Strengthen the Arm of Liberty
Strengthen the Arm of Liberty was the Boy Scouts of America's theme for the organization's fortieth anniversary celebration in 1950. The campaign was inaugurated in February with a dramatic ceremony held at the base of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World). Approximately 200 BSA Statue of Liberty replicas were installed across the United States.
Hundreds of smaller replicas of the Statue of Liberty have been created worldwide. The classical appearance (Roman stola, sandals, facial expression) derives from Libertas, ancient Rome's goddess of freedom from slavery, oppression, and tyranny. Her raised right foot is on the move. This symbol of Liberty and Freedom is not standing still or at attention in the harbor, it is moving forward, as her left foot tramples broken shackles at her feet, in symbolism of the United States' wish to be free from oppression and tyranny.
Between 1949 and 1952, approximately two hundred 100-inch (2.5 m) replicas of the statue, made of stamped copper, were purchased by Boy Scout troops and donated in 39 states in the U.S. and several of its possessions and territories. The project was the brainchild of Kansas City businessman, J.P. Whitaker, who was then Scout Commissioner of the Kansas City Area Council.
The copper statues were manufactured by Friedley-Voshardt Co. (Chicago, Illinois) and purchased through the Kansas City Boy Scout office by those wanting one. The statues are approximately 8 1⁄2 feet tall without the base, constructed of sheet copper, weigh 290 pounds, and originally cost $350 plus freight. The mass-produced statues are not meticulously accurate: a conservator notes that "her face isn't as mature as the real Liberty. It's rounder and more like a little girl's."
Examples of the statues can be found at Birmingham, Alabama, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Greeley, Colorado, at the Mississippi riverfront in Burlington, Iowa, at Overland Park, Kansas and at Chimborazo Park in Richmond, Virginia.
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