The famous bell associated with the American independence movement is called the Liberty Bell.
The bell was cast in 1751 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London for the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall. It was made to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges. The bell bears a biblical inscription from Leviticus: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof.”
The bell cracked during an early test in Philadelphia and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow. Its best-known crack developed later, and the bell is no longer rung because further use could damage it. The date and circumstances of the final crack are not firmly established.
The name “Liberty Bell” became widely popular in the nineteenth century, especially as abolitionists adopted its liberty symbolism. It was not originally named that, and there is no reliable evidence that it rang on July 4, 1776. Today it is displayed at the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia.