The Liberty Bell, originally the State House Bell, was commissioned in 1751 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Pennsylvania’s original constitution.
Encircling the top of the iron bell is an Old Testament verse, Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” This verse refers to the “Year of Jubilee,” during which the Israelite’s were instructed to cancel old debts and free Hebrew slaves every 50 years.
The bell rang for the last time on George Washington’s birthday in 1846.
A work of fiction in 1847 tied the ringing of the bell to Congress’s Declaration of Independence. The work became so famous that ever since, the Liberty Bell has been associated with the first reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776.
You can see an exact replica of the Liberty Bell at Museum of the Bible.
