The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the bell now known as the Liberty Bell in 1751.
The assembly ordered the bell for the Pennsylvania State House, the building now called Independence Hall. It was cast in London by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. The bell bears a biblical inscription from Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.”
The bell was not originally called the Liberty Bell. That name became widely established during the nineteenth century, as Americans connected it with the independence movement and the abolitionist cause. The bell also developed a famous crack, and it is no longer rung because of the risk of further damage.
The Liberty Bell’s strongest connection to America250 is its Philadelphia setting and its association with independence. However, it predates the Declaration by 25 years and was ordered for Pennsylvania’s colonial assembly rather than specifically for the 1776 celebration.