4th July Independence Day: The Story of Liberty Bell

Today, the Liberty Bell that hangs at the Liberty Bell Center on Market Street in Philadelphia will be symbolically tapped as per the tradition on every Independence Day.

Here are some key facts about the original bell which is known for its crack since the beginning:

--The first and important fact is the Liberty Bell did not ring on July 4, 1776, for the Declaration of Independence. Instead it was rung on July 8, 1776. The reason is there was no public declaration of the event, so no bells -- Liberty or otherwise — were ever rung.
When the Declaration was read in public on July 8th, bells were rung, but it is not clear if the Liberty Bell was one of them, as the bell tower of the State House was in terrible condition and may have prevented the bell from being rung.

-- The bell was originally cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London on the orders of the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges.

-- It cost £100 and weighed 2,080 lbs, measuring 12 feet in the lip circumference and three feet in height.

-- The bell actualy cracked when it arrived in Philadelphia and had to be recast using the metal from the old bell by John Pass and John Stowe, whose names appear on the bell, along with the city, date and an inscription.

-- The Bell, known as Independence Bell, got its iconic status as Liberty Bell in 1837 when abolitionists adopted the bell as a symbol for their movement.

-- It was rung on every Independence Day and on every state occasion until 1846, when a thin crack began to affect its sound. A slot was carved along the length of the crack and restored to its original sound in February 1846.

-- In 1852, the bell was shifted to the Declaration Chamber in Independence Hall. A replica, cast by Meneely & Kimberly in New York, was gifted to Philadephia in June 1876.

-- Another replica hangs in the town that was cast at the same British foundry as the original, and gifted to the United States by British Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Philiadephia in 1976.

-- Over a period, the bell has become the symbol of American values and a replica for liberty and equality and human rights not only in the U.S. but around the entire world. Its replicas can be found in Belgium, Israel and Japan.

-- Over two million tourists visit the bell every year and gaze at it to redeem the spirit of freedom.