The Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell travelled around the country in the late 1800s helping to heal a divided country and remind Americans of when they used to fight and work together for independence.
It was cast in London for the Pennsylvania State House and cracked soon after it arrived. Local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow cast a new bell in 1753, using metal from the English bell. The bell has cracked twice since then and no one knows why it cracked either time. The last time was in 1846 for George Washington’s birthday and hasn’t been used since.
The bell is made of 70% copper, 25% tin and small amounts of other elements. It also weighs 2080 pounds and is about 3 feet in length. The federal government gave every state and its territories a replica of the Liberty Bell in the 1950s as part of a national U.S. Savings Bond campaign. The Bell has been moved from Independence Hall (the Pennsylvania State House) in 1976 to the Liberty Bell Pavilion from 1976 to 2003 and the new Liberty Bell Center beginning on October 9, 2003.
Check out these sites for more information on the making of the Liberty Bell and the moving of it.
September 18, 2009 at 11:12 am |
[...] Hall was also the home of the Liberty Bell for over 200 [...]