On July 8, 17776, a pealing bell in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House announced the first public reading of the declaration of Independence. Today, that iron bell is known as the Liberty Bell, and it is a treasured symbol of the nation’s devotion to freedom. The Liberty Bell was made in England and shipped to Philadelphia in 1752. Inscribed on the bell were these words: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” But the first time the bell was tested, it cracked. It was recast and then hung in the State House, which was renamed Independence Hall after the Declaration of Independence was signed there. During the Revolution, the bell was hidden under the floor of a church in Allentown, Pennsylvania to keep it safe. After the war, it was rehung in Independence Hall and rung on important occasisions.
In 1835 while toiling for the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall, the bell cracked a second time. It was repaired once more, but in 1846, it cracked again as it rang in honor of George Washington’s birthday. This time the bell could not be repaired.
Today the Liberty Bell is enshrined in a special pavilion in Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, just across from its original home.
The liberty bell weighs more than 2,080 pounds and has a circumference of 12 feet at its widest point. It is about three feet high.
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The ringing of the Pennsylvania Statehouse Bell on July 8, 1776. The belief, by the authorities, is that the tower was in a severe state of disrepair and the ringing would have collapsed the tower.
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