The Liberty Bell was cast in the Whitechapel Foundry in London and hung in the belfry of the Pennsylvania State House in 1753. That building is known today as Independence Hall. The bell cracked upon its first use before being recast twice by John Pass and John Stow, of Philadelphia. You can see their names inscribed on the bell as well as a Biblical verse from Leviticus, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” After the Liberty Bell was repaired, it rang for a George Washington birthday celebration but it cracked again and has not been rung since. No one knows why the bell cracked either time. The Liberty Bell did not always hold that name. A group that was trying to outlaw slavery first referred to it as the “Liberty Bell” and used it as a symbol for their cause. The Liberty Bell was showcased around the U.S. to help bring everyone together after the Civil War. The bell returned to Philadelphia in 1915 where Americans and people from around the world come together to see this silent reminder of how powerful liberty is. Today, millions of visitors get a glimpse of the Liberty Bell thanks to the National Park Service.
History
The bell now called the Liberty Bell was cast in the Whitechapel Foundry in the East End of London and sent to the building currently known as Independence Hall, then the Pennsylvania State House, in 1753.It was an impressive looking object, 12 feet in circumference around the lip with a 44-pound clapper Holidays in USA. Inscribed at the top was part of a Biblical verse from Leviticus, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.”Unfortunately, the clapper cracked the bell on its first use. A couple of local artisans, John Pass and John Stow, recast the bell twice, once adding more copper to make it less brittle and then adding silver to sweeten its tone. No one was quite satisfied, but it was put in the tower of the State House anyway.
The Bell Today
The Liberty Bell Center was opened in October, 2003. From the southern end, the bell is visible from the street 24 hours a day.On every Fourth of July, at 2pm Eastern time, children who are descendants of Declaration signers symbolically tap the Liberty Bell 13 times while bells across the nation also ring 13 times in honor of the patriots from the original 13 states. More about this ceremony.Each year, the bell is gently tapped in honor of Martin Luther King Day. The ceremony began in 1986 at request of Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King.
The Bell as Icon
The Bell achieved its iconic status when abolitionists adopted the Bell as a symbol for the movement. It was first used in this association as a frontispiece to an 1837 edition of Liberty, published by the New York Anti-Slavery Society.It was, in fact, the abolitionists who gave it the name “Liberty Bell,” in reference to its inscription. It was previously called simply the “State House bell.”In retrospect, it is a remarkably apt metaphor for a country literally cracked and freedom fissured for its black inhabitants. Liberty Bell is a Beautiful Place For Vacations. The line following “proclaim liberty” is, “It shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.” The Abolitionists understood this passage to mean that the Bible demanded all slaves and prisoners be freed every 50 years.William Lloyd Garrison’s anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem about the Bell, entitled, The Liberty Bell, which represents the first documented use of the name, “Liberty Bell.”
The Bell and the Declaration of Independence
In 1847, George Lippard wrote a fictional story for The Saturday Currier which told of an elderly bellman waiting in the State House steeple for the word that Congress had declared Independence. The story continues that privately he began to doubt Congress’s resolve. Suddenly the bellman’s grandson, who was eavesdropping on the doors of Congress, yelled to him, “Ring, Grandfather! Ring!” This story so captured the imagination of people throughout the land that the Liberty Bell was forever associated with the Declaration of Independence.The truth is that the steeple was in bad condition and historians today highly doubt that the Bell actually rang in 1776. However, its association with the Declaration of Independence was fixed in the collective mythology.
Visiting the Liberty Bell
- Located at 6th & Chestnut Streets, across from Independence Hall and the Historic Philadelphia Center, home of the Liberty 360 Show in the PECO Theater
- Open daily, 9am-5pm
- Admission is free, tickets are not required
- Can’t make it in time? Get a hotel room and stay over! Or, you can also see the Liberty Bell from the outside through large glass windows
Visitor Details
The center is open year round, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., with extended hours in the summer.No tickets are required for admission to the Liberty Bell, however, visitors must go through security screening to gain entrance to the center.