Who had the idea of building the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States.  In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye, a moderate French republican leader, best known as the "Father of the Statue of Liberty," was the first man who proposed the idea of a monument for the United States. According to the National Park Service online page, "Laboulaye was a prominent and important political thinker in his time, a leading expert on the U.S. Constitution, and an abolitionist and supporter of President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War" (NPS.gov). Laboulaye who was one of the Époque precursors of liberty was excited for the United States encouragement and struggles for they independence.

In spite of the repressive monarchy of France at that time, Édouard de Laboulaye believed in the "common law of free peoples". In other words, Laboulaye was convinced that everybody is born with the right to freedom. He struggled for his own goals and contributed to America’s constitution. Consequently, Laboulaye was pushing for the return of democracy to France because he wanted France to learn from the United States beating, struggles and triumphs (NPS.gov).

Work Cited

“Statue of Liberty”. National Park Service, NPS.gov. ND. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web.21 Oct 2017