Statue of Liberty dedicated today, October 28, 1886 The French donated the 151 foot high Statue of Liberty, but the U.S. was responsible for building its pedestal. In 1884, the governor of New York Grover Cleveland vetoed a bill to provide $50,000 for the project. An attempt the following year to have Congress provide the $100,000 necessary to complete the project also failed. The New York committee, with only $3,000 in the bank, was unable to build the pedestal. With the project in jeopardy, other American cities offered to pay the full cost of erecting the statue in return for relocating it to their city. However, publisher Joseph Pulitzer, of the New York World, started a donation drive that drew more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar, raising $102,000. With those funds, construction of the pedestal began. Ironically, Grover Cleveland, now U.S. President, presided over the dedication, which included New York’s first ticker-tape parade. rochestermilitary.com