Phyllis Schlafly Has Had It With People Thinking Statue Of Liberty Welcomes Immigrants

[Whoopdedoo]

30. One quote from

A very detailed investigation by the National Park Service investigation to rumors about the monument:
"The conventional interpretation of the statue as a monument to American immigrants is a twentieth-century phenomenon. In its early years (1871-1886), that view was only rarely and vaguely expressed, while references to the Civil War and abolition of slavery occur repeatedly from its first introduction to the United States in 1871 up to and including the dedication celebrations in 1886. Immigrants did not actually see the Statue of Liberty in large numbers until after its unveiling. In the early twentieth century, the statue became a popular symbol for nativists and white supremacists. Official use of the statue's image to appeal to immigrants only began in earnest with public efforts to Americanize immigrant children and the government’s advertising campaign for World War I bonds. The "immigrant" interpretation gained momentum in the 1930s as Americans prepared for war with Hitler and by the 1950s, it had become the predominant understanding of the statue's original purpose and meaning."
http://www.nps.gov/stli/historyculture/black-statue-of-liberty.htm
Here is an interesting read on the history of the Monument. I include it because it include pictures and obscure or little known tid bits. It does have some errors in fact but still worthy:
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/05/31/the-true-story-of-the-statue-of-liberty/#!niP4L