THE LIBERTY BELL

I first heard of The Liberty Bell when I saw the 2004 film, National Treasure, top-billed by Nicolas Cage.   It is an interesting movie and I loved it that I even bought a DVD of it.  The chance of seeing or visiting in person the historic icons and places featured in that film never occurred to me then, but guess what, I actually got to see and visit a lot of them recently including The Liberty Bell :)

I did a little research in the Internet about this iconic bell and here are some of the facts I learned:

In 1752, Isaac Norris, Assembly Speaker and the Chairman of the State House Superintendents asked the Assembly's agent in London, Robert Charles, to buy a bell.  Agent Robert Charles ordered a bell from London's Whitechapel Foundry.  The bell was sent from England on the ship Hibernia, captained by William Child.  The bell cracked the first time it was rung.  Two ingenious workmen named Pass and Stow had been hired to recast the bell.  Their names are today inscribed on the bell.  The bell weighed 2080 pounds when it was cast.  The strike note of the bell is E-flat.

Throughout the period from 1790 to 1800, when Philadelphia was the nation's capital, uses of the bell included calling the state legislature into session, summoning voters to hand in their ballots at the State House window, and tolling to commemorate Washington's birthday and celebrate the Fourth of July.

The bell achieved its iconic status when abolitionists adopted the bell as a symbol for the movement.  It was first used in this association as a decorative illustration to an 1837 edition of Liberty, published by the New York Anti-Slavery Society.  It was, in fact, the abolitionists who gave it the name "Liberty Bell," in reference to its inscription.  It was previously called simply the "State House bell."

Click on the picture to enlarge and see the inscription on the bell which states:

"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof Lev. XXV X

By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in Philad^a.

Pass and Stow
Philad^a
MDCCLIII"

I hope you learned something from this post.  I got the above trivia from Liberty Bell.  Feel free to click the link for more interesting US history facts.   However, if you want to read about the places I've been to and more travel stories, please click here:  TUESDAY TRAVEL

See you around :)

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