Speech #840103582

In general. a serious effort has been made to improve the statues surroundings. Now. at long last. the Statue of Liberty is to be given a setting worthy of its preeminent place as the inspiring symbol of the United States and of our American way of life. A number of distinguished and publicspirited citizens have organized to establish at the foot of the statue what will probably become. with the statue. the paramount shrine of all Americans: The American Museum of Immigration. In this high endeavor they have the enthusiastic endorsement of the President and the cooperation of the National Park Service. The latter will be the eventual custodian ofthe museum. which itself will be an integral part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Let me emphasize that establishment of the American Museum of Immigration is not a Government project in the sense that Federal funds will finance its construction. Rather. the museum is to be financed by the giftslarge and smallof individual Americans. Every American is invited to contribute. and I most devoutly hope that millions of us from coast to coast will do so. each according to his conscience and his means. Participation of all Americans in establishment of the museum is of the highest significance. for this voluntary participation is what gives the project life. soul and spirit. Every man. woman. and child who bears the proud title of American citizen is either an immigrant or the descendant of one. We are a nation of nationsthe only true nation of nations in the history of mankind. People have been coming to these shores. since the earliest times. in search of freedom and opportunity. Each immigrant has brought some contribution which has gone into the making of America. From millions America has received contributions of brawn. contributions of brain. contributions of soul and spirit. These contributions from all the creeds and countries and cultures of the world have been woven into the very fabric of our American life. whether in the field of business and industry. in the field of science. or in the field of the arts. There is no one of us who does not share. through his ancestry. in the historic process by which America. in the short span of some 350 years. has been converted from primitive wilderness to the greatest and most powerful Nation in the annals of world history. The American Museum of Immigration will perform a permanent service not only to the United States. but also to a confused and doubting world by telling now and to posterity how people of the most diverse backgrounds have joined together to build this Nation. The story will be told by the latest museum techniques. The specific content of the story is being decided by a committee of distinguished historians. headed by Dr. John A. Krout. provost of Columbia University. with the cooperation of the National Park Service. The story will be told in the light of historical perspective. as viewed by distinguished scholars of American immigration. without emphasizing or minimizing the contributions of any group beyond the bounds of the record of history. I cannot stress too strongly the constructive effect which I believe the American Museum of Immigration will have in these United States. Some 800.000 people a year visit the Statue of Liberty nowadays95 percent of them from outside New York City. They come from the Midwest. the Far West. the South. the North.