Fascinating Facts of Liberty Bell Facts For Kids 2024

The Liberty Bell is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell and is recognized as a symbol of American independence. Earlier, the Bell was hanging on the Pennsylvania State House’s steeple. Now, it is across the street at the Liberty Bell Center. The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly purchased it from the London firm Lester and Pack in 1751.

In October 2003, the Liberty Bell Center was opened. The Bell is always visible from the street when viewed from the southern end. Descendants of Declaration signatories ring the Liberty Bell on the 4th of July at 2 in the afternoon each year. It rings 13 times in remembrance of the founding fathers of the original 13 states.

Some believe the Bell fractured when it was rung after it arrived in Philadelphia. This necessitated two redos by local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names are on the Bell. That could but be either true or false. Bell’s original purpose was to call parliamentarians to legislative sessions. It was also used to inform the public of gatherings and proclamations.

Fun Facts of Liberty Bell

Dimensions, cost, and further information on the Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is 2,080 pounds in weight. About 100 pounds are in the yoke.
The Bell is three feet tall from lip to crown.
The lip’s circumference is 12 feet long, while the crown’s circumference is 6 feet, 11 inches long.
The Liberty Bell’s material breakdown is roughly 71% copper, 25% tin, and traces of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver.
A piece of American elm that is thought to be the Bell’s original yoke is used to suspend it.
The original Bell cost £150, 13 shillings, and 8 pence ($225.50) in 1752, with insurance and shipping, included.
In 1753, the cost of recasting was somewhat higher than £36 ($54).

Interesting Facts For Kids About the Liberty Bell:

The Abolitionist society inspired the name of the Bell.

After America won its independence, everyone forgot the Bell for some time. The abolitionist societies used the Bell as a symbol later in the 1830s and gave it the name “Liberty Bell.” But this was not its original name. The State House Bell was its last name. The name and the words written on the Bell resonated with the anti-slavery movement. It was because it gathered strength in the 19th century.

The Liberty Bell was not well known when it first appeared.

Earlier, the Liberty Bell was known as another bell in a bell tower until the 1830s. The Bell allegedly rang for the first time in 1776 following the independence vote by the Continental Congress. Owned by the city of Philadelphia, it permitted the Bell to be taken for expositions and patriotic events across the nation in 1885. Massive people flocked to it, which led to further fissures. Collectors of trinkets gathered the Bell’s fragments. The city refused to allow any more bell tours in 1915. It was to avoid further harm that could render the Bell unusable.

Also Read: Statue of Liberty Facts

The Bell served as a representation of freedom.

The National Park Service kept the Bell after World War II, but Philadelphia still owned it. During the Cold War, it served as a symbol of freedom. In the 1960s, protests frequently took place near its bell tower. In 1976, it relocated from Independence Hall to a glass pavilion at Independence Mall. Later, in 2003, it was relocated to the Liberty Bell Center. The Bell has appeared on coins and stamps and was often used by businesses.

British officials desired to melt the Bell.

The Liberty Bell was seriously threatened by the British in 1777, who wanted to melt it. They planned to use it again as ammo. The Liberty Bell, when transported by Americans to Zion German Reformed Church, was well guarded. After the British soldiers left a year later, they gave it back.

The Liberty Bell has a text from the Bible.

The Bell is inscribed with a Bible verse from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land Unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The anti-slavery movement utilized those words. The Bell was a symbol of advancing their cause. Instructions to return property and release enslaved people every 50 years were given to Israelites.

It was employed to contact lawmakers.

The Liberty Bell’s original purpose was to call politicians to adjudicative sessions. Additionally, announcements of meetings and public proclamations were made using it. The Liberty Bell rang on July 8, 1776. It was to call Philadelphians to hear Colonel John Nixon read the Declaration of Independence aloud in front of the public for the first time.

It rang again on the following historical events:

When King George III came to power in 1761,
When Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to England to resolve colonial problems, and
When Philadelphians were summoned to consider the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act in 1764 and 1765.

Nobody understands how the Bell sounds.

Believe it or not, no one who heard the bell ring is still alive. As a result, nobody knows what the Bell sounds like. In 1999, graduate students at Pennsylvania State University attempted to duplicate the sound. They developed a digital model. This model determined the precise vibrations the Bell would experience when being struck. The Bell has been knocked lightly even though it hasn’t been rung since 1846. It was used to commemorate D-Day, V-E Day, and V-J Day.

No one is sure how the Bell was cracked.

No one is sure how or when the Bell’s crack first occurred. The crack has continued to be a hotly contested topic among historians. According to some historians, the Bell’s first crack occurred in 1752 when it was put to the test. It was post its arrival from London to Philadelphia. When George Washington‘s birthday was commemorated in 1846, it was the last time the Bell rang.

Isaac Norris, the speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, ordered a bell tower a year earlier. It was melted down and recast after its initial ring, which is when the crack is thought to have first surfaced.

The Liberty Bell Center is where the Bell is located.

The Independence Mall is a brightly lit area where the Liberty Bell is located. It is distinctive in its glass surround and is visible from a distance. Except for Christmas, the Liberty Bell Center is open every day of the year. The Liberty Bell is open to the public for free. Bell draws millions of spectators each year to the Liberty Center.

Want to know some more fun things about the Liberty Bell? We got you!

In 1996, Taco Bell published a full-page advertisement in national newspapers. It joked that it had acquired Liberty Bell as an April 1 joke. National news outlets covered the stunt.
From 1753 until 1976, the Bell resided in Independence Hall. After that, from 1976 to 2003, the Liberty Bell Pavilion, and from 2003 to the present, in the Liberty Bell Center.
You don’t need a ticket to visit the Liberty Bell. It is free and first-come, first-served admission.
The Liberty Bell Center is open 364 days a year, every day but Christmas.
Each year, the Liberty Bell has more than a million tourists.
Visitor records shattered in 1976. It was when 3.2 million people visited the Liberty Bell in its new location for the Bicentennial.
The Bell has not rung since 1846. The last time it did was the celebration of George Washington’s birthday in February 1846. It was the same year that it developed its catastrophic crack.
The Bell visited fairs and expeditions around the nation in the late 1800s. It was to promote national unity in the wake of the Civil War.

The Bell and its Glory Today

Every year now, the bell is subtly tapped to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. Coretta Scott King, the King’s widow, requested the event to start, and so it did in 1986.

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