in the Middle East where it was illegal to buy or sell alcohol, but internationals like Hindy found a way around this by brewing their own beer. Hindy found that these home brews were some of the best beer he had ever tasted, and when he moved to Brooklyn with his family he continued home brewing. It was through a brew party he hosted that he met Tom Potter. 

Steve Hindy

Photo: brooklynbrewery.com

Despite the financial risks involved, Potter and Hindy quit their day jobs and opened a brewery. They wanted to bring beer-making back to Brooklyn and make it a unique "Brooklyn" thing. They managed to convince celebrated graphic designer Milton Glaser (most famous for his I ♥ NY) to design their logo but Glaser had two conditions: that he be named a shareholder of the company and that he receive free beer for life. These terms were agreed upon and Glaser still gets free beer today. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Today Brooklyn Brewery is a tourist destination but an operating brewery as well and its beer is distributed in a number of states and overseas. Potter and Hindy's risk paid off. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Wilderness50

50 years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which increased protections for federal roadless areas "for the permanent good of the whole people." Wilderness, as defined by the act, is an "area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

President Johnson signing the wilderness Act
Photo: National Park Service

Howard Zahniser, an active conservationist and a founder of the Wilderness Society, drafted the first form of the legislation in the 1950s. While he wanted to protect the natural world, he disliked writing legislative language and even commented that he would rather write it as a poem. 

Howard Zahniser
Photo: Wilderness Land Trust

Zahniser's inclination to write poetry about the pristine lands he was trying to protect was natural. Many conservationists see the environmental movement as having roots in the early 19th century Transcendentalism of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Transcendentalists emphasized the importance of nature for the good of the human soul and Zahniser incorporated this into the legislation. 

Henry David Thoreau

Photo: Library of Congress

In the last half century, the Wilderness Act has designated more than 100 million acres of public lands as "wilderness," most of it in Alaska. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most influential laws protecting the environment from development, the Smithsonian is featuring photos of wilderness areas taken by people who visited, but did not remain: http://wilderness.smithsonian.com

Labor Day

Every first Monday of September Americans have a day off from work and school. It's the last day swimming pools are open and the last day of the three-day Labor Day sales. From here on out, white is not quite an appropriate color to wear. Is this the reason for Labor Day? 

Labor Day in America came from celebrations and successes of working people in other countries. In Canada, it came about when workers fought for a 58 hour work week. The holiday was first proposed in the US in 1882 and by 1894, Oregon had adopted the idea as a state holiday.

The Pullman Strike in 1894 helped to make Labor Day a national holiday in the US. The large scale strike caused many US railways to shut down because the workers who built the train cars for Pullman went on strike after their wages were reduced. In order for the Pullman Company to listen to the workers, a boycott of all Pullman cars was called and effectively halted trains. 

The US Army was called in to stop the workers from obstructing trains, since the boycotters weren't letting even mail trains pass. Riots broke out between the workers on strike and other groups that opposed the boycott and several people were killed. The violence allowed President Cleveland and Congress to quickly pass a bill declaring the first Monday in September as a national holiday that honors laborers and their contribution to the US economy.