The Liberty Bell
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The
Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania |
The Bell was ordered by the Pennsylvania Assembly to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the 1701 Charter of Privileges by William Penn. On September 1, 1752, the bell arrived in Philadelphia, but was not hung until March 10, 1753. Isaac Norris wrote, "I had the mortification to hear that it was cracked by a stroke of the clapper without any other violence as it was hung up to try the sound." The cause of the break is said to have happened because of it being too brittle and flaws in its casting. John Pass and John Stow were two Philadelphia foundry workers, who were given the cracked bell to be melted down and recast. In order for the bell to be less brittle, they added an ounce and a half of copper to a pound of the old bell.
On March 29, 1753, the bell was raised and many people were dissatisfied because of its coloring. Once again, Pass and Stow tried to re-do the bell. This time, they broke up the bell and recast it. When it was finished it weighed 2,080 pounds.
A chime that changed the world occurred on July 8, 1776, when the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of Independence Hall to let the people know the Declaration of Independence was being read for the first time. The Bell was rung by Colonel John Nixon.
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The
Liberty Bell in 1776 |
The Liberty Bell was to be rung to alert the people for special announcements and events and to bring the Philadelphia Assembly together. Then it was tolled when Benjamin Franklin went to England to address colonial grievances, and it was also tolled to call together the people to Philadelphia to talk about the Sugar Act and Stamp Act. It continued to toll until October 1777, when the British occupied Philadelphia. Then all the bells, including the Liberty Bell, were taken from the city.
Also written on the Bell is, "By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania for the State House in Philada." Note that the misspelling of "Pennsylvania" was not noticed at the time. The choice of the quotation was made by Quaker Isaac Norris, Speaker of the Assembly.
Many people disagree on how the bell was cracked, but it is agreed that the last expansion of the crack was on Washington's birthday in 1846. The Bell resides in Philadelphia and is featured in The Liberty Bell Pavillion. The Liberty Bell is no longer able to ring because of the crack.
The information on this page was taken from, http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell, http://www.uaoc.org/fourth/libertybell.html. The pictures on this page were taken from,www.ndt-ed.org/.../ NDT-%20Liberty%20Bell,