Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell is an American bell of great historic significance, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Related Topics:
American - Bell - Philadelphia - Pennsylvania

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Along with the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell is perhaps the most prominent symbol of American liberty, and probably the most prominent symbol associated with early American history and the battle for American independence and freedom.

Related Topics:
Statue of Liberty - Liberty

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Its most famous ringing, on July 8, 1776, summoned citizens for the reading of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress. It previously had been rung to announce the opening of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775.

Related Topics:
July 8 - 1776 - Declaration of Independence - Continental Congress - 1774 - Battle of Lexington and Concord - 1775

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The bell was not officially called the Liberty Bell until 1837, when it became a symbol of the abolitionist movement because of its cast inscription from Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

Related Topics:
1837 - Abolition - Leviticus

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The bell is 70 % copper, 25 % tin, and contains other trace metals. It has a 12 foot (3.7 m) circumference. It originally weighed 2080 lb (943 kg), but according to the city of Philadelphia, it currently weighs around 2055 lb (932 kg), due to the fact that at least 25 lb (11 kg). have been maliciously chiseled off the inside lip.

Related Topics:
Copper - Tin

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It is not know when or why the bell cracked.

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From the U.S. National Park Service:

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Most people are familiar with two aspects of the Liberty Bell: it is an important symbol, and it is cracked. The existing crack adds mystery to the symbolism. How and when did the bell crack? It is difficult to determine from historical documents, although there are many traditional explanations.

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1824

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The Marquis de Lafayette was only 19 years old in 1777 when he volunteered to fight in the American Revolution. In 1824 he returned to the United States on a triumphal tour around the country. His visit created a resurgence in pride and interest in the American Revolution.

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On March 5, a Philadelphia newspaper, the American Daily Advertiser, published a poem about the old State House bell. There was no mention of a crack. Six months later, another newspaper ran a story about the bell and quoted its inscription. There was no mention of a crack.

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1828

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Records of the Philadelphia city councils show that councils discussed the new bell, clock and steeple of the Pennsylvania State House. The new bell was cast by John Wilbank in 1828. None of these discussions indicated that the old bell was unusable.

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1829

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The publications Saturday Evening Post and the Casket described the State House: "In the attic story of the basement of the steeple is suspended the great bell." Both quote the inscription; neither mentions a crack.

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1831

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The city council agreed to let the young men of the city ring "the old State House bell" on the Fourth of July.

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1837

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A guidebook stated that the old State House bell was not in use, but it did not mention a crack. In the same year, a stylized rendering of the bell appeared in an antislavery publication showing the bell without a crack.

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1841

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A British traveler reported: "This bell, though no longer used for general purposes, still occupied the place in which it was originally hung, and...used on special occasions such as the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and visits of distinguished visitors...."

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According to local reporters, the "old bell" tolled on April 7, upon the death of President William Henry Harrison, the first President to die in office.

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1844

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The Philadelphia newspaper the Public Ledger carried a story about the bell, but did not mention a crack.

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1846

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Under the heading "The Old Independence Bell," the Public Ledger reported: "This venerable relic of the Revolution rang its last clear note on Monday last ...and now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and forever dumb. It had been cracked long before, but was put in order for that day by having the edges of the fracture filed....It gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon when it received a sort of compound fracture in a zigzag direction through one of its sides...."

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1848

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The Public Ledger mentioned in passing that the bell had cracked in the autumn of 1845.

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1876

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The volunteer curator of Independence Hall, Colonel Frank Etting, announced that he had discovered that the bell had cracked in 1835, while it was tolling for the funeral procession of Chief Justice John Marshall. Although widely accepted, this claim was never documented.

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1884

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John Wilbank?s son claimed that the bell had cracked in 1824, while welcoming Lafayette to Philadelphia.

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1899

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In his book The Reminiscences of a Very Old Man, 1808-1897, Philadelphian John Sartain claimed the bell cracked while celebrating passage by the British Parliament of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1828.

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1903

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A letter to the editor of the Public Ledger claimed that the journals of the Philadelphia city councils proved that the bell cracked welcoming Lafayette in 1824. (The journals do not contain such a statement.)

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1911

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Joseph Rauch wrote to the New York Times that, as a boy, he had helped ring the bell on Washington?s birthday by pulling a rope attached to the clapper, and this was when the bell cracked.

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In October 1777, however, as the Revolutionary War intensified and the British attempted to seize Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell was moved north, to the Pennsylvania village of Northamptontown (now known as Allentown). In Allentown, the bell was hidden under the floor of Old Zion Reformed Church, where it remained until the British evacuated Philadelphia in 1778, when it was again returned to Philadelphia.

Related Topics:
1777 - Allentown - 1778

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Today, in the basement of this center city Allentown church, the only official replica of the bell is on display, surrounded by the flags of the original thirteen colonies. The location is open to tourists.

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The bell was repaired in February 1846. The method of repair, known as stop drilling, required drilling along the hairline crack so that the sides of the fracture would not reverberate. When the bell was rung that month in honor of George Washington's birthday, the crack extended from the top of the repaired crack to the crown of the bell, rendering the bell unusable.

Related Topics:
1846 - George Washington

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From the 1880s through the early decades of the 20th century, the Liberty Bell traveled to numerous cities and was displayed at expositions and world's fairs. For many years, the bell was housed in the stairwell of Independence Hall where visitors could view it while touring the historic building. On January 1, 1976, the bell was transported from Independence Hall to a glass pavilion located one block north, in anticipation of increased visitation during the bicentennial year of American independence, but the unadorned pavilion proved unpopular with many.

Related Topics:
1880s - World's fair - January 1 - 1976 - Bicentennial year of American independence

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On April 1, 1996, the fast food restaurant chain Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it to "the Taco Liberty Bell." Thousands of people who did not immediately get the April Fool's Day hoax protested.

Related Topics:
April 1 - 1996 - Fast food restaurant - Taco Bell - The New York Times - April Fool's Day

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On April 6, 2001, the bell was struck several times with a hammer by Mitchell Guilliatt, a self-described wanderer from Nebraska. According to witness testimony, he hit the bell four or five times while shouting "God lives!". After repairs, there was no visible damage to the bell.

Related Topics:
April 6 - 2001 - Nebraska

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In October 2003, the bell was moved a short distance to the southwest to a new pavilion, the Liberty Bell Center. There was some controversy about the site chosen for the new structure, which was just to the south of the site of where George Washington had lived in the 1790s. After the initial planning, the building's site was found to be adjacent to the quarters for the slaves owned by Washington. The decision over how to acknowledge this fact in the display has led to some debate.

Related Topics:
October 2003 - George Washington - 1790s

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The Liberty Bell Center, with its storied bell, and the nearby Independence Hall, are part of Independence National Historical Park, administered by the National Park Service.

Related Topics:
Independence Hall - National Park Service

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There is a full scale replica of the bell in the Liberty Square area of the Magic Kingdom park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The bell is rung on real-life American holidays of particular significance to the War of Independence, and fits in quite neatly with the revolutionary theme of the area.

Related Topics:
Liberty Square - Magic Kingdom - Lake Buena Vista, Florida - War of Independence - Revolutionary

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