Who cracked the Liberty Bell?
The American Revolution brought a new dawn for the nation, bringing Great Britain’s reign to an end and one broken bell remains a symbol of democracy to this very day
Democracy in America is less than 300 years old, and it was a rough road to reach. After the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the country took steady steps towards its current political structure.
When the famous document was read for the first time, a bell was rung in celebration. Hanging in the new State House in Philadelphia, it was first brought to America in 1751 but cracked during tests due to the metal being too brittle. However, a final design was completed and welcomed by the people of Philadelphia.
The year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, British forces invaded Philadelphia. The bell was hidden in a church for the duration of the occupation and it was only years later, around the 1830s, that it started to be known as the ‘Liberty Bell’ and became seen as a symbol of the fight against British rule.
The bell overlooked America as it made the slow and steady steps toward becoming an independent nation. In the 19th century, the bell would get its infamous crack- but how it happened and who is responsible is surrounded by mystery.
There are various rumours and theories as to how and when the bell got cracked. One is that it got cracked as early as 1824, during a visit from the revolutionary war hero Marquis de Lafayette. Another is that it cracked as it rang out to warn of a fire around a year later.
A more popular rumour is that it cracked as it rang out on the day of the funeral for Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. Despite the popularity of this theory, newspaper reports of the day don’t mention anything of the sort.
What can be confirmed is that it was cracked by 1846. City records document that the mayor of Philadelphia requested the bell ring on George Washington’s birthday. A crack was found beforehand and although repairs were made, once it started to ring it was cracked again and taken out of commission. This is the last time it rang out, some might say it was a fitting final day to do so.
Just before this day, during the 1830s, the bell was adopted by abolitionists aiming to end the slave trade in America. It is said that the cracked bell was a metaphor for a cracked society that placed the lives of white people above non-whites, and in many ways this was true.
According to US History.org, William Lloyd Garrison’s anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem about the Bell, entitled, The Liberty Bell, which represents the first documented use of the name, “Liberty Bell.”
The bell was taken into storage and in 1976 moved to a pavilion near the town’s Independence Hall. it wasn’t until the turn of the century, in 2003, that the famous old bell was displayed for the world to see. Millions come to see the bell
Philadelphia is a city steeped in history, and the bell is an important symbol. The history of this bell and the impact it had and continues to have on America makes it one of the most interesting artifacts of a country which is very often hard to understand.
