The Liberty Bell is a bell house at the Independence National Historic Park in the center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Liberty Bell was cast in the Whitechapel foundry of Lester and Pack in East London, England, in 1752. It is 12 feet around the circumference. It weighs 2,080 lb. It is made of bronze, that is a mix of copper and tin
Liberty Bell was designed to be hung in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (which is now called Independence Hall). It now hangs from a Yoke (frame) in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park.
The inscription on it is "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." This is taken from the Bible (Book of Leviticus, 25:10) and predates an ideas of American Revolution.
All cities had bells in the days when the bell was used to call people together. This tradition began in medieval Europe and was used by churches to summon people to church. Bells were later also hang in city halls to summon lawmakers to the hall, and to alert citizens to public meetings and proclamations and to give signs of danger, such as fires or attack.
Philadelphia had had a bell since its founding in 1682. The original bell hung from a tree behind the Pennsylvania State House and was brought to the city by its founder, William Penn. By 1751 a bell tower was added to the Pennsylvania State House, and, because Philadelphia was growing and expanding rapidly at this time, it was decided to get a bell that could be hard over a greater distance than the original. Unfortunately, when the bell was mounted on a stand to test the sound, and at the first strike of the clapper, it was struck too had by an inexperienced bell-ringer on its rim instead of on its body, and the bell's rim cracked. This may have been made more likely by the fact that it was cast with an unusually large proportion of tin, making it more brittle than normal.
Two local founders, John Pass and John Stow, offered to recast the bell. The bell was broken into small pieces, melted down, and cast into a new bell, adding about ten percent more copper. It apparently sounded so awful it was melted down again and recast in June 1753. This is the bell that was hung in the steeple of the State House.
However, the assembly was dissatisfied with this recasting and ordered a new one from London. The new one was hung in the tower clock and the old bell was used to summon the Assembly.
The first time it was rung after Independence was probably on July 8, 1776, when bells were rung across the new nation. It was not rung on Independence Day, 1776, as the idea of ringing bells had not be thought of immediately on the signing, and it took several days to organza for bells to be rung.
There was nothing special about this bell to the people at the time of Independence. It continued to be run simply as the steeple bell, and in the early 18th century – no one know exactly when – it developed a crack. It was not until the 1830s that the bell was adopted, and then not as a symbol for the nation. Far from it. It was taken over by those wishing to abolish slavery. This is when it got its name as THE Liberty Bell.
In 1847 a completely fictitious short sty made out that an aged bell-ringer rang it on July 4, 1776, upon hearing of the vote for independence. This untrue story quickly became myth. As a result, it became famous, and from 1885, the owners of the bell – the City of Philadelphia – allowed it to go to patriotic events around the country. It attracted large crowds wherever it went ash the crack became enlarged as pieces were chipped away by souvenir hunters.
It was only after World War II, that the city of Philadelphia allowed the National Park Service to be responsible for the bell, and at that time a National Historic Park was founded to include the location of the bell housing within Independence Hall. It was moved to a specially-built exhibition are is 1976, and then to the Liberty Bell Center in 2003.
After Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and the city expected a British attack. Because bells could easily be recast into musket shot, the bell was sent to Allentown until it as thought o be safe to return it.
When the State of Pennsylvania moved its government from Philadelphia, it had no further use for its State House, and it wanted to demolish the old state house and sell it as building land. Instead of allowing that, the City of Philadelphia bought the building and the bells. The City of Philadelphia sold the second bell, keeping the original recast one (the Liberty Bell).
It is not known how the recast bell came to be cracked, but, like the original, it must have been a problem with the bronze or with how it was struck. All that is really known was that it happened sometime between 1817 and 1846. However, you will know that many dramatic and fanciful stories were fabricated to explain it. Indeed, the connection between the Liberty Bell and American independence was made up by writer George Lippard who, in 1847, write a story called "Fourth of July, 1776" in a magazine. Nothing in the story was based on fact.
However, as this fictional story and others meant that the Liberty Bell was now attracting attention, the city decided to put it on display in Independence Hall. It was President Franklin Pierce who, when he visited Philadelphia in 1853, spoke of the bell as representing the American Revolution and American liberty. He rather overlooked the fact that, at the same time, Independence Hall was still being used as courthouse for trying fugitive slaves!
In 1865, Lincoln's body was placed in Independence Hall after his assassination. The bell was placed at Lincoln's head so mourners could read the inscription, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
It was shortly after this that people began to agree that, rather than repairing the crack, it was part of its character. Instead,a larger replica was made, including metal from canon on both sides of the Civil WAr, and it is that bell which hangs in the tower today.
Between 1885 and 1915, the Liberty Bell was taken on seven countrywide trips, and stops were made on its route so that local people could view it. As a result of this, it became part of the national identity.
But all this moving had made the crack worse, and one per cent of it had been lost to souvenir hunters.
In 1950, fifty five replicas were made and distributed around the United sates (one each for the 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories). Many of the bells today are sited near state capitol buildings.
Another replica was made in 1976 (known as the Bicentennial Bell) and this was presented to the United States by Queen Elizabeth II.
Today the Liberty Bell hangs from what is believed to be its original yoke, made from American elm. The crack in the bell as seen today is much more significant than the hairline crack which caused the concern. This is because, in the 19th century it was filed wider because it was believed that would allow it to continue to be rung.
The inscription on the bell is:
Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof Lev. XXV. v X.
By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in PhiladA
Pass and Stow
Philada
MDCCLIII
(Philada is a short version of Philadelphia)
