Editing Liberty Bell (section)

==History==
===Founding (1751–1753)===
[[Philadelphia]]'s city bell was used to alert the public to proclamations or civic danger since the city's 1682 founding. The original bell hung from a tree behind the Pennsylvania State House, now known as [[Independence Hall]], was brought to the city by its founder, [[William Penn]]. In 1751, with a [[bell tower]] being built in the Pennsylvania State House, civic authorities sought a bell of better quality that could be heard at a greater distance in the rapidly expanding city.<ref>Nash, pp. 1–2</ref> [[Isaac Norris (statesman)|Isaac Norris]], speaker of the [[Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly]], gave orders to the colony's [[London]] agent, Robert Charles, to obtain a "good Bell of about two thousands pound weight".<ref name="oneclick" />

{{Blockquote|We hope and rely on thy care and assistance in this affair and that thou wilt procure and forward it by the first good opp<sup>o</sup> as our workmen inform us it will be much less trouble to hang the Bell before their Scaffolds are struck from the Building where we intend to place it which will not be done 'till the end of next Summer or beginning of the Fall. Let the bell be cast by the best workmen & examined carefully before it is Shipped with the following words well shaped around it.

By Order of the Assembly of the {{not a typo|Povince}} {{sic}} of {{not a typo|Pensylvania}} {{sic}} for the State house in the City of Philada 1752

and Underneath

Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.-Levit. XXV. 10.<ref name="oneclick">Paige, pp. 2–3</ref>}}The reference to [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] in Norris's directive reflects the contemporaneous practice of assigning unique qualities to bells that reflected their particular composition and casting.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dupré|first=Judith|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70046094|title=Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory|date=2007|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4000-6582-0|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=15|oclc=70046094|access-date=September 27, 2021|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019222852/https://www.worldcat.org/title/monuments-americas-history-in-art-and-memory/oclc/70046094|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Inscription====
The inscription on the bell reads:
<blockquote style="text-align center; font-size: 100%; font-variant: small-caps;"><poem>Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof Lev. XXV. v X.
By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in Philad<sup>A</sup>
Pass and Stow
Philad<sup>a</sup>
MDCCLIII</poem></blockquote>
At the time, "Pensylvania" was an accepted alternative spelling for [[Pennsylvania]]. In 1787, the spelling was used by [[Alexander Hamilton]], a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] and the first [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury Secretary]], on the signature page of the [[Constitution of the United States]].<ref name="script">Paige, p. 9</ref>

Robert Charles ordered the bell from Thomas Lester of the London bell founding firm of Lester and Pack, later known as the [[Whitechapel Bell Foundry]],<ref>The Franklin Institute, p. 19</ref> for [[Pound sterling|£]]150 13[[Shilling (British coin)|s]] 8[[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|d]],<ref>One hundred fifty pounds, thirteen shillings and eightpence.</ref> (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|150.68333|1752|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}) including freight to [[Philadelphia]] and insurance on its transport. It arrived in Philadelphia in August 1752. 

Norris wrote to Charles that the bell was in good order, but they had not yet sounded it, since they were building a clock for the State House's tower.<ref>Kimball, p. 20</ref> The bell was mounted on a stand to test the sound, and at the first strike of the clapper, the bell's rim cracked. The episode was used to good account in later stories of the bell;<ref>Nash, p. 7</ref> in 1893, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Benjamin Harrison]], speaking as the bell passed through [[Indianapolis]], said, "This old bell was made in England, but it had to be recast in America before it was attuned to proclaim the right of self-government and the equal rights of men."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pierce |first=James Wilson |title=Photographic History of the World's fair and Sketch of the City of Chicago |publisher=R. H. Woodward & Co |year=1893 |location=Baltimore |page=[https://archive.org/details/photographichis00piergoog/page/n16 491] |url=https://archive.org/details/photographichis00piergoog |quote=Liberty Bell. |access-date=August 17, 2010 }}</ref> Philadelphia authorities tried to return it by ship, but the master of the vessel that had brought it was unable to take it on board.<ref name="Whitechapel">{{cite web |url=http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/liberty.htm |title=The Liberty Bell |publisher=Whitechapel Bell Foundry |access-date=August 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507040444/http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/liberty.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two local [[foundry|founders]], John Pass and John Stow, offered to recast the bell. Though they were inexperienced in bell casting, Pass headed the Mount Holly Iron Foundry in neighboring [[Mount Holly, New Jersey]], and came from [[Malta]], which had a tradition of bell casting. Stow was only four years out of his apprenticeship as a brass founder. At Stow's foundry on 2nd Street in Philadelphia, the bell was broken into small pieces, melted down, and cast into a new bell. The two founders decided that the metal was too brittle, and augmented the bell metal by about ten percent, using copper. By March 1753, the bell was ready, and Norris reported that the lettering, which included the founders' names and the year, was even clearer on the new bell than on the old.<ref>Nash, p. 7–10</ref>

City officials in Philadelphia scheduled a public celebration with free food and drink for the testing of the recast bell. When the bell was struck, it did not break, but the sound produced was described by one hearer as similar to that of two [[coal scuttle]]s being banged together. Mocked by the crowd, Pass and Stow hastily took the bell away to  again recast it. In June 1753, the recasting was completed, and the sound was deemed satisfactory, though Norris indicated that he did not personally like it. The bell was hung in the steeple of the State House the same month.<ref>Nash, pp. 10–11</ref>

The reason for the difficulties with the bell is not certain. The Whitechapel Foundry took the position that the bell was either damaged in transit or was broken by an inexperienced bell ringer, who incautiously sent the clapper flying against the rim, rather than the body of the bell.<ref>Nash, p. 9</ref> 

In 1975, the [[Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library|Winterthur Museum]] in [[Delaware]], conducted an analysis of the metal in the bell, concluding that "a series of errors made in the construction, reconstruction, and second reconstruction of the Bell resulted in a brittle bell that barely missed being broken up for scrap".<ref>Hanson, p. 7</ref> The Museum found a considerably higher level of tin in the Liberty Bell than in other Whitechapel bells of that era, and suggested that Whitechapel made an error in the [[alloy]], perhaps by using scraps with a high level of tin to begin the melt instead of the usual pure copper.<ref>Hanson, p. 5</ref> 

The analysis concluded that, on the second recasting, instead of adding pure tin to the bell metal, Pass and Stow added cheap [[pewter]] with a high lead content, and incompletely mixed the new metal into the mold.<ref>Hanson, p. 4</ref> The result was "an extremely brittle alloy which not only caused the Bell to fail in service but made it easy for early souvenir collectors to knock off substantial trophies from the rim".<ref>Hanson, p. 3</ref>

===American Revolution===
{{Further|American Revolution}}
[[File:Exterior view of Independence Hall (circa 1770s).jpg|thumb|An illustration of the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed [[Independence Hall]], as it appeared in the 1770s|alt=Drawing of a handsome building with a bell tower and a wing on each side. Horse-drawn carriages are seen in the street.]]
[[File:2011 - Zion Reformed Church.jpg|thumb|[[High German Evangelical Reformed Church|Zion United Church of Christ]] at 622 [[Hamilton Street]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], where the Liberty Bell was hidden under floor boards from the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]] from September 1777 until June 1778 during the British [[Philadelphia campaign|occupation]] of [[Philadelphia]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].]]
Dissatisfied with the bell, Norris instructed Charles to order a second one, and see if Lester and Pack would take back the first bell and credit the value of the metal towards the bill. In 1754, the Assembly decided to keep both bells; the new one was attached to the tower clock<ref name="whoops">Nash, pp. 11–12</ref> while the old bell was, by vote of the Assembly, devoted "to such Uses as this House may hereafter appoint."<ref name="whoops" /> The Pass and Stow bell was used to summon the Assembly.<ref name="whosits" /> 

On October 16, 1755, in one of the earliest documented mentions of the bell's use, [[Benjamin Franklin]] wrote Catherine Ray a letter, which stated: "Adieu. The Bell rings, and I must go among the Grave ones, and talk Politiks.{{sic}}"<ref name="bigben">Paige, p. 13</ref> 

The bell was rung in 1760 to mark the accession of [[George III]] to the throne.<ref name="whosits" /> 

In the early 1760s, the Assembly allowed a local church to use the State House for services and the bell to summon worshipers, while the church's building was being constructed.<ref name="bigben" /> The bell was also used to summon people to public meetings, and in 1772, a group of citizens complained to the Assembly that the bell was being rung too frequently.<ref name="whosits">Kimball, pp. 31–32</ref>

Despite the legend that the Liberty Bell rang following the unanimous adoption of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] by the [[Second Continental Congress]] on July 4, 1776, there is no evidence to support that, and it is unlikely since the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence were not until four days later, on July 8, 1776. There is historical documentation that when the Declaration was read publicly in Philadelphia, bells around the city were rung in commemoration. While the Liberty Bell is not specifically referenced, most historical authorities agree that it was likely among the bells that rang that day.<ref>Kimball, pp. 32–33</ref><ref name="first">Nash, pp. 17–18</ref><ref name=HackettFischer>Fischer, p. 754</ref> However, there is some chance that the poor condition of the State House bell tower prevented the bell from ringing.<ref name="first" /> According to John C. Paige, who wrote a historical study of the Liberty Bell for the [[National Park Service]], "We do not know whether or not the steeple was still strong enough to permit the State House bell to ring on this day. If it could possibly be rung, we can assume it was. Whether or not it did, it has come to symbolize all of the bells throughout the United States which proclaimed Independence."<ref>Paige, p. 18</ref> If the Liberty Bell was rung, it was most likely rung by [[Andrew McNair (custodian)|Andrew McNair]], the doorkeeper to the Assembly and the [[Continental Congress]], who was responsible for the bell's ringing.<ref>Paige, pp. 17–18</ref> Bells were also rung to celebrate the first anniversary of Independence on July 4, 1777.<ref name="first" />

====Hidden in Allentown====
{{Further|High German Evangelical Reformed Church}}
As the [[American Revolutionary War]] intensified, delegates to the [[Second Continental Congress]], colonial era city officials, and Philadelphia citizens were acutely aware that the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]] would likely recast the bell into munitions if they were able to find and secure it. On September 11, 1777, these concerns escalated after [[George Washington|Washington]] and the [[Continental Army]] were defeated in the [[Battle of Brandywine]], leaving the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia defenseless. The city urgently prepared for an inevitable British attack, and it subsequently [[Philadelphia campaign|fell under British occupation]]. Prior to the city's fall to the British, the Liberty Bell and other major bells in Philadelphia were hastily taken down from their towers, and sent by heavily guarded wagon train to [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]] and then to [[High German Evangelical Reformed Church|Zion German Reformed Church]] at 622 [[Hamilton Street]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], then known as Northampton Towne. In Allentown, the Liberty Bell was hidden under the church's floor boards just as the British entered and began their occupation of Philadelphia.<ref>Nash, p. 19</ref>

The bell remained hidden in Allentown for nine months. In June 1778, following the British retreat from Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, it was returned. Upon the bell's return to Philadelphia, the steeple of the State House was in poor condition, and was subsequently torn down and restored. The bell was placed in storage until 1785, when it was again mounted for ringing.<ref>Kimball, p. 37</ref>

Following the victory of Washington and the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, the bell was placed on an upper floor of State House, later named [[Independence Hall]], where it was  rung on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]], on [[Presidents' Day|Washington's Birthday]], and on [[election day]] to remind voters to hand in their ballots. It also rang to call students at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] to their classes at nearby [[Philosophical Hall]]. Between 1785 and 1799, when the Pennsylvania state capital was briefly moved to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], it was rung to summon state legislators into session.<ref>Kimball, pp. 37–38</ref> When Pennsylvania officials, having no further use for State House, proposed tearing it down and selling the land for building lots, the City of Philadelphia purchased the land, State House, and the Liberty Bell, for $70,000, equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|70000|1800}}}} today.<ref>Kimball, p. 38</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Bellringer1776.jpg|thumb|''The Bellman Informed of the Passage of the Declaration of Independence'', an 1854 illustration of the story of the Liberty Bell being rung on July 4, 1776|alt=An elderly man looks excitedly around as a boy enters a bell chamber. The old man holds a rope leading to the Liberty Bell in his hand.]]
In 1828, the City of Philadelphia sold the second Lester and Pack bell to [[St. Augustine Church (Philadelphia)|St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church]], which was burned down in 1844 by an anti-[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] mob in the [[Philadelphia Nativist Riots]]. The remains of the bell were recast and then housed at [[Villanova University]] in nearby [[Villanova, Pennsylvania]].<ref>Kimball, p. 70</ref>

It is not definitively known when or how the Liberty Bell first came to be cracked, but it is known that the damage occurred sometime between 1817 and 1846 and likely toward the end of this period. In 1837, the bell was depicted in an anti-slavery publication, and no crack is identifiable in that image. Nine years later, in February 1846, the ''[[Public Ledger (Philadelphia)|Public Ledger]]'' reported that the bell was rung the day following [[Washington's Birthday]], on February 23, 1846. Since February 22 was a Sunday, the celebration occurred the next day. The newspaper reported that the bell had long been cracked, but had been "put in order" by having the sides of the crack filed. The paper reported that, around noon on February 23, 1846, it was discovered that the bell's ringing was causing the crack to be extended, and that "the old Independence Bell...now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and forever dumb."<ref name="dumb">Kimball, pp. 43–45</ref>

The most common story about the cracking of the bell, which originated in 1876, is that it happened when the bell was rung upon the 1835 death of the [[Chief Justice of the United States|Supreme Court Chief Justice]] [[John Marshall]] when the volunteer curator of [[Independence Hall]], Colonel Frank Etting, announced that he had ascertained the truth of the bell's cracking. While there is little evidence to support Etting's view, it was widely accepted and taught. Other claims regarding the crack's origin include stories that it was damaged during welcoming ceremonies for [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]] [[Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States (1824–25)|on his return to the United States]] in 1824, that it cracked announcing the passing of the British [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829]], and that some boys had been invited to ring the bell and inadvertently damaged it. David Kimball, in a book authored for the [[National Park Service]], suggests that it most likely cracked sometime between 1841 and 1845, during its ringing on either Independence Day or on Washington's Birthday.<ref>Kimball, pp. 43–47</ref>

The Pass and Stow bell was first termed "the Liberty Bell" in ''Anti-Slavery Record'', a journal published by the New York Anti-Slavery Society. Two years later, in 1837, in another publication by the society in the journal ''Liberty'', an image of the bell appears on its cover under the heading, "Proclaim Liberty".<ref>Nash, p. 36</ref> In 1839, Boston's Friends of Liberty, another abolitionist group, titled their journal ''The Liberty Bell''. The same year, William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery publication ''The Liberator'' reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem entitled "The Liberty Bell" that noted that, at that time, despite its inscription, the bell did not proclaim liberty to all the inhabitants of the land.<ref>Nash, pp. 37–38</ref>

A great part of the modern image of the bell as a relic of the proclamation of American independence was forged by writer [[George Lippard]]. On January 2, 1847, he published an article, "Fourth of July, 1776", in the ''Saturday Courier''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ushistory.org/independencehall/history/lippard.htm |title=George Lippard's "Fourth of July" |access-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226133806/http://www.ushistory.org/independencehall/history/lippard.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The short story depicted an aged bellman on July 4, 1776, sitting morosely by the bell, fearing that [[Second Continental Congress|Congress]] would not have the courage to declare independence. At the most dramatic moment, a young boy appears with instructions for the old man: to ring the bell. It was subsequently published in Lippard's collected stories.<ref name="Lippard1847">{{cite book|author=George Lippard|title=The Rose of Wissahikon, Or, The Fourth of July, 1776: A Romance, Embracing the Secret History of the Declaration of Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EU5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA63|year=1847|publisher=G.B. Zieber & Company|pages=63–|access-date=December 27, 2018|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418152413/https://books.google.com/books?id=7EU5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA63|url-status=live}}</ref> The story was widely reprinted and closely linked the Liberty Bell to the Declaration of Independence in the public mind.<ref>Kimball, p. 56</ref> The elements of the story were reprinted in early historian [[Benson J. Lossing]]'s ''The Pictorial Field Guide to the Revolution'' (published in 1850) as historical fact,<ref>Paige, p. 83</ref> and the tale was widely repeated for generations after in school primers.<ref>de Bolla, p. 108</ref>

In 1848, with the rise of interest in the bell, the city decided to move it to the Assembly Room, also known as the Declaration Chamber, on the first floor, where the Declaration and [[United States Constitution]] had been debated and signed.<ref>Nash, p. 47</ref> The city constructed an ornate pedestal for the bell. The Liberty Bell was displayed on that pedestal for the next quarter-century, surmounted by an eagle (originally sculpted, later stuffed).<ref>Nash, pp. 50–51</ref> In 1853, President [[Franklin Pierce]] visited Philadelphia and the bell, and spoke of the bell as symbolizing the American Revolution and American liberty.<ref>Kimball, p. 60</ref> At the time, Independence Hall was also used as a courthouse, and African-American newspapers pointed out the incongruity of housing a symbol of liberty in the same building in which federal judges were holding hearings under the [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1850|Fugitive Slave Act]].<ref>Nash, pp. 48–49</ref>

In February 1861, then [[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] came to the Assembly Room and delivered an address en route to his inauguration in Washington D.C.<ref name="linc">{{Cite journal |last=Hoch |first=Bradley R. |title=The Lincoln landscape: Looking for Lincoln's Philadelphia: A personal journey from Washington Square to Independence Hall |journal=Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=59–70 |date=Summer 2004 |url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/25.2/hoch.html |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525151350/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/25.2/hoch.html |archive-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> In 1865, Lincoln's body was returned to the Assembly Room after [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|his assassination]] for a public viewing of his body, en route to his burial in [[Springfield, Illinois]]. Due to time constraints, only a small fraction of those wishing to pass by the coffin were able to; the lines to see the coffin were never less than {{convert|3|mi}} long.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |title=Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=2003 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7hL8-GLkHaYC&q=abraham+lincoln+liberty+bell |isbn=0-226-74198-2 |access-date=August 10, 2010 |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418152441/https://books.google.com/books?id=7hL8-GLkHaYC&q=abraham+lincoln+liberty+bell |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, between 120,000 and 140,000&nbsp;people were able to pass by the open casket and then the bell, carefully placed at Lincoln's head so mourners could read the inscription, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."<ref name="linc" />

[[File:Liberty Bell 1872 - crop.jpg|thumb|The Liberty Bell on its ornate stand in [[Independence Hall]] in 1872]]
[[File:Liberty Bell at Bunker Hill 1903.jpg|thumb|The Liberty Bell at [[Bunker Hill Monument|Bunker Hill]] in [[Boston]] in 1903|alt=The Liberty Bell on a wagon; a number of people, including policemen, pose with it.]]
[[File:Libbell1908.jpeg|thumb|The Liberty Bell is paraded through the streets of [[Philadelphia]] in 1908, in a recreation of its September 1777 journey to [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] just prior to the [[Philadelphia campaign|fall of Philadelphia]] to the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]]|alt=A large bell is seen tied to a wagon. Soldiers in Revolutionary War uniforms stand by.]]
[[File:The Bell's First Note by JLG Ferris.jpg|thumb|''The Bell's First Note'', a 1913 painting of the Liberty Bell by [[Jean Leon Gerome Ferris]]|alt=A painting in which a man in working clothes shows off the Liberty Bell to a number of well-dressed people, who are conferring. A woman prepares to tap the bell with a hammer.]]
[[File:Bell crack.png|thumb|A 1915 photo of the Liberty Bell's hairline crack, which developed at some point in the 19th century, possibly in July 1835 as the bell rung following the death of [[Chief Justice of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice]] [[John Marshall]]]]
In 1876, [[Philadelphia]] city officials discussed what role the bell should play in the nation's Centennial festivities. Some wanted to repair it so it could sound at the [[Centennial Exposition]] being held in Philadelphia, but the idea was not adopted. The bell's custodians concluded that it was unlikely that the metal could be made into a bell that would have a pleasant sound, and that the crack had become part of the bell's character. Instead, a replica weighing {{convert|13000|lb}}, representing 1,000&nbsp;pounds for each of the [[Thirteen Colonies]], was cast. The metal used for what was dubbed "the Centennial Bell" included four melted-down cannons: one used by each side in the [[American Revolutionary War]], and one used by each side in the [[American Civil War]]. The bell was rung at the Exposition grounds on July 4, 1876, and was later recast to improve the sound. The bell is currently attached to the clock in the steeple of Independence Hall.<ref>Nash, pp. 63–65</ref> While the Liberty Bell was not displayed at the Centennial Exposition, a great many exposition visitors came to visit it. Its image was ubiquitous throughout the exposition grounds. Myriad souvenirs were sold bearing its image or shape, and state pavilions contained replicas of the bell made of substances ranging from stone to tobacco.<ref>Nash, pp. 66–68</ref> In 1877, the bell was hung from the ceiling of the Assembly Room by a chain with thirteen links.<ref>Kimball, p. 68</ref>

Between 1885 and 1915, the Liberty Bell was transported to seven expositions and celebrations. Each time, the bell traveled by [[railroad]], and an extra number of rail stops were made along way so that local people could view it.<ref>de Bolla, p. 111</ref> By 1885, the Liberty Bell was widely recognized as a symbol of freedom, and as a treasured relic of independence and freedom, and was growing increasingly famous as versions of [[George Lippard]]'s legend were reprinted in history and school books.<ref>Nash, p. 77</ref> In early 1885, the city agreed to let it travel to [[New Orleans]] for the [[World Cotton Centennial]] exposition. Large crowds mobbed the bell at each stop. In [[Biloxi, Mississippi]], the former [[President of the Confederate States of America]], [[Jefferson Davis]], visited the bell and delivered a speech paying homage to it and urging national unity.<ref>Nash, pp. 79–80</ref> In 1893, it was sent to the [[World Columbian Exposition]] in [[Chicago]], where it was the centerpiece of the state's exhibit in the Pennsylvania Building.<ref>Nash, pp. 84–85</ref> On July 4, 1893, in Chicago, the bell was serenaded with the first performance of ''[[The Liberty Bell March]]'', conducted by  [[John Philip Sousa]].<ref>Nash, pp. 89–90</ref> 

Philadelphians began to cool to the idea of sending it to other cities when it returned from Chicago bearing a new crack, and each new proposed journey met with increasing opposition.<ref name="new">Kimball, p. 69</ref> It was also found that the bell's private watchman had been cutting off small pieces for souvenirs. Philadelphia placed the bell in a glass-fronted oak case.<ref>Nash, p. 98</ref> 

In 1898, it was taken out of the glass case and hung from its yoke again in the tower hall of [[Independence Hall]], a room that would remain its home until the end of 1975. A guard was posted by the bell to prevent souvenir hunters who might otherwise chip at it.<ref>Paige, p. 43</ref>

By 1909, the bell was sent on six trips. The bell's cracking worsened, and souvenir hunters had chipped off pieces of it, depriving it of over one percent of its weight. Its weight was reported as {{convert|2080|lb|abbr=on}} in 1904.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/philadelphiabirt00ashm_0|title=Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, the pivot of industry, the city of homes.|first=Henry Graham|last=Ashmead|year=1904 |publisher=Shelden|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Crowd around the Liberty Bell, 1951 - cropped.jpg|thumb|A crowd of tourists gathers around the Liberty Bell at [[Independence Hall]] in July 1951|alt=number of tourists, of all races and ages, dressed in the fashions of sixty years ago, gather around the Liberty Bell.]]
[[File:Liberty Bell Pavilion Exterior HABS 213789pv.jpg|thumb|The [[Liberty Bell Pavilion]] in [[Philadelphia]], the Liberty Bell's home from 1976 to 2003]]
In 1912, the organizers of the [[Panama–Pacific International Exposition]] requested the bell for the 1915 fair in [[San Francisco]], but Philadelphia was reluctant to let it travel again. The city finally agreed to let it be transported to San Francisco since it had never been west of [[St. Louis]], and it was a chance to allow millions of Americans to see it who might never again have the opportunity.<ref>Nash, pp. 110–112</ref> In 1914, fearing that the cracks might lengthen during the long train ride to San Francisco, Philadelphia installed a metal support structure inside the bell, called the "spider".<ref>The Franklin Institute, pp. 28–29</ref> 

In February 1915, the bell was tapped gently with wooden mallets to produce sounds that were transmitted to the fair as the signal to open it, a transmission that also inaugurated transcontinental telephone service.<ref>Nash, p. 113</ref> Some five million Americans saw the bell on its train journey west.<ref>Nash, p. 123</ref> It is estimated that nearly two million kissed it at the fair, with an uncounted number viewing it. The bell was taken on a different route on its way home during which another five million people viewed it.<ref>Nash, pp. 113–115</ref> 

In 1924, one of Independence Hall's exterior doors was replaced by glass, allowing some view of the bell even when the building was closed.<ref>Paige, p. 57</ref> When [[United States Congress|Congress]] enacted the nation's first peacetime draft in 1940, the first Philadelphians required to serve took their oaths of enlistment before the Liberty Bell. Once [[World War II]] began, the bell was again a symbol to sell war bonds.<ref>Nash, pp. 148–151</ref> 

Since the bell returned to Philadelphia, it has been moved out of doors only five times: three times for patriotic observances during and after [[World War I]], and twice as the bell occupied new homes in 1976 and 2003.<ref name="new" /><ref>Paige, p. 54</ref> [[Chicago]] and San Francisco had obtained their visits after presenting petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of children. In 1933, Chicago tried again, with a petition signed by 3.4&nbsp;million schoolchildren, for the 1933 [[Century of Progress]] Exhibition and New York presented a petition to secure a visit from the bell for the [[1939 New York World's Fair]]. Both efforts failed.<ref>Nash, p. 140</ref>

During [[World War II]], it was feared that the bell might be in danger from saboteurs or enemy bombing, and city officials considered moving the bell to [[United States Bullion Depository|Fort Knox]], to be stored with the nation's gold reserves. The idea provoked a storm of protest from around the nation, and was abandoned. Officials then considered building an underground steel vault above which it would be displayed, and into which it could be lowered if necessary. The project was dropped after studies concluded that the digging might undermine the foundations of Independence Hall.<ref>Paige, pp. 64–65</ref> On December 17, 1944, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry offered to recast the bell at no cost as a gesture of Anglo-American friendship.<ref>United Press, “Foundry Offers to Recast Liberty Bell”, ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California,  Monday 18 December 1944, Volume 51, page 2.</ref> The bell was again tapped on [[Normandy Landings|D-Day]], [[Victory in Europe Day|V-E Day]], and [[Victory over Japan Day|V-J Day]].<ref>Kimball, p. 71</ref>

After [[World War II]], and following considerable controversy, the City of Philadelphia agreed that it would transfer custody of the bell and Independence Hall, while retaining ownership, to the federal government. The city would also transfer various colonial-era buildings it owned. Congress agreed to the transfer in 1948, and three years later [[Independence National Historical Park]] was founded, incorporating those properties and administered by the [[National Park Service]] (NPS or Park Service).<ref name="nps" /> The Park Service would be responsible for maintaining and displaying the bell.<ref name="ben" /> The NPS would also administer the three blocks just north of Independence Hall that had been condemned by the state, razed, and developed into a park, [[Independence Mall (Philadelphia)|Independence Mall]].<ref name="nps">Nash, pp. 172–173</ref>

In the postwar period, the bell became a symbol of freedom used in the [[Cold War]]. The bell was chosen for the symbol of a [[savings bond]] campaign in 1950. The purpose of this campaign, as then [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Alben W. Barkley]] said, was to make the country "so strong that no one can impose ruthless, godless ideologies on us".<ref name="ben">Paige, p. 69</ref> In 1955, former residents of nations behind the [[Iron Curtain]] were allowed to tap the bell as a symbol of hope and encouragement to their compatriots.<ref>Paige, p. 71</ref> Foreign dignitaries, including [[Prime Minister of Israel|Israeli Prime Minister]] [[David Ben-Gurion]] and [[West Berlin]] Mayor [[Ernst Reuter]], have visited the Liberty Bell, and they commented that the bell symbolized the link between the United States and their nations.<ref name="ben" /> During the 1960s, the bell was the site of several protests, both for the [[civil rights movement]] and by various protesters supporting or opposing the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>Paige, pp. 76–78</ref>

Almost from the start of its stewardship, the Park Service sought to move the bell from Independence Hall to a structure where it would be easier to care for the bell and accommodate visitors. The first such proposal was withdrawn in 1958, after considerable public protest.<ref name="nonono">Paige, p. 72</ref> The Park Service tried again as part of the planning for the 1976 [[United States Bicentennial]]. The Independence National Historical Park Advisory Committee proposed in 1969 that the bell be moved out of Independence Hall, as the building could not accommodate the millions expected to visit Philadelphia for the Bicentennial.<ref>Paige, p. 78</ref> In 1972, the Park Service announced plans to build a large glass tower for the bell at the new visitors center at S. Third and [[Chestnut Street (Philadelphia)|Chestnut]] streets, two blocks east of [[Independence Hall]], at a cost of $5&nbsp;million, but citizens again protested the move. Instead, in 1973, the Park Service proposed to build a smaller glass pavilion for the bell at the north end of Independence Mall, between [[Arch Street (Philadelphia)|Arch]] and Race streets. Philadelphia Mayor [[Frank Rizzo]] agreed with the pavilion idea, but proposed that the pavilion be built across Chestnut Street from Independence Hall, which the state feared would destroy the view of the historic building from the mall area.<ref>{{Cite news |title=New home sought for Liberty Bell |page=15 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |date=September 4, 1973 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50714FB3A59137A93C6A91782D85F478785F9&scp=5&sq=liberty+bell&st=p |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104000150/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50714FB3A59137A93C6A91782D85F478785F9&scp=5&sq=liberty+bell&st=p |url-status=live }}</ref> Rizzo's view prevailed, and the bell was moved to a glass-and-steel [[Liberty Bell Pavilion]], about {{convert|200|yd}} from its old home at Independence Hall, as the Bicentennial year began.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wooten |first=James T. |title=Move of Liberty Bell opens Bicentennial |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |date=January 1, 1976 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1091FF73B5514758DDDA80894D9405B868BF1D3&scp=1&sq=liberty+bell+pavilion&st=p |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104000158/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1091FF73B5514758DDDA80894D9405B868BF1D3&scp=1&sq=liberty+bell+pavilion&st=p |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the Bicentennial, members of the [[Procrastinators' Club of America]] jokingly picketed the Whitechapel Bell Foundry with signs "We got a lemon" and "What about the warranty?" The foundry told the protesters that it would be glad to replace the bell, so long as it was returned in the original packaging.<ref name="Whitechapel" /> 

In 1958, the foundry, then trading under the name Mears and Stainbank Foundry, offered to recast the bell, but was told by the Park Service that neither it nor the public wanted the crack removed.<ref name="nonono" /> The foundry was called upon, in 1976, to cast a full-size replica of the Liberty Bell known as the Bicentennial Bell that was presented to the United States by the British monarch, Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]],<ref>Nash, pp. 177–178</ref> and was housed in the tower once intended for the Liberty Bell, at the former visitor center on South Third Street.<ref>Greiff, pp. 214–215</ref>

====Liberty Bell Center====
[[File:Liberty Bell on display (2022).jpg|alt=The Liberty Bell hangs in a glass-backed structure with a brick, 18th-century building with a steeple visible in the background.|thumb|The interior of the Liberty Bell chamber at the Liberty Bell Center with [[Independence Hall]] and the Centennial Bell visible in its steeple in the background]]
[[File:Independence Hall2.jpg|thumb|[[Independence Hall]] with the [[Liberty Bell Center]] (on right) in August 2004]]
[[File:Liberty bell mount.JPG|thumb|A view of the Liberty Bell's mount in October 2009]]
[[File:Liberty Bell Center South (front view).jpg|alt=The south end of the Liberty Bell Center|thumb|The south end of Liberty Bell Center with both the Liberty Bell and a  reflection of [[Independence Hall]] in January 2022]]
In 1995, the Park Service began preliminary work on a redesign of Independence Mall. Architects [[Robert Venturi|Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates]] developed a master plan with two design alternatives. The first proposed a block-long visitors center on the south side of [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Street]], which would also house the Liberty Bell. This would have interrupted the mall's three-block vista of Independence Hall, and made the bell visible only from the south, on Chestnut Street. The second alternative placed a similar visitors center on the north side of Market Street, also interrupting the mall's vista, with the bell in a small pavilion on the south side.<ref>Stephan Salisbury, "Architects push proposal to ring Liberty Bell with visitors center," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', July 2, 1996.</ref> City planner [[Edmund Bacon (architect)|Edmund Bacon]], who oversaw the mall's design in the 1950s, saw preservation of the vista of Independence Hall as essential. He created his own plan that included a domed bell pavilion built north of Market Street.<ref>Henry Magaziner, "A Debate: Imagining the Mall," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', June 30, 1996.</ref> Public reaction to the possibility of moving the Liberty Bell so far from Independence Hall was strongly negative. NPS announced that the bell would remain on the block between Chestnut and Market streets.<ref>''Revision of the Proposed Plan for Independence National Historical Park'', "Alternate E-1: Site Specific Actions #10 – Liberty Bell" (Denver, CO: National Park Service, September 1996), p. 11.</ref>  Other plans were proposed, each had strengths and weaknesses, but the goal of all was to encourage visitors to see more of the historical park than just the Liberty Bell.<ref>Thomas Hine, "Lost in Space on Philadelphia's Independence Mall," ''The New York Times'', February 9, 1997.</ref>

The [[Olin Partnership]] was hired to create a new master plan for Independence Mall; its team included architect [[Bernard Cywinski]], who ultimately won a limited design competition to design what was called the Liberty Bell Center (LBC). Cywinski's design was unveiled in early 1999. Significantly larger than the existing pavilion, allowing for exhibit space and an interpretive center,<ref>Laurie Olin, "Giving Form to a Creation Story — The Remaking of Independence Mall," in Rodolphe el-Khoury, ed., ''Liberty Bell Center, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson'' (Philadelphia, PA: Oscar Riera Ojeda & Associates, 2006) {{ISBN|0-9746800-4-4}}</ref> the proposed LBC building also would cover about 15% of the footprint of the long-demolished [[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]], the residence used by [[George Washington]] and [[John Adams]] before the [[White House]] was completed in 1800.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/history/maps/map.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808001437/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/history/maps/map.htm|url-status=dead|title=Footprints of LBC and President's House|archive-date=August 8, 2011}}</ref> Archaeologists excavating the LBC's intended site uncovered remnants of the 1790–1800 executive mansion that were reburied.<ref>[[Faye Flam]], "Formerly on Ice, Past Unearthed. The Icehouse Found in Philadelphia Gives Glimpse into Colonial History," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 23, 2001.[http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/pi022301.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419144337/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/pi022301.htm|date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> The project became highly controversial when it was revealed that [[George Washington]]'s slaves had been housed only feet from the planned Liberty Bell Center's main entrance.<ref>Stephan Salisbury & Inga Saffron, "Echoes of Slavery at Liberty Bell Site," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', March 24, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq032402.htm |title=Echoes of slavery at Liberty Bell site |access-date=2012-03-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419204831/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq032402.htm |archive-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> The Park Service refused to redesign the LBC building, or delay its construction.<ref>Joann Loviglio, "Historians decry burying history for Liberty Bell," Associated Press, March 30, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/ap033102.htm |title=Historians decry burying history for Liberty Bell |access-date=2012-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419133730/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/ap033102.htm |archive-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> NPS initially resisted interpreting the slaves and the slave quarters,<ref>Stephan Salisbury, "Proposed wording on slave quarters draws fire," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', October 31, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq103102.htm |title=Proposed wording on slave quarters draws fire |access-date=2012-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007155511/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq103102.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2012}}</ref> but after years of protest by Black activists, agreed.<ref>Stephen Mihm, "Liberty Bell Plan Shows Freedom and Slavery," ''The New York Times'', April 23, 2003.[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/23/arts/liberty-bell-plan-shows-freedom-and-slavery.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907034241/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/23/arts/liberty-bell-plan-shows-freedom-and-slavery.html|date=September 7, 2017}}</ref>

===21st century===
The new facility that opened hours after the bell was installed on October 9, 2003, is adjacent to an outline of Washington's slave quarters marked in the pavement, with interpretive panels explaining the significance of what was found.<ref name="hung" /> The GPS address is 526 Market Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/libertybellcenter.htm|title=Visiting the Liberty Bell Center – Independence National Historical Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2016-08-05|archive-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825015150/https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/libertybellcenter.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Inside the Liberty Bell Center, visitors pass through a number of exhibits about the bell before reaching the Liberty Bell itself. Due to security concerns following an attack on the bell by a visitor with a hammer in 2001, the bell is hung out of easy reach of visitors, who are no longer allowed to touch it, and all visitors undergo a security screening.<ref name="hung">{{Cite book |last=Yamin |first=Rebecca |title=Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archeology |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2008 |location=New Haven, Ct. |pages=39–53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AL_G5WIDbqkC&q=liberty+bell+october+9+2003&pg=PA52 |access-date=August 9, 2010 |isbn=978-0-300-10091-4 |archive-date=October 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019222906/https://books.google.com/books?id=AL_G5WIDbqkC&q=liberty+bell+october+9+2003&pg=PA52 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Liberty Bell now weighs {{convert|2080|lb}}. Its metal is 70%&nbsp;copper and 25%&nbsp;tin, with the remainder consisting of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver. It hangs from what is believed to be its original yoke, made from [[Ulmus americana|American elm]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Liberty Bell |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/upload/english.pdf |access-date=August 11, 2010 |archive-date=November 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130163656/http://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/upload/english.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the crack in the bell appears to end at the abbreviation "Philad<sup>a</sup>" in the last line of the inscription, that is merely the widened crack, filed out during the 19th century to allow the bell to ring. A hairline crack, extending through to the inside of the bell, continues towards the right and gradually moves to the top of the bell, through the word "and" in "Pass and Stow", then through the word "the" before the word "Assembly", and finally through the letters "rty" in the word "Liberty". The crack ends near the attachment with the yoke.<ref>The Franklin Institute, p. 21</ref>

Professor Constance M. Greiff, in her book tracing the history of Independence National Historical Park, wrote of the Liberty Bell:
<blockquote>
<nowiki>[T]</nowiki>he Liberty Bell is the most venerated object in the park, a national icon. It is not as beautiful as some other things that were in Independence Hall in those momentous days two hundred years ago, and it is irreparably damaged. Perhaps that is part of its almost mystical appeal. Like our democracy it is fragile and imperfect, but it has weathered threats, and it has endured.<ref>Greiff, p. 14</ref>
</blockquote>