by Erin Reynolds • 2 minutes
Americans are celebrating the 250th birthday of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The story of The Liberty Bell rings as a reminder of the principles that shaped this great nation.
Originally called the State House Bell, it was dedicated to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvania Governor William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges laying out the framework of government.
The document highlights the essential nature of religious freedom: “No people can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship.”
Many people were fleeing to America in search of the freedom to worship without government intervention or oppression, as they had experienced under the Church of England. They knew firsthand that religious liberty was essential to a free society.
The Liberty Bell was crafted to remember the Judeo-Christian principles that influenced our nation’s founding. Inscribed around the top is Leviticus 25:10 “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
In the year of Jubilee, indentured servants were set free, debts were forgiven, and land was returned to its original owners.
The significance of the bell’s inscription went beyond the local politics of the time. It represented the people’s duty to uphold liberty, no matter the cost. Fueled by their faith, the Patriots of early Pennsylvania did exactly that.
It earned the name “Liberty Bell” by becoming a symbol for abolitionists. They rallied behind the message that freedom was for all Americans.
William Lloyd Garrison led this movement by first publishing the name “Liberty Bell” in The Liberator. His newspaper unified people under the banner of liberty and inspired them to make a difference.
After the Civil War, The Liberty Bell traveled throughout the country as a tangible symbol of the people’s desire to reunite. A replica was used in the fight for women’s right to vote. This Justice Bell remained silent until Sept. 25, 1920, when it was rung for the first time to celebrate the enactment of the 19th Amendment.
As America approaches her 250th birthday, may the Liberty Bell continue to ring and turn us to rededicate our lives to God and the freedoms that our Founding Fathers fought to secure.
