Mother of Exiles: Send These, the Homeless, Tempest-tost to Me

The New Colossus

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!"

Emma Lazarus [1849-1887] wrote "The New Colossus" on November 2, 1883, and donated it for use by the Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty. A source of inspiration to countless new immigrants and Americans alike, it was inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903. Then as now, however, Nativists and others have opposed immigration on various grounds, as the political cartoon to the right, captioned "The Proposed Emigrant Dumping Site," reveals (Judge, March 22, 1890).

 

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift from the people of France to the United States. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, it was designated as a National Monument in 1924, and has been maintained by the National Park Service since 1933.

Note: The image at the top first appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on July 2, 1887 at pp. 324-325; it was entitled "New York -- Welcome to the Land of Freedom -- An Ocean Steamer Passing the Statue of Liberty: Scene on the Steerage Deck [of the "Germanic"] / from a sketch by a staff artist." Further information on this item is available via the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.