Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . Before Emma Lazarus wrote the final lines to her poem, the Statue of Liberty was known only as a gift of friendship from France to the United States. As Lazurus's words grew famous and stirred the nation, the statue came to be seen as the mother of immigrants, her torch a lamp held out to welcome them. Further reading. Author's note. Reproduction of "The New Colossus." Image of Emma Lazarus. Full-color illustrations in watercolor and gouache.