Voices of Women with Host Kris Steinnes: The Secret Life of Lady Liberty: Goddess in the New World

Uncovering the forgotten lineage of the Statue of Liberty, Bob Hieronimus and Laura Cortner explain how she is based on a female symbol representing America on the earliest maps of the continent in the form of a Native American “Queen.” The image of a woman symbolizing independence was embraced by the American revolutionaries to rally the populace against the King, filling the role of “Founding Mother” and protector of the fledgling republic. Incorporating Libertas, the Roman goddess of freed slaves, with Minerva, Demeter, Justice, and the Indian Princess, Lady Liberty is seen all over the nation’s capital, and on the seals and flags of many states.

 “Who would have imagined that you could draw our country’s entire history through the iconic image of liberty gracing the New York harbor? But that’s precisely what the authors, Laura Cortner and Robert R. Hieronimus do in this engaging and well-documented journey through the long-neglected outtakes of our past. The exploration of Native American and feminist history and values, combined with contemporary scientific research, lead us to envision a sustainable future where liberty indeed prevails.” (Sally Roesch Wagner, Ph.D., executive director of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, Inc. and author of Sisters in Spirit: Iroquois Influence on Early Feminists and A Time of Protest: Suffragists Challenge the Republic)