The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a gift from France, however the statue was given without a pedestal to support it. Discover how newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer helped start a campaign to fund a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty in this video from the American Masters film Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People. Support materials include discussion questions and an analysis of the poem which stands at the base of this magnificent statue.

American Masters – Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People explores the remarkable man behind the prestigious prizes. A Jewish immigrant from Hungary, Joseph Pulitzer began as a gifted journalist before becoming a successful publisher and businessman. Pulitzer was famous in his own time for his outspoken and cantankerous editorial voice and his newspapers’ striking illustrations, visual style, national circulation, and financial success. Against the context of America’s explosive growth as a world force during the Gilded Age, Pulitzer emerges as the country’s first media titan, reshaping the newspaper to bear witness to and even propel that transformation. Joseph Pulitzer tirelessly championed what he regarded as the sacred role of the free press in a democracy.