Liberty Bell Offers Lesson in History

CBN.com Historians believe that the Liberty Bell was ordered in 1751 to commemorate William Penn’s “Charter of Privileges”, which granted religious freedom to the colony of Pennsylvania.

The bell arrived from Whitechapel Foundry in England and was placed in the belfry of what is now Independence Hall.

Soon after it arrived, it was discovered that the bell had been damaged, possibly in transit.

Two Philadelphia foundry workers, John Pass and John Stow, offered to fix the bell. They were given the bell to be recast. But people didn’t like the way the repaired bell sounded, so Pass and Stow recast it again.

Jim Wiley is a ranger with the National Park Service, and he knows about the bell’s part in our nation’s history.

“It was rung for many occasions and for many purposes,” says Jim. “It was rung as a church bell for a time, for some of the churches that didn’t have bells; as a fire bell; a school bell for the University of Pennsylvania. About the only thing it was never used for was a clock bell.”

The bell also rang to celebrate important political events. Most people believe the bell tolled when the Declaration of Independence was signed, however.…

“As far as we can tell, that never happened, because it was still a secret that the Declaration of Independence had been approved," Jim explains. "It was rung, we know, on July 8th, to commemorate the first reading of the Declaration of Independence.”

Jim also explained the bell’s most famous flaw…

“The crack, which most people think is the fatal crack, is actually a repair. Some time after 1817, a crack appeared in the bell. Most people didn’t notice the change in tone. In 1846, they discovered the crack and used a hand drill to widen it; that takes away a buzzing sound. On February 23rd, 1846, for the commemoration of Washington’s birthday, the bell rang about three hours, and the final crack appeared. It starts at the top of the old crack and goes all the way around the bell to the very top.”

As for the bell’s inscription….

“The inscription comes from Leviticus 25:10, ‘Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.’ It was put there, we believe, because the next part [of the verse] talks about the 50th year and the freeing of the slaves," Jim says.

Colonists used the verse to celebrate their newfound religious liberty. But ironically, many of them still owned slaves. In fact, the site where the bell now rests was once home to two presidents and several enslaved Africans.

The time would come for change and complete freedom for all people. When it did, the bell was a key part of that change.

“In 1834, an abolitionist group came from Boston, traveled to the top of the tower in Independence Hall, saw the bell, and saw the inscription on it. A poem was written called ‘The Philadelphia Liberty Bell.’ After that, the name of the bell began to became the 'Liberty Bell'.”

Ring it, till the slave be free,
Wherever chained, wherever chained;
Till Universal Liberty
For aye be gained.

Ring it, till the bonds of sect
Be torn away, be torn away;
Till every man, as God's elect,
Kneel down to pray.

The Liberty Bell’s legacy as a symbol of freedom for all people has continued in movements for equality. It was used to support the cause of women during the suffrage movement. Dr. Martin Luther King visited the bell during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In 1993, Nelson Mandela visited the bell and accepted the Liberty medal for his efforts toward ending apartheid.

“Back in the early '90s if you went to South Africa, during the last of the apartheid, you would have seen pictures of the bell in some of the township homes, saying that they wanted their freedom. It’s probably the most common symbol for freedom anywhere in the world.”

The Liberty Bell has not tolled since 1846, but the its message of liberty and freedom for all people still rings true today.