Although the statue was not originally intended to be a symbol of immigration or hope, but rather a symbol of friendship between the United States and France, the sonnet on the plaque has forever changed her purpose. © copyright 2003-2020 Study.com. The poem that you're referring to was added later. "It’s a symbol of America, a symbol of an ideal of welcome for immigrants.". He called Miller's description "national park revisionism.". Mister Machine Design Co. As European immigrants streamed into New York at the turn of the, . The blog closed in September of 2017. So how and why did the statue become an iconic symbol of immigration? National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM. It's not actually a part of the original Statue of Liberty. Aren't you trying to change what it means to be an immigrant coming into this country if you're telling them, 'you have to speak English?'". Services, Immigration Control Initiatives from 1882 to 1924, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree, Get access to this video and our entire Q&A library. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ", Acosta replied, "You're saying it does not represent what the country has always thought of as immigration coming into this country?" Haley Samsel is an American University student and a USA TODAY digital producer. "The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of liberty enlightening the world," Miller said. Opportunities to find new jobs, to make a living, to practice their … "There’s this America First argument … that the administration is trying to argue and the statue doesn’t fit well with that. "I would say since the '30s, [the poem] has been indelibly inscribed in the American psyche as part of the statue," Schor says. In fact, the symbolism behind the statue largely changed in accordance with public debates concerning immigration policy. This made the statue an important symbol for the immigrants hoping to find opportunity in America. Who was exempted from the National Origins Act? For many, the statue represented a perceived danger in opening national borders. Twitter erupted with responses to Miller's characterization of The New Colossus as disconnected from the statue's meaning. First, the Statue of Liberty is not beacon for immigration but a beacon for liberty. The location of the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor -- a major receiving port for immigrants in the 19th century -- was a defining factor in the statue's symbolic "transformation," Kraut said.