Sometimes , stories about American cultural history are n’t always what they ’re cracked up to be . Throughout its foresightful life , the Liberty Bell has served as an example of just how faint our collective memories can be — starting with the bell ’s famous wisecrack . Historians care to fight about it , but in unforesightful , no one knowsprecisely when or why the Alexander Graham Bell was damaged . And it was n’t even call off the Liberty Bell until long after it was hung .
When the bell was first introduced in 1751 , it was called the State House Bell , and was create for the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia . The Liberty Bell nickname came much later , around 1839 , whenabolitionistsleveraged the bell as a symbol in their conflict against thrall . Throughout American history , the chime has been used in the service of many different causes . But initially , it was just … a bell .
The Bell Is Cast
The bell was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly , and it arrived in Philadelphia in September 1752 after being cast by Lester and Pack ( later renamed Whitechapel Foundry ) in London . It was inscribed with the words , " Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof , " a biblical extension from Leviticus 25:10 .
It ’s an tremendous gong , measuring 3 foot ( 1 meter ) high with a circumference of 12 feet ( 3.6 meters ) at the bottom rim . Made of about 70 percent fuzz and 25 percentage tin , it tips the scales atnearly 2,100 pounds(943 kilogram ) . Once install , the bell was used to alert citizens to urgent news , to summon lawgiver to the State House for authoritative line and as part of funeral ceremonies .
Although historiographer disagree on when the bell cracked , most conceive that the crack take place almost forthwith after the bell ’s initial use in 1752 . Local official jumped into action .
" A replacement chime was ordered straight off from England , but in the lag local founders John Pass and John Stow melted down the tear original , tot some metal of their own , and made a transcript , " emails Stephen Fried , a journalist , historian and bestselling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania . Hewrote extensively about the Liberty Bellfor Smithsonian Magazine .
" That copy is what we have sex as the Liberty Bell , but the foundry in England also sent a replacement , and both hang in the new State House towboat . "
At the State House , the bell was a witness to some of America ’s most powerful history . It see assembly of the Second Continental Congress , as well as countless get together that sparked theRevolutionary War .
In 1777 , as the British army threatened the city , locals removed the bell for fear of it being captivate and melted for munition . It was hidden under the floorboards of a church in Allentown , Pennsylvania . subsequently , in 1785 , it was nurture again .
The bell really held no real grandness until 1824 , when Marquis de Lafayette , the last surviving general of the Revolution , croak on a symbolic tour of the U.S. With that sojourn , America saw a revitalization in its internal pridefulness .
" The nation first set about taking its chronicle severely , and during his tour they depart calling the building ' Independence Hall ' and realise its grandness , along with the grandness of the bell , " says Fried .
The Naming of the Liberty Bell
It was n’t until a decennary afterwards that the chime ’s famous nickname took hold . " [ It ] began being call ' Liberty Bell ' in 1835 , when the idiomatic expression first seem in a folder bring out by the New York Anti - Slavery Society — as the title of a claptrap about it [ the bell ] never pealing for African Americans , " say Fried .
Some historian conceive that the new toll was damaged in 1835 , when it was rung to mark the last of the Chief Justice of the United States , John Marshall . Others think the damage occurredin the early 1840s , either during the Fourth of July or during the festivity of George Washington ’s birthday ( Feb. 23 ) . The pass might have come about from 90 eld of heavy usance , as the National Park Service ( NPS ) says , or it might be due to the metal composition of the doorbell ( see sidebar ) . Or both .
In 1846 , local anaesthetic were again determined to ring the toll for Washington ’s Birthday . So , they set about make repairs . Using a method acting call occlusive drilling , they actually widened the crack , which is now 21 inch ( 0.5 beat ) long and closely an inch ( 2 centimetre ) astray , so that when it was rung , the sides of the crack would n’t touch – otherwise , they ’d vibrate against each other and render a terrible buzzing sound . But the repair was n’t successful . Another fling developedand the bell sounded no more .
But that did n’t mean it vanish quietly . In the former 1800s and other 1900s , the bell run on occasional interior tours . In 1915 , politician decided to hold a ceremonialringing of the broken bellin hope of drumming up sustenance forWorld War I. ( The bell was actuallytapped with a mallet . ) That led to the bell becoming the symbolisation of the immense fundraising effort for the war in the form of buy Liberty Bonds in 1917 and 1918 .
They also station it on a internal railway system tour , with a new lighting system that kept it illuminated each Nox on its journeying aboard the Liberty Bell Special . Citizens flock to see it . By some estimates , nearly aquarter of the entire countrymanaged to fix middle on the symbolisation of freedom . And these Liberty Bond ride were a peachy success , raise billions of dollar bill in war bonds to help the Allied Powers win the warfare .
In 2003 , the Liberty Bell Center at Independence Hall in Philadelphia was opened , which is where the bell now resides . Over the decades , there have been legion call to repair it and make it whole . A scientist at brand giant ArcelorMittal claimed it would be rather simple to execute the bell , equilibrate the various alloy in it , and then recast it to make it usable , report the Philadelphia Inquirerin 2019 . But a illustration for the NPS , which runs the center , said fixing the bell might be illegal and would serve no purpose . " The Liberty Bell ’s crack is its most recognisable feature , " the interpreter told the Inquirer .
What does Stephen Fried think of these never - attempted repair plans ?
" All of them have been laughable — because the bell is a more perfect symbol of our desire for a ' more perfect union ' than it would ever have been kept , " he says . " The bell is the most enduring , powerful , yet reachable symbol of our country . Even its sally is part of our patriotic metaphorical landscape painting . "
Then Fried recall lyrics from " Anthem , " a song by the tardy Leonard Cohen :
Correction : The sentence on the character of the bell in World War I has been corrected to note that the bell was not place on tour to drum up accompaniment for warfare bonds . Rather , it sent on tour of duty to cram up support for the war effort . Later , it became a symbol for the drive to raise investment firm for the war via the merchandising of bonds .
