The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty, formerly Bedloe's, Island in New York Harbor as a symbol of freedom and opportunity offered by the United States. Officially entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World," it was a gift of the French people to the United States in commemoration of the centennial of American independence. Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who conceived the idea in 1874, the statue portrays Liberty as a regal woman draped in classical robes, was built in Paris, disassembled, and shipped to New York, where a pedestal had been prepared. It was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on Oct. 28, 1886. In her right hand she holds a burning torch, and in her left a book of law inscribed July 4, 1776; at her feet lie the broken shackles of slavery. In the decades that followed, it had a great emotional impact on millions of immigrants who sailed past it into the New World in search of opportunity, and it was also regarded warmly by troops returning from the European front during both World Wars. In 1903, Emma Lazarus' sonnet "The New Colossus" was inscribed on a bronze plaque in its pedestal.