The Liberty Bell weighed 2,080 pounds when it was cast for Pennsylvania's State House.
The bell was ordered in 1751 to mark the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvania's colonial charter. It was cast in London by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. After the first casting cracked during testing, local founders John Pass and John Stow recast it.
The bell originally hung in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. Its connection with American independence grew over time, especially after the Revolution, even though historians do not have evidence that it rang to announce the Declaration's adoption.
The famous crack developed during the early nineteenth century, but the exact moment remains uncertain. The inscription comes from Leviticus: “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” The bell became a major national symbol during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.