The iconic Philadelphia bell cast in 1752 and bearing the inscription “Proclaim LIBERTY” is the Liberty Bell.
The bell was commissioned by Pennsylvania’s Provincial Assembly for the State House, now known as Independence Hall. It was made in London by Lester and Pack, a foundry later known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. After arriving in Philadelphia, it cracked during testing and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow.
Its inscription comes from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The spelling “Pensylvania” on the bell reflects an accepted eighteenth-century form. The bell became associated with American independence and liberty more strongly after the Revolution.
The bell’s famous large crack developed sometime between 1817 and 1846; the popular story that it cracked while rung after Chief Justice John Marshall’s death is not proven. Today, it is displayed at the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia.