The
Statue of Freedom (1857-62) — sometimes called
Armed Freedom or simply
Freedom — is Thomas Crawford's
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
statueA statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
that, since 1863, has crowned the
domeThe United States Capitol dome is the massive dome situated above the United States Capitol which reaches upwards to in height. The dome was designed by Thomas U...
of the
U.S. CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
The original and formal name of the work was
Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace. Official United States government publications say that now the statue "is officially known as the
Statue of Freedom".
Description
Freedom is a colossal
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
standing figure 19½-feet (6 meters) tall and weighing approximately 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg). Her crest peaks at 288 feet (88 meters) above the east front plaza of the U.S. Capitol. She is a female
allegoricalAllegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. An allegory is a device that can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or sculpture...
figure whose right hand holds the hilt of a sheathed
swordA sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used in many civilizations throughout the world, primarily as a cutting or thrusting weapon and occasionally for clubbing...
while a
laurel wreathA laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
of victory and the Shield of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are clasped in her left hand. The heraldic shield is the same as in the
Great Seal of the United StatesThe Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
, with thirteen stripes, except that the
chiefA chief is a term used in heraldic blazon to describe a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third...
has stars (again, thirteen). Her
chitonA chiton was a form of clothing worn by men and women in Ancient Greece, from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic period . There are two forms of chiton, the Doric chiton and the later Ionic chiton. The "Doric" style was simpler and had no "sleeves," being simply pinned, sewn, or buttoned at...
is secured by a brooch inscribed "U.S." and is partially covered by a heavy,
IndianThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
-style fringed blanket thrown over her left shoulder. She symbolically faces east towards the main entrance of the building which means that incidentally, the sun never sets on
Freedom. She wears a military helmet adorned with stars and an eagle's head which is itself crowned by an umbrella-like crest of feathers.
Freedom stands atop a cast-iron globe encircled with one of the national mottoes,
E pluribus unumE pluribus unum, Latin for "Out of many one", is a motto requested by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere and found in 1776 on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782.The phrase originally came from Moretum, a poem...
. The lower part of the base is decorated with
fascesFasces symbolize summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity"...
and wreaths. Ten bronze points tipped with
platinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is in Group 10 of the periodic table of elements...
are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from
lightningLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
.
Design
A monumental statue for the top of the national Capitol appeared in architect
Thomas U. WalterThomas Ustick Walter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s. He was the fourth Architect of the Capitol, responsible for adding the north and south wings and the central dome...
's original drawing for the new cast-iron dome, which was authorized in 1855. Walter's drawing showed the outline of a statue representing
LibertyGoddesses named for and representing the concept Liberty have existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the Roman Empire and some national symbols such as the British "Britannia" or the Irish "Kathleen Ni Houlihan"....
; Crawford proposed an allegorical figure of
Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace.
Crawford was commissioned to design the
Statue of Freedom in 1854 and executed the plaster model for the statue in his studio in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
.
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
Senator and
Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
(who would later become President of the
ConfederacyThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
) was in charge of the Capitol construction and its decorations. According to
David Hackett FischerDavid Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends to narrative histories of significant events to explorations of...
in his book
Liberty and Freedom, Crawford’s statue was…
…very close to Jefferson Davis’s ideas in every way but one…. Above the crown he [had] added a liberty capChiefly it refers to:*liberty cap, a brimless felt cap, such as the Phrygian cap or pileus, emblematic of a slave's manumission in the Ancient World.The phrase may also refer to:*Liberty Cap, a celebrated granite dome in Yosemite National Park...
, the old Roman symbol of an emancipated slave. It seemed a direct affront to a militant slaveholder, and Jefferson Davis exploded with rage. The northern sculptor and the southern slaveholder had already clashed over a liberty cap in the interior decoration of the Capitol.
Davis sent his aide, Captain
Montgomery MeigsMontgomery Cunningham Meigs is a retired United States Army General.He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1967. He served as a cavalry troop commander in the Vietnam War...
, with orders to remove the cap, saying that “its history renders it inappropriate to a people who were born free and would not be enslaved”. A military helmet, with an
American eagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the...
head and crest of feathers, replaced the cap in the sculpture's final version. (Today many observers take the statue, with its eagle and feathers, to be an
American IndianAmerican Indian may refer to:*Native Americans in the United States*Indigenous people of the Americas*Indian American*Americans in India*With a hyphen, India – United States relations,...
.)
Execution
Crawford died in 1857 before the model left his studio. The model, packed into six crates, was shipped from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
in a small sailing vessel in the spring of 1858. During the voyage the ship began to leak and stopped in
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
for repairs. After leaving Gibraltar, the ship began leaking again to the point that it could go no farther than
BermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 kilometres south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada...
, where the model was stored until other transportation could be arranged. Half of the crates finally arrived in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
in December, but all sections were not in Washington, D.C. until late March 1859.
Beginning in 1860, the statue was cast in five main sections by
Clark MillsClark Mills was an American sculptor, best known for three equestrian statues of Andrew Jackson, in Washington D.C., Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1865 Mills made a life-cast of Abraham Lincoln's head...
, whose bronze foundry was located on the outskirts of Washington. Work was halted in 1861 because of the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, but by the end of 1862 the statue was finished and temporarily displayed on the Capitol grounds. The cost of the statue, exclusive of installation, was $23,796.82. Late in 1863, construction of the dome was sufficiently advanced for the installation of the statue, which was hoisted in sections and assembled atop the cast-iron pedestal. The final section, the figure's head and shoulders, was raised on December 2, 1863, to a salute of 35 guns answered by the guns of the 12 forts around Washington.
While
Freedom was being cast at Mills' foundry the foreman in charge of the casting went on strike. Instead of paying him the higher wages he demanded Mills turned the project over to
Philip ReidPhilip Reid was born a slave in the early 19th century at Charleston, South Carolina. He came to be a master craftsman and artisan, playing a key role in the completion of the United States Capitol at Washington D.C....
, one of the slaves working at the facility. Reid presided over the rest of the casting and assembly of the figure. The figure was placed in position on December 2, 1863. Reid had to wait until November 1864, at which time he, at least symbolically, received his
freedom capThe Phrygian cap is a soft, red, conical cap with the top pulled forward, worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia...
.
Restoration
On May 9, 1993, after being in place almost 130 years, the statue was brought down from its pedestal by
helicopterA helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the...
for restoration, also giving tourists a chance to see the statue up close. The work was needed because of extensive pitting and corrosion on the surface of the bronze and because of a crack and rusting on the cast-iron pedestal. The project was guided by the recommendations of a thorough conservation and engineering study conducted in 1991. The
United States Capitol Preservation CommissionThe United States Capitol Preservation Commission was established under Title VIII of Public Law 100-696 in November 1988 for the purpose of providing for improvements in, preservation of, and acquisitions for the United States Capitol and other locations under the control of the Congress...
provided $780,000 in privately raised funds, which covered all project costs. The work was performed by New Arts Foundry, of Baltimore, Maryland.
The cast-iron pedestal was restored in place atop the dome. The metal was stripped of paint, and the wreaths and fasces were removed to ensure that they were thoroughly cleaned and coated. The crack was permanently repaired, and the entire pedestal was primed and painted with a color specially mixed to match the statue. Since then, every 2-3 years, the statue undergoes two weeks of cleaning and recoating as necessary.
Restoration of the statue and the pedestal was completed in approximately four months. The
Statue of Freedom was returned to its pedestal by helicopter on October 23, 1993, amid the celebration of the
bicentennialBicentennial may refer to:* two-hundredth anniversary of an event, or the celebrations pertaining thereof.* United States Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence...
of the U.S. Capitol.
The plaster model of the statue, which had been in storage for 25 years, was reassembled and restored in the basement rotunda of the
Russell Senate Office BuildingThe Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908, opened in 1909, and named for former Senator Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. of Georgia in 1972...
, where it was returned to permanent public display in January 1993. The plaster model was relocated to the Emancipation Hall of the
Capitol Visitor CenterThe United States Capitol Visitor Center is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the US Congress. It is located below the East Front of the Capitol and its plaza, between the Capitol...
, which provides visitors a much closer look at the statue’s details.
The head of the statue is depicted on a postage stamp (United States
Scott No.The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...
573), which was re-issued in 2006.
External links