Page "Folklore of the United States" Paragraph 58

* The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering ( part of Leviticus 25: 10 ) " Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

" In the 1830s, the bell was adopted as a symbol by abolitionist societies, who dubbed it the " Liberty Bell ".

It acquired its distinctive large crack sometime in the early 19th century — a widespread story claims it cracked while ringing after the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835.