On July 8, 1776, a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell now known as the “Liberty Bell” rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Four days earlier, the historic document had been adopted by delegates to the Continental Congress, but the bell did not ring to announce the issuing of the document until the Declaration of Independence returned from the printer on July 8.
In 1751, to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of Pennsylvania’s original constitution, the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly ordered the bell to be constructed. After being cracked during a test, and then recast twice, the bell was hung from the State House steeple in June 1753. Rung to call the Pennsylvania Assembly together and to summon people for special announcements and events, it was also rung on important occasions, such as King George III’s 1761 ascension to the British throne and, in 1765, to call the people together to discuss Parliament’s controversial Stamp Act.
With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, the bell was rung to announce the battles of Lexington and Concord. Its most famous tolling, however, was on July 8, 1776, when it summoned Philadelphia citizens for the first reading of the Declaration of Independence.
As the British advanced toward Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, the bell was removed from the city and hidden in Allentown to save it from being melted down by the British and used to make cannons. After the British defeat in 1781, the bell was returned to Philadelphia, which served as the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800. In addition to marking important events, the bell tolled annually to celebrate George Washington’s birthday on February 22 and the Fourth of July. The name “Liberty Bell” was first coined in an 1839 poem in an abolitionist pamphlet.
The question of when the Liberty Bell acquired its famous fracture has been the subject of a good deal of historical debate. In the most commonly accepted account, the bell suffered a major break while tolling for the funeral of the chief justice of the United States, John Marshall, in 1835, and in 1846 the crack expanded to its present size while in use to mark Washington’s birthday. After that date, it was regarded as unsuitable for ringing, but it was still ceremoniously tapped on occasion to commemorate important events. On June 6, 1944, when Allied forces invaded France, the sound of the bell’s dulled ring was broadcast by radio across the United States.
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Video of the event was pulled down from Facebook, and the Independence Channel was deplatformed.
Here are some of the facts we do know about the Liberty Bell, and some theories to answer the other big questions about the Bell’s travels.
1. The Liberty Bell pre-dates the Revolution. The Pennsylvania Assembly had the Liberty Bell made in 1751 to mark the 50-year anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges, which served as Pennsylvania’s original Constitution.
2. What is written on the Bell? The following Bible verse is on the Bell: “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Also included is information about the Pennsylvania Assembly and the Bell’s maker.
3. No one knows today when the Bell was cracked. The crack is a big subject of debate among historians. One theory is the Bell got its first crack in 1752 when it was tested upon its arrival in Philadelphia.
4. The last big crack happened on Washington’s Birthday. The Liberty Bell cracked up, literally, in February 1846, when it was rung on President’s Day, celebrated on Washington’s birthday, and then stopped ringing because of damage from a major crack.
5. The Liberty Bell rang often during its functional lifetime. Between 1753 and 1846, the Bell tolled for many people and occasions. It rang to mark the signing of the Constitution, and the deaths of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson.
6. The Liberty Bell wasn’t the first name of this icon. The bell was originally known as the State House Bell. In the late 1830s, it acquired the name of the Liberty Bell when it became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement.
7. The bell probably didn’t ring on July 4, 1776. A magazine writer in 1847 made up the story of the bell ringing on the first Independence Day.
8. The bell may also not have rung on July 8, 1776. It is known that bells in the city of Philadelphia were ringing to celebrate the public announcement of the Declaration of Independence. According to the Independence Hall Association, the statehouse steeple was under repair at the time, making it unlikely for the Liberty Bell to be in use. But with no contemporary accounts, we just don’t know.
9. The Bell did go on a Revolutionary road trip. In 1777, the Bell was removed from Philadelphia under armed guard and taken to Allentown, Pa., where it was hidden in a church. The fear was the British would melt the Bell and use it to make cannons. It came back to Philadelphia the following year.
10. The Liberty Bell last hit the road in 1915. Back in the day, the Bell went on tour around the United States, but in the days before World War I, it became clear the Bell had condition issues. Today, it resides at the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia, where it is occasionally tapped to mark special occasions.
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https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-liberty-bell
The ‘Liberty’ bell is cracked.
Rather appropriate considering the state of liberties….