Liberty Bell

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This article is about the bell. For the march by John Philip Sousa, see Liberty Bell (march).

The Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American bell of great historic significance. The Liberty Bell is perhaps one of the most prominent symbols associated with the American Revolution and the American Revolutionary War. It is one of the most familiar symbols of independence, abolition of slavery, nationhood and freedom within the United States, and has been used as an international icon of liberty.^[1]

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

The Liberty Bell was known as the "Old State House bell" until 1837, when it was adopted by the American Anti-Slavery Society as a symbol of the abolitionist movement.^[2]

1 Casting and early history
2 19th-century history, repair and crack
3 20th and 21st century
4 Description and composition
5 Replicas of the Liberty Bell
6 Sister Bell
7 Forever Stamp
8 See also
9 External links
10 References

[edit] Casting and early history

The bell was ordered in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Assembly for use in the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. It was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London and delivered to Philadelphia in late August/early September 1752 via the ship Hibernia.

In March 1753, the bell was hung from temporary scaffolding in the square outside of the State House. To the dismay of onlookers, the bell cracked the first time it was rung. Isaac Norris, speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, wrote "I had the mortification to hear that it was cracked by a stroke of the clapper without any further violence as it was hung up to try the sound."^[2]

While a replacement from Whitechapel was ordered, the bell was recast by John Pass and John Stow of Philadelphia, whose surnames appear inscribed on the bell. Pass & Stow added copper to the composition of the alloy used to cast the bell, and the tone of the new bell proved unsatisfactory. The two recast the bell yet again, restoring the correct balance of metal, and this third bell was hung in the steeple of the State House in June 1753.^[3]

The bell remained in the tower of the Pennsylvania State House through the start of the American Revolution, when the Second Continental Congress used the building for its deliberations in 1775 to 1776.

In September 1777, as the Revolutionary War intensified and the British attempted to seize Philadelphia, the bell was moved north, to the Pennsylvania village of Northamptontown (present-day 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 returned to Philadelphia. Today, in the basement of this center-city Allentown church, is the Liberty Bell Museum, which houses the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's official replica of the Liberty Bell.

Close-up of the Liberty Bell. Inscribed are the names of John Pass and John Stow, together with city and date, along the inscription "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 Philad." (The spelling "Pensylvania" was an accepted variant at the time.)

[edit] 19th-century history, repair and crack

During the 19th century, the bell tolled at the death of Alexander Hamilton (1804), Lafayette's return to Philadelphia (1824), the deaths of Adams and Jefferson (1826), Washington's 100th birthday celebration (1832) and the deaths of Lafayette (1834), John Marshall (1835) and William Henry Harrison (1841).^[4]

In 1839, 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 known usage (in print) of the name, "Liberty Bell".^[4]

It is not certain when the second crack appeared (the first after the recastings), but 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.

On February 22, 1846, the bell was tolled for several hours in the tower of Independence Hall in honor of George Washington's birthday.^[5] When the bell was rung, the crack grew from the top of the repaired crack to the crown of the bell, rendering the bell unusable. The large crevice that currently exists in the Liberty Bell is (contrary to popular belief) a repair from the expansions, and not the crack itself.

In 1852, the bell was removed from its steeple, and put on display in the "Declaration Chamber" of Independence Hall. In the meantime, a "Centennial Bell" replica was given as a gift to Philadelphia in 1876 and this newer bell was placed in the steeple of Independence Hall.

From the 1885-1915, the Liberty Bell traveled to numerous cities and was displayed at expositions and world's fairs.

[edit] 20th and 21st century

In 1902, the Liberty Bell was involved in a train accident when the locomotive transporting the bell to an exposition in South Carolina derailed after a collision with another train. In the 1930s, it was determined that moving the bell from location to location was too risky, and the practice was ended.^[6]

On January 1, 1976, in anticipation of increased visitation during the bicentennial year of American independence, the Liberty Bell was relocated from Independence Hall to a glass pavilion one block north (at the southwest corner of 5th and Market Streets). This small, unadorned pavilion proved somewhat unpopular with many visitors and this led to the idea of having a larger pavilion created, which finally opened in 2003. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited Philadelphia in 1976 and presented a gift to the American people of a replica "Bicentennial Bell", cast in the same British foundry as the original. This 1976 bell now hangs in the modern bell tower near Independence Hall.

That same year, a group of 30 demonstrators from the Procrastinator's Society of America turned out before the Whitechapel Foundry in London where they "...mounted a mock protest over the bell's defects and ... marched up and down ... with placards proclaiming WE GOT A LEMON and WHAT ABOUT THE WARRANTY?." The Whitechapel Foundry told the protesters that they "...would be happy to replace the bell - as long as it was returned to us in its original packaging."^[7]

On April 1, 1996, the fast food restaurant chain Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer 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.^[8]

On April 6, 2001, the Liberty Bell was struck several times with a hammer by Mitchell Guilliatt, a self-described wanderer from Nebraska. He hit the bell four times while shouting "God lives!"^[9] The reason he gave was to declare his independence from the United States of America and not to attempt to deface or destroy the bell. After repairs, the damage caused by his striking of the bell was no longer visible. Gulliatt was sentenced to nine months jail time plus five years probation. He was also ordered to pay $7,093 to cover the cost of repairing the damage he made.^[10]

In October 2003, the bell was moved a short distance 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.

As of 2006, the bell remains in this location at the northeast corner of 6th and Chestnut Streets. The new National Constitution Center is located two blocks to the north, and Independence Hall is located directly across the street, on the south side of Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. The Bell's former pavilion at the southwest corner of 5th and Market Streets was up for purchase after the move in an effort to reduce demolition costs, but after the auction drew little response, it was converted into a security station that screens tourists traveling in and around Independence Mall. The pavilion was removed from the site in March 2006.

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.

[edit] Description and composition

The bell is 70% copper, 25% tin, and traces of other metals. It is 12 feet (3.7 m) in circumference. It originally weighed 2,080 pounds (943 kg), but according to the city of Philadelphia, it currently weighs around 2,055 pounds (932 kg), as a result of at least 25 pounds (11 kg) having been maliciously chiseled off the inside lip. The bell's wooden yoke is of American elm.

[edit] Replicas of the Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell depicted on the Franklin half dollar.

Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, features a large neon version of the bell that is illuminated and swung back and forth each time a member of the team hits a home run or the team wins a game. Veterans Stadium, former home of the Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles, was capped with an iron replica of the bell. An earlier image of the bell, located at the top of the stadium's scoreboard (predating the one near the stadium's top) was once hit by a home run in 1972 by Phillies player Greg "The Bull" Luzinski. There is also a full scale replica of the bell in the Liberty Square area of the Magic Kingdom park in the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The bell is rung on real-life American holidays of particular significance to the American Revolution. A full scale replica with a painted-on crack hangs in the Rotunda of the Academic Building at Texas A&M University. It was presented to the school in recognition of the numerous Texas Aggies who fought in World War II. There is a full scale replica in Buena Park, California, and a 3/4 scale Independence Hall just outside of Knott's Berry Farm.

As part of a government bonds drive held in 1950, the 200th anniversary of the bell, replicas were made in France and given to each state. The New York bell hangs in the lobby of the Kew Gardens Hills branch of the Queens County Savings Bank in New York City, a building that is a replica of Independence Hall.

Outside of the United States, replicas of the Liberty Bell can be found in Belgium, Germany, Israel, and Japan.^[11]

[edit] Sister Bell

The replacement bell ordered from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1753 became known as the "Sister Bell". It was installed at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), and attached to the State House clock. The Sister Bell rang the hours until the late 1820s, when the bell was removed during a renovation and loaned to the Olde St. Augustine Church in Philadelphia. In 1829, the bell was hung in a new cupola and tower designed by architect William Strickland. There it remained until May 8, 1844, when it was destroyed, along with the Olde St. Augustine Church, during the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. The friars of St. Augustine had the "Sister Bell" recast and transferred to Villanova University, which had been established in 1842. It is currently enshrined in the Falvey Memorial Library on Villanova's campus.^[12]

[edit] Forever Stamp

On April 12, 2007, the United States Postal Service commenced pre-sale of its first Forever Stamp, featuring the Liberty Bell. The Bell was chosen due to its prominence and recognition as a symbol of American independence and as an international icon of freedom. This stamp will serve as valid first class postage on standard envelopes (1 ounce or less) in perpetuity, regardless of rate increases. ^[13]