Which colonial assembly commissioned the bell now known as the Liberty Bell?

The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly commissioned the bell now known as the Liberty Bell.

The assembly ordered the bell in 1751 for the Pennsylvania State House, the building now called Independence Hall in Philadelphia. London’s Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast it, and the bell arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. It cracked during an early test and was recast locally by John Pass and John Stow.

The bell was originally called the State House Bell. Its inscription comes from the biblical book of Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.” The name Liberty Bell became common later, particularly as abolitionists adopted the object as a symbol.

A popular story says the bell rang immediately after the Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. No contemporary evidence confirms that scene. It may have rung during public readings on July 8, but historians cannot establish the event with certainty.