Who built the Liberty Bell and what does it mean to the United States?

The Liberty Bell is one of the most cherished symbols of the founding of this country and was rung, along with other bells, on July 8, 1776 in honor of the Declaration of Independence.

The citizens of Philadelphia gathered around Independence Hall to hear the Declaration of Independence read for the first time by Colonel John Nixon.

The bell was ordered in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvania's original Constitution, the Charter of Privileges.

It was William Penn who wrote the Charter of Privileges and in commemoration of his accomplishments it was decided a quotation from the Bible, Leviticus 25:10, would be inscribed on the bell.

Who built the Liberty Bell were the people of the Philadelphia Assembly, and it soon became a symbol of freedom for the abolitionists when they worked so hard to end slavery in America.

Slavery is once again a plague on America, though no longer put in shackles, people are no chained to a life of drudgery, with a great portion of their earnings dedicated, without their consent of knowledge, to the global elite who hold the country hostage to debt through their privately held Federal Reserve Bank (Fed), which orders the printing of money for pennies then charges the U.S. face value, plus interest.

It was actually the abolitionists who named the bell Liberty Bell as before that it had simply been known as the State House Bell.

Today, that bell may be used as a symbol for the need to once against unchain mankind taken against his will and placed in a life doomed to be spent filling some else's pockets, as a global system of oppression is set up to effectively break the spirit of humanity.

THOSE WHO BUILT THE LIBERTY BELL

It was Isaac Norris, the Pennsylvania Assembly Speaker and the Chairman of the State House Superintendents, who sent a letter to an agent, Robert Charles, in London requesting the purchase of the bell. Norris asked that the bell be crafted by the best workers with an inscription engraved around the bottom:

'Let the Bell be cast by the best Workmen and examined carefully before it is shipped with the following words well shaped in large letters round the vizt, 'By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania for the State House in the city of Philadelphia. 1752' - and underneath - 'Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the inhabitants thereof, Levit. XXV/10.''
- Issac Norris, 1752

Robert Charles ordered that the Whitechapel Foundry in London build the bell. The final cost, including shipping and insurance, was 150 pounds 13 shillings 8 pence. The Liberty Bell arrived in Philadelphia some time during the month of Sepember 1752.

Although it wasn't Norris who built the Liberty Bell, he took his duty very seriously, even writing Robert Charles to let him know the bell had suffered a mishap and that the bell had to be recast.

RECASTING OF THE LIBERTY BELL

In March of 1753, after the bell had been hung and rung for the first time, a crack appeared. At first they attempted to send the bell back to England on the same ship on which it had arrived but there was no room on board.

It was then decided that Pass and Stow, two Philadelphia workmen, would try to recast the bell. They broke up the bell but found it was much too brittle so they changed the alloy by adding copper to the mixture, not knowing that the metal was supposed to be brittle to be able to produce a clear tone. The first cast of the bell was unsuccessful.

Not to be deterred, Pass and Stow changed the balance of the alloy and recast the bell again, making sure to include the inscription as dictated by Norris for the very first bell. It is this bell that hangs in the Liberty Bell Center.

The Liberty Bell hung in the State House until 1777 when it was removed, along with other bells in the city, to ensure that it didn't fall into the hands of the British. The bell was hidden in the Zion Reform Church in Allentown until the summer of 1778 when the British were defeated and left Philadelphia.

CRACKING OF THE LIBERTY BELL

There are several stories about how the bell got its cracked. Perhaps the most truthful is that it happened in 1835 while it was tolling for the death of Chief Justice John Marshall. In 1846 they tried to restore the tone of the bell but were unsuccessful. In this story it is said that the Liberty Bell rang for the last time on George Washington's birthday and was then retired as the cracks had spread too far to make it usable again.

The men who built the Liberty Bell stand today as a symbol of freedom for the United States. Every year on the 4th of July, children of the descendants of the Declaration of Independence signers, tap the bell thirteen times to honor the thirteen original colonies of America.

Today, more than anytime in history, men are being called to make a stand for liberty. The call is made quietly, you have to listen closely to hear it, but it is there and will remain until you answer. The freedom that you fight for is your own.