Lots of myths surround the Liberty Bell, which hung in the bell tower of Independence Hall for nearly a century (and whose image is also woven into the $100 bill as a security measure). One myth explains how the bell pealed on July 4, 1776, which likely isn’t true; another says it cracked in 1835 to announce the death of Chief Justice John Marshall (also not true). The story of the Liberty Bell begins in 1751; it was originally cast by a foundry in London, but cracked on its first test ring in Philadelphia. Metalworkers melted it down and cast a new one, which is the Liberty Bell we know today. For 90 years, the Liberty Bell alerted Philadelphians of news or, in Benjamin Franklin’s case, to go to work, as he once wrote in a letter: “The Bell rings, and I must go among the Grave ones, and talk Politicks.” No one recorded when or how the Liberty Bell began to crack, but the most likely reason is the most simple — hard use and time. What historians do know is that metalworkers tried to repair the crack for George Washington’s birthday in 1846, but only made the damage worse. Today, no one alive has heard the Liberty Bell ring with its original clapper, but a digital recreation of the bell’s sound can help transport you back to the early days of the republic. |
