What phrase appears at the beginning of the Liberty Bell’s inscription?

The phrase “Proclaim liberty” appears at the beginning of the Liberty Bell’s inscription.

The full inscription begins, “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof,” followed by a citation to Leviticus 25:10. The biblical wording refers to the Jubilee year, when liberty was proclaimed throughout the land. The inscription was chosen before the Revolutionary War.

The bell was ordered for the Pennsylvania State House in the early 1750s and was not originally called the Liberty Bell. Its famous name and national symbolism developed later, particularly during the nineteenth century, when reformers and abolitionists used the bell’s language in public discussions of freedom.

The crack in the bell is real, but the popular story that it cracked while ringing to announce the Declaration of Independence is not supported by firm contemporary evidence. The inscription, its colonial history, and its later symbolic use explain why the bell remains strongly connected with American independence and the America250 anniversary.