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In a few days time, on July 4th, we will all come together to celebrate Independence Day! It was on July 4th 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was signed and that our nation was born!

If you could visit Washington D.C., you would find the Declaration of Independence on display for everyone to see. In a different city and state, however, you would also be able to see another symbol of our many freedoms. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you would find the Liberty Bell.

The Liberty Bell actually came into existence long before the Declaration of Independence. In 1681 King Charles II of England granted William Penn huge tracts of land in the colonies. The King named the area Pennsylvania after the Penn family and the forests that covered the land (silva is “forest” in Latin).

William Penn believed that he was about to embark on a great experiment that would be the “seed of a nation” and where a “free…sober and industrious people” would live by their own laws. When he created Pennsylvania’s government in 1701, Penn included many freedoms that we take for granted today, but that were revolutionary back then. Among these freedoms were the right to practice the religion of your choice and the right for citizens to participate in making laws.

Proud of the freedoms they enjoyed, the Pennsylvania colonists ordered a new bell for the State House in 1751. They wanted to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privilege that had granted them their liberties. They requested that the following Bible verse from the book of Leviticus, chapter 25, verse 10, be inscribed on the bell: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

The bell rang many times for public announcements, but none so important as on July 8, 1776. That’s right, 4 days after the Declaration of Independence. It was rung that day to summon the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the very first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in the newly formed nation. With no radios or television and the printed copies still days away, this pubic reading was the most practical way to share the news! Imagine the thrill to hear the historic words for the first time and to witness the birth of a nation, your own nation!

Despite the early freedoms granted to the Pennsylvania colonists, the inspiring inscription on the bell, and the ringing announcement of our new and democratic nation in 1776, the bell did not become known as the “Liberty Bell” until more than 50 years later.

In 1830, a group of abolitionists, people who wanted to end slavery, remembered the words on the bell. The bell’s message was liberty “unto all the inhabitants” of the land. They adopted the bell as a symbol of their cause and they were the first to call it the “Liberty Bell.”

After the end of the long and bloody Civil War, the Liberty Bell was sent to expositions and fairs all over the country. By reminding Americans of an earlier time when they had worked and fought side by side for independence, it helped to heal the deep divisions wrought by the Civil War.

The Liberty Bell made its last trip in 1915 and returned to Philadelphia where you can find it today. People come from around the world to see this important symbol and its message of liberty for all.