Statue of Liberty - Decades TV Network

America’s most emblematic symbol was the idea of a Frenchman named Edouard Laboulaye. He proposed a monument to honor U.S. preservation of democracy and to strengthen the Franco-American friendship. But it was sculptor Fredric Bartholdi who turned the idea into the design that became the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty arrived in New York Harbor in June 1885. She was reassembled and officially dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886.