It was in Independence Hall, then called the Pennsylvania State House, that the Liberty Bell rang out the news that the Declaration of Independence had been adopted. That was on July 8, 1776. Before that, for more than twenty years - since 1753 - the bell had been calling lawmakers to the Assembly and signaling the opening of a court. At last, in 1776, the bell was doing what it seems to have been made for - telling the people that they were free. Around the upper part of the bell are these words from the Bible: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
For one year during the War for Independence, the bell was hidden under a church floor because it was feared that the British would capture it and melt it down to make cannons. After the bell was returned to it's tower in Independence Hall, it was rung every Fourth of July until 1853, when it cracked while tolling during the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshell. |
