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The Liberty Bell
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Kendyl Curry
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/2015

Kendyl Curry
April 16, 2015
HIS 315
Dr. Elgersman Lee

Kendyl Curry
April 16, 2015
HIS 315
Dr. Elgersman Lee
Throughout its history, the Liberty Bell represented freedom and equality for all. In 1751
the State House bell was ordered by the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly Isaac Norris, for
the fifty-year anniversary of William Penns 1701 Charter of Privileges. 1 This bell was a symbol
of freedom and rights valued by the people. It was ordered from Whitechapel Foundry in
London. In 1752 natives of Pennsylvania paid an estimated amount of three hundred dollars for
the Liberty Bell to be made.2 The bell is made of seventy percent copper, twenty-five percent tin,
and little bits of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver. On September 1, 1752, the bell arrived in
Philadelphia; but was not hung up until March 1753. There is an inscription on the bell that says

Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof Leviticus 25:10. The
inscription was a reference to Jubilee which were the instructions to the Israelites to return
property and free slaves every 50 years.
The bell was rung in Philadelphia from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, to
summon citizens to attend the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The
Declaration of Independence was a document announcing that the thirteen American colonies,
who were at war with Great Britain, were now independent sovereign states and no longer apart
of the British Empire3. The bell was also rung during the outbreak of the American Revolution in
April of 1775, announcing the battles of Lexington and Concord.4 In the fall of 1777 the bell as
removed from Philadelphia and hidden in Allentown, for the fear that when the British attacked

Kendyl Curry
April 16, 2015
HIS 315
Dr. Elgersman Lee
they would take the bell, melt it and use it to make cannons. The bell remained there until there
until it was returned back to Philadelphia on June 27, 1778.
The bell was rung to assemble people together for special announcements and events.
The bell cracked at the first ringing. From the period of 1790 to 1800 the bell was used to call
the state legislature into session, and summoning voters to hand in their ballots at the State
House. According to Eric Foner the bell did not achieve the status as a symbol of freedom until
abolitionist adopted it as a symbol of freedom and gave it its name, as part of their effort to
identify their principles with of their founders.5 This was all during the time abolitionist tried to
put an end to slavery. The bell was used as the front piece for their movement.

During the Cold War, the Liberty Bell was sought out be a popular site for protest in the
1960s. The government used the image of the Liberty Bell to show Americas dedication to
freedom.
Not all were too fond of the bell, some of the citizens complained that the frequent and
loud sounds of the bell could be fatal to the sick. Some signed a petition and sent it to the
Assembly in 1772, but the Assembly didnt proceed with action.

Kendyl Curry
April 16, 2015
HIS 315
Dr. Elgersman Lee
The Liberty Bell, is now currently housed in the Liberty Bell Center on Chestnut Street in
Pennsylvania, which is directly across the street from it original housing area in the 1750s, the
Independence Hall. In recent years events like 9/11 had a major impact on the Liberty Bell
Center. After the attack Chestnut Street was unavailable to the people and vehicles for two years.
It took the protest of business leader, in order for the street to be open access to the public again
although the bell isnt being rung6. There is a tradition that on every Fourth of July the
descendants of the framers tap the bell thirteen time for the thirteen original colonies. It also
tapped on Martin Luther King Day whom which is another activist for freedom.
The Liberty Bell served many purposes. Back then something like the bell was
something very useful to the people of Pennsylvania. It is more than just a historic site it is a
symbol of our freedom for the people of Pennsylvania, to be able to be notified by the ring of
bell.

Kendyl Curry
April 16, 2015
HIS 315
Dr. Elgersman Lee
References
1. Wolf, Edwin. "The 1706 Charter of the City of Philadelphia." Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society 96, no. 4, 388-405. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3143796.

2. "Liberty Bell." Ushistory.org. Accessed March 3, 2015.

http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/.
3. "The Declaration of Independence, 1776 - 17761783 - Milestones - Office of the
Historian." The Declaration of Independence, 1776 - 17761783 - Milestones - Office of
the Historian. Accessed April 14, 2015.
4. "The Liberty Bell Rings." History.com. Accessed April 15, 2015.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-liberty-bell-rings.
5. Foner, Eric. "The Boundaries of Freedom in the Young Republic." In The Story of
American Freedom, 89. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.

6. The Public Historian 33, no. 1 (2011): 105-07. Accessed February 1, 2015.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2011.33.1.105 .