The New Colossus
The Statue of Liberty was originally designed to celebrate the abolition of slavery but it quickly became a symbol of immigration due to its proximity to the federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which opened in 1892. Emma Lazarus wrote her now iconic poem in 1883 to help raise funds for a pedestal upon which the Statue of Liberty would stand. This fundraising succeeded by 1885 and the statue officially opened in 1886. Lazarus’ poem was eventually memorialized with its text being cast onto a bronze plaque that was placed on the wall of the statue’s pedestal. While “The New Colossus” predates the opening of the federal immigration station on Ellis Island by nearly a decade, the poem reflects how immigrants arriving in New York Harbor felt upon seeing the Statue of Liberty.
Emma Lazarus (1849-1887).
The Poems of Emma Lazarus. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, [1888].
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/235839
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.