Why did France award the Statue of Liberty to New York City>?

Around 1865, as the American Civil War drew to a close, the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that France create a statue to give to the United States in celebration of that nation's success in building a viable democracy.

disease was the number one killer of native peoples. they had had little exposure to the diseases of europe. this led to some villages being almost completely wiped out and some tribes destroyed.