Ulysses S. Grant was President when the country celebrated its centennial.
The Birthday Bash
A centennial celebration of anything is a momentous occasion. Therefore, when the USA was poised to celebrate its 100th anniversary, President Ulysses S. Grant was delighted to acknowledge, attend and lend his blessing to all who wanted to participate.
Philadelphia: 1776 and 1876
Of course, Philadelphia was the chosen “chief celebrant.” It was Philadelphia where a convention of the best and brightest among the thirteen colonies met to discuss grievances with its Mother Country, Great Britain. It was Philadelphia where the concept of complete independence was first openly supported by a congress of representatives. It was Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was conceived and created. And signed.
Philadelphia was the country’s acknowledged birthplace as a nation. In 1776, it was the largest city in America, with a population between 30 and 40,000 inhabitants. The thirteen colonies collectively had perhaps 2.5 million.
And Philadelphia was also the country’s most cosmopolitan city, and home of the country’s most illustrious citizen, Benjamin Franklin.
By the Civil War, Philadelphia had grown in population to more than 550,000 but had dropped to second place – eclipsed by New York City, with more than 800,000. (Over a million, if one included the third largest city, Brooklyn.) But it’s reputation for sophistication was intact. It was considered the home of the finest attorneys, medical men and prominent persons in the country.
Philly planned a great event in 1876 to celebrate, modeled after London’s Great Exhibition in 1851. Every city/state/country in the world was invited to host a pavilion to show off its finest inventions and industrial progress. Dozens of representative cities/states/countries participated in the 6-month “do.”
The Birthday Present
Perhaps the most heralded gift for the United States’ Centennial was a monumental statue (more than 150 feet tall) commemorating its freedom. Nicknamed “Lady Liberty” (among other sobriquets), it rivaled ancient statuary in size. At least, it was purported to do so in 1876. It was a gift from France, in the works for some time, but it hadn’t been completed yet. Sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, and engineer Gustave Eiffel (neither of whom were household words at the time) were still hard at work.
But the torch was finished, shipped and sent to Philadelphia, and displayed prominently. The mere size of the torch “she” was to hold, gave its viewers a fair idea of the enormity of the statue itself. Thousands came to admire it!
It would be ten years before the Statue of Liberty was completed, and the “country” had decided where she would live. Bedloe’s Island, (now renamed Liberty Island) was a small, unused parcel of land at the entrance to the Hudson River and deemed the perfect location. The growing influx of tired and poor immigrants, which continued to grow for the next thirty years, (and long after) would be welcomed by Lady Liberty as their ship sailed into New York Harbor.
But while France provided the beloved statue, how to “present” her, was our responsibility. She required a pedestal of some kind to raise her prominence and hold the weight. It was also an expensive proposition. Early contributions began to dwindle.
The Pulitzer Connection
Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian immigrant, had risen in fame and wealth as the publisher of the New York World, one of the city’s foremost newspapers. It was he who conceived the idea to encourage public funding to complete the pedestal – and in particular, to involve not only citizens across the country, but the children: they needed to be part of this historic event.
To encourage participation among school children, he promised that the name of every person who contributed to the pedestal – no matter how small a donation – would be published in his newspaper.
His efforts raised more than $100,000.
In 1886, ten years into America’s second century as a nation, the pedestal was complete, rising around 70 feet – about half the size of “Miss Liberty”. The statue itself came in pieces requiring more than 200 packing crates. Finally, the copper plates and rivets were engineered together, ready to proclaim “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Her given name, by the way.
On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland attended the opening ceremonies, which included NYC’s first ticker tape parade.
Interestingly enough, the general public was not permitted on the island itself. That was reserved specifically for dignitaries – hundreds of them. The huddled (and otherwise) masses came later.
Shareholders
If schoolchildren were to be included in the fundraising effort, schools themselves had to be assiduously encouraged to participate.
In the tired and poor tenements of New York’s Lower East Side, three little girls, between five and nine, lived with their parents (and younger babies). They were in school, tasked with bringing “a penny” for the pedestal the next day. Their teachers hoped everyone would participate – not the least part being, to have their name in the paper.
The children came running home from school that day, demanding that their Ma give them a penny. Of course, she wanted to give a penny for all three. (They could “share.”) No, insisted the children – each one needed a penny! And they would each get their names in the newspaper!
That was three cents! A lot of money – especially since their father only earned $6 or maybe $7 a week. Three cents could buy six potatoes, or a bag of onions. Or a packet of needles and a spool of thread.
But the three cents was found and given.
My grandmother and her older sisters all told me that story. Nearly a century and a half later, I have a three-cent legacy stake in the Statue of Liberty. God bless her.
Sources:
Presidential History Blog 
A wonderful story, indeed.