Okay, I’ll bite.
The French people raised the money for the statue itself through private donations. It was called “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The Emma Lazarus poem has completely changed the meaning of the statue for most people from the original intent.
What’s your point?
I fail to see how the SOL of 1876 has much relevance to the 1780s.
Why were the people of France so compelled by the concept of Liberty, to have commissioned that gigantic statute as a gift to the United States? What debt of gratitude did the people of France feel they owed us?
Remember, the comment of yours that prompted my reply dealt with Emerich de Vattel and the French Revolution.