Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
The original idea for The Statue of Liberty was proposed by Edouard de Laboulaye, President of the French Anti-Slavery Society. A staunch political thinker and an abolitionist, Edouard Laboulaye, who supported the Union in the American Civil War, supposedly suggested the idea to the famous sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. He is supposed to have said that a memorial must be created as a toast to American independence and it must be built up with a common effort from both the countries. Another report suggests that Laboulaye believed that if this gift to the United States were built up on behalf of France, the French would feel encouraged to get over monarchy and call for democracy. In 1870, Bartholdi created the first model and then, even after returning to France, continued to improvise on the design.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?