Statue of Liberty Arrived In Pieces Before Taking the Pedestal June 19, 2010

Lady Liberty Was Put Together After Arriving From France June 19, 1885

Lady Liberty's Face Was Covered in Copper in 1880

On This Date in History:    On America’s centennial in 1876, the French promised to give to the United States a great statue in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Part of the deal was that the Americans would be responsible for the base and the French would take care of the statue.  Trouble was, both sides were short of money.  The French didn’t finish constuction of the statue until 1884 and the Americans didn’t get done with the base until April 1885.  With the base complete, the French shipped that statue across the Atlantic to New York.   But it was too big to send over in tact,  so it had to be divided into 350 sections that were placed in 214 crates.  Finally,  on this date in 1885.  Lady Liberty arrived in New York City, ableit in 350 pieces.  

Busy French Construction Site for Lady Liberty 1883-Note the Big Hand in the background

Now, the statue was designed to have copper sheeting of 3/32 of an inch thick or about the same as two pennies.  With a height of 151′ 11′ feet from the base to the top of the torch, that amount of copper weighed in at about 31 tons.  That created a structurol problem in that some sort of system would need to be built to support such weight.  So, the sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, needed engineering help to figure out how to build such a colossus. 

The Statue had to be erected in Paris Before it was disassembled and shipped to New York

He got the help of Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Ducand Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel of Eiffel Tower Fame) to design and build the superstructure.  Eiffel was one of the top engineers of the day who had experience with steel superstructures and he came up with a steel skeleton that weighed about 125 tons.  It seems pretty remarkable that in the 1880′s it was technologically feasable to construct such a structure and its no wonder it took so long to build.  Well, with 156 tons of steel and copper, the base had to be an extremely solid foundation.  The site selected is now known as Liberty Island which is essentially a small chunk of granite in New York Harbor.  The island had been the site for Fort Wood which featured a star shaped outer wall.  The fort had been built in 1811 and served as a defense for the harbor during the War of 1812.  It was decided to place the statue within the confines of the fort.  The site seemed perfect though, even with such a solid footing, 27,000 tons of concrete was poured to create the base for the great statue.  From the foundation of the pedestal to the tip of the torch, the complete statue stands 305′ 6″.

LIberty's Arm and Torch Went on Display in 1876 Philadelphia

An American Minister ended his prayer at the dedication ceremony by saying in part: “God grant that it [the Statue] may stand until the end of time as an emblem of imperishable sympathy and affection between the Republics of France and the United States.”   So far, it has needed a little help to withstand the test of time.  With the statue in a harbor that is directly adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, the copper and steel is under constant assault from the salt water.  Also, New York can be subject to great temperature extremes in a given year.  Winter time temperatures might fall below zero and afternoons in the summer may reach 100 degrees.  The copper on the statue expands and contracts with the variation in temperature to such a degree that metal stress fatigue is a debilitating factor.  Then there is the wind.  The structure can handle the wind as the flexibility of the steel and copper allow it to sway.  In a 50 mph wind the statue sways 3 inches with the torch having as much as a 6 inch flux.  But, the metal fatigue and erosion factors are not something that can be overcome through engineering.  So, in 1937 and 1984 the Statue of Liberty (more facts) was closed for two years for restoration.  Lady Liberty has been able to stand tall in all sorts of weather and she has had a couple of makeovers to insure that she keeps her posture.  But, a man made event brought her much distress.

No Much Left of the Black Tom Island Munitions Terminal 1916

Not far from Liberty Island was another Island known as Black Tom Island.  The island was between New Jersey and Liberty Island and gained its moniker from the legend that an African American named Tom once resided there.  Now, at the outset of World War I, American munition manufacturers could sell their goods to anyone but the British established a pretty effective blockade of Germany in 1915 and so England was really the only beneficiary of America’s industrial capability.  The Lehigh Valley Railroad built a causeway from the mainland to the island as a terminal for its rail line to docks.  Toward the end of the 19th century, the railroad filled in the harbor to turn the island into a peninsula.  The peninsula became utilized as a munitions depot.  Since the munitions by 1916 were mainly heading to England, it made an inviting target for German sabatuers.  On July 30, 1916 fires were set on railroad cars that resulted in a series of tremendous explosions. 

It's Not Easy Inpsecting or Cleaning Miss Liberty's Torch

The initial blast is estimated to have been such to register a 5.0 to 5.5 on the richter scale.  It was felt as far away as Philadelphia.  Window 25 miles away were broken, including thousands in Manhattan.  The Brooklyn Bridge shook, Jersey City’s city hall had its outer walls cracked and people in Maryland were awakened by the sound of what they thought was an earthquake.  Lady Liberty stood tall but took some flak.  Over a mile away, the Jersey Journal building was penetrated by flying debris and the much closer Statue of Liberty took fragments in her skirt, her outstretched arm and the torch.  Bolts were popped out of the arm and the entire statue was closed for a few weeks.  When it reopened, the torch was closed to the public and has not been accesable to the public ever since.  However,  it was still able to continue the functionality of the statue which is that of a lighthouse.    As a direct result of the Black Tom Explosion, the United States passed the Espionage Act of 1917,    After the war, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was able to secure $50 million in compensation from the German government for damages resulting from the Black Tom Explosion.  The final payment was received in 1979.

SPC Severe Weather Outlook Sunday June 20 2010

Rain Map Shows That Saturday Morning Storms Generally Sounded Worse Than They Were

Weather Bottom Line:  Saturday morning was a surprise.  Don’t blame the TV folks.  The NAM had a short in the afternoon bringing rain but nothing like the racket we had.  There was a bit of an appendage that extended down from a shortwave moving through well to our North but all of the models cut that off just south of Indianapolis and really only advertised an outside shot at some showers.  They were wrong.  It was not the cold front though.  It should stay to our North and the general storm track still should be farther north than last week when we had a similar pattern.  But, Saturday morning’s activity does illustrate the difficulty in trying to time or place these little disturbances.  I think at least one of the stations was making it sound like the world was coming to an end….it was thunderstorm activity and, in general, if we get more of that stuff, it should be similar.  However, if you do find yourself in some stuff going on in the afternoon or evening, then the prospects of some rough stuff will be elevated as late day heating should take us to the low to maybe mid 90′s on Sunday and there will be plenty of humidity.

Old Gene best run at President came from jail! November 3, 2009

This Marx Brother Was Eugene's Favorite

On This Date in History:  In the past year or so, we have heard the term “Socialist” has been tossed about when speaking about politics and some individuals involved in political policy.  This is not new.  Socialism has been a political doctrine that has been at least part of the American political discussion in the past.  In the late 20th century, it was mostly spoken of in great disdain but earlier in the century, it was seen as a potential revolutionary ideal.  During the Great Depression, some in America saw Socialism as an answer to all of the ills of the country.  Now, Karl Marx had published his Communist Manifesto in 1848 but it took a while for the ideals to rise.   See, Marx thought that his brand of socialism was scientifically superior.  The folks in Russia kinda liked it because they took a form of it into their revolution in 1917.  Most Americans were not too keen on the whole idea and there was a sort of Red Scare. 

But, one American, Eugene V. Debs thought that if socialism was good for the Russians, it was good for America.   Actually, Debs had run for President as a socialist for every election since 1900, except for the 1916 race.  The Socialist Party of America had written lots of stuff.  Perhaps he thought that Woodrow Wilson had kept the country out of the war so maybe the timing wasn’t good in 1916.  But, since then, the revolution in Russia had taken place and the Americans had entered the Great War, the war was over, millions were dead from the flu and the war, Europe lay in ruins and the League of Nations had not gained American support.  The Socialists blamed Capitalism for the Great War.   So the time was right to strike again!

1918 Gene Campaigning Before Heading to the Pokey

Debs had been out and about, speaking out to anyone who would listen in 1918.  Millions had died in World War I and the Spanish Flu was killing millions around the world and devastating the population of the United States.  What a good time for a little revolution, thought Debs.  But, the U.S. Congress had passed the Espionage Act in 1917 as part of the war effort.  Part of the legislation was if one criticized the law, then you were in violation of the law.  Eugene V. Debs spoke out against it and into jail he went.  But, in a rather remarkable turn of events, Eugene V. Debs carried on his campaign for President of the United States from his Atlanta Federal Penitentiary jail cell as the Socialist Party candidate for the 1920 presidential election. 

Debs Campaigned from the Big House in 1920

Prison officials allowed Debs to write on press bullietin per week.  The night before the election, Debs wrote, “The result will be as it should be.  The people will vote for what they think they want, to the extent that they think at all, and they, too will not be disappointed.”  It’s hard to say from that statement what Debs expected but, on this date in history,  what he got was almost a million votes, or about 5.7% of the vote total of the winner, Warren G. Harding.   Of the five times that Debs ran for President as the standard bearer of the Social Party, but never did he receive more votes than he did when he was in prison.   Debs never ran for president again and one socialist leader said that the 1920 election said it was “the last flicker of the dying candle.”  Maybe; but then again it  merely marked the high point of a candidate running under the moniker of “socialist.”    I mean, if you look at the Socialist Party Platform of 1896, you will find many of their demands have indeed come into the American mainstream. 

The socialists were in favor of a progressive income tax, suffrage for all citizens without regard to race or sex, government the sole issuer of money, compulsory education for kids under 14 and the state providing meals, books and clothes to kids when necessary and Federal management of forests.  Sound familiar?  All of those things were eventually enacted but not by Socialists, but instead Republicans and Democrats. So, who knows?  Perhaps the socialist call for the destruction fo the capitalist system, which socialists claim brings “inequality essentially destructive of life, of liberty and of happiness” may be pushed…but not under the moniker so boldly proclaimed by Debs from his jail cell.

Weather Bottom Line:  It got to freezing at my house last night. I can tell because Paint Brush, our unofficially adopted stray cat, decided to climb on my sunflowers.  The 12 foot stalks are still strong because he dangled from them..but..I noticed the leaves are suddenly drooping terribly and overnight they turned almost black.  Well, the cool conditions will persist all week. Highs in the 50′s, probably no freezing temperatures for most people but with lows in the 30′s area wide for the next few nights, freezing conditions for some people is probable.  Aside for some clouds midweek, it should be dry and next weekend look for a moderation to the low to mid 60′s by Saturday and maybe Sunday afternoon.