Liberty Bell
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The bell was not officially known as the "Liberty Bell" until 1837, when it became a symbol of the abolitionist movement. Its cast inscription from Leviticus 25:10 states, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." The Liberty Bell is one of the most familiar symbols of independence and nationhood within the United States, second only to the Statue of Liberty; strangely perhaps, given its widespread use within the country, the Liberty Bell is hardly recognised outside of the US, and far less well known as symbols of America than either the Statue of Liberty or the Stars and Stripes.
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 2080 lb (943 kg), but according to the city of Philadelphia, it currently weighs around 2055 lb (932 kg) as a result of at least 25 lb (11 kg) having been maliciously chiseled off the inside lip. The bell's wooden yoke is of American elm.Casting and early history
It was originally cast in 1752 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, for use in the Pennsylvania State House (now also known as Independence Hall). The bell had been ordered the previous year by the Pennsylvania Assembly, and the inscription from Leviticus was possibly intended to mark the 50th anniversary of William Penn's Charter of Privileges of 1701.The bell cracked in March 1753, the first time it was rung. The bell was recast by John Pass and John Stow of Philadelphia, whose surnames appear inscribed on the bell. When the tone of the recast bell proved unsatisfactory, Pass and Stow recast the bell again, and this third bell was hung in the steeple of the State House in June 1753. The bell was used to summon members of the Assembly to meetings. It remained in the tower through the start of the American Revolutionary War, when the Second Continental Congress used the building for its deliberations in 1775 to 1776.
In October 1777, however, as the Revolutionary War intensified and the British attempted to seize Philadelphia, the bell was moved north, to the Pennsylvania village of Northamptontown (now known as Allentown). There, 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.
The Crack
It is not certain when the second crack appeared (the first after the recastings), but it is undisputed that this flaw grew to its present size on February 22, 1846, when the bell was tolled for several hours in the tower of Independence Hall in honor of George Washington's birthday.19th Century history, repair
The bell was repaired in February 1846 (before the extension of the crack). 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 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.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 and touch it while touring the historic building.
20th and 21st Century
On January 1, 1976, in anticipation of increased visitation during the bicentennial year of American independence, the bell was relocated from Independence Hall to a glass pavilion one block north (at the southwest corner of 5th and Market Streets), but the unadorned pavilion proved unpopular with many.On April 6, 2001, the bell was struck several times with a hammer by Mitchell Guilliatt, a self-described wanderer from Nebraska. According to eyewitness testimony, he hit the bell four times while shouting "God lives!". 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, there was no visible damage to the bell (other than the famous crack).
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 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.
Replicas and references in popular culture
The newest home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, Citizens Bank Park, 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.
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 Philadelphia Phillies player Greg Luzinski.
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 American Revolution, and fits in quite neatly with the revolutionary theme of the area.
A full scale replica with a painted-on crack also hangs in the Rotunda of the Academic Building, at Texas A&M University, It was presented to the school in recognition of the large number of Texas Aggies who fought in World War II
There is also a full scale replica in Buena Park, California, at a 3/4 scale Independence Hall just outside of Knott's Berry Farm.
As part of a government bonds drive held in 1952, 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 itself a replica of Independence Hall.
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.
The only Revere bell outside the United States is located in Singapore. It was commissioned by Paul Revere's daughter Maria Revere Balestier for St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore in 1843. It currently belongs to the Singapore History Museum.
In the How I Met Your Mother episode "Sweet Taste of Liberty," Barney and Ted fly to Philadelphia on a whim in search of a legendary amount of fun, and wind up licking the bell.
See also
- "The Liberty Bell March," composed by John Philip Sousa
- The Mercury spacecraft that astronaut Gus Grissom flew on July 21, 1961, was dubbed Liberty Bell 7.
External links
- [Independence National Historical Park]
- http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/
- [City of Philadelphia website]
- [National Geographic News Article on Liberty Bell]
- [Page of the bell maker, Whitechapel Bell Foundry]
- http://www.libertybellmuseum.com
- http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/36liberty/36facts2.htm
- [Review of Liberty Bell]
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