The Truth Behind “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …”

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …” is on a plaque of the Statue of Liberty pedestal. It’s used to promote unfettered and unrestricted immigration. You should know the truth.

This oft-quoted phrase is actually a small part of a poem. American poet Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) wrote the poem “The New Colossus” in 1883. She donated the poem to raise money for the construction of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. The poem title was a reference to the Greek Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

France gave the statue to America in 1885. After the parts were reassembled and the pedestal was constructed, the statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. President Grover Cleveland presided over the event.

But as with every aspect of American history, there’s a lot more to the story. People don’t know what prompted France to design, build, and donate the statue to America. Even less well known is that these familiar words are from a largely unknown poem. Most obscure is what prompted the writing of the poem.

History

After years of designing, fundraising, building, and with several trips to America, Bartholdi and his extensive team finally completed the statue in 1884. Laboulaye died the year before, having never seen the finished work.

Here’s the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

FACT OVER FICTION

The poem is now synonymous with the Statue of Liberty. But I doubt if anyone could tell you who wrote it. And when. And why. Or how it came to be associated with the quintessential monument.

Most people erroneously believe the famous phrase came from the U.S. government. Many people mistakenly believe it’s an immigration mandate.

That’s pure fiction. The fact is that the poem was reluctantly written as one of many artistic and literary works to raise money for the construction of the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands. In addition, the poem wasn’t placed on the statue’s pedestal until 20 years after it was dedicated.

Nevertheless, the phrase “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” is now part of the collective American consciousness.

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Source: independentsentinel.com