Pennsylvania authorities ordered the Liberty Bell in 1751 for the colony’s State House.
Isaac Norris, speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, instructed the colony’s London agent to obtain a bell weighing about 2,000 pounds. The bell was intended for a new tower at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, the building later called Independence Hall.
The bell arrived from London in August 1752. Its metal was considered too brittle, and the founders John Pass and John Stow recast it in Philadelphia. A first test produced an unsatisfactory sound, so the bell was recast again and completed in June 1753.
Its famous inscription quotes Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.” The inscription ends with the Roman numeral date MDCCLIII, or 1753. That date refers to the completed bell, while 1751 refers to the order for it. The bell became a powerful national symbol long after its colonial origins.