how was the liberty bell originally cracked?

Answer 1

It is not agreed upon when the second crack appeared (the first after the recastings), but it is agreed that this flaw grew to its present size on February 22, 1789, when the bell was tolled for several hours in the bell tower of Independence Hall in honor of George Washington's First Day of presidency.

Answer 2

It is not agreed upon when the second crack appeared (the first after the recastings), but it is agreed that this flaw grew to its present size on February 22, 1789, when the bell was tolled for several hours in the bell tower of Independence Hall in honor of George Washington's First Day of presidency.

Answer 3

On March 10th Norris again wrote Agent Charles.

I gave Information that our Bell was generally like & appvd of but in a few days after my writing I had the Mortification to hear that it was cracked by a stroke of the clapper without any other violence as it was hung up to try the sound.
Norris went on to write that "two Ingenious Work-Men" had been hired to recast the bell. These workmen were named Pass and Stow and their names are today inscribed on the bell.

Answer 4

The bell received its first crack in March 1753, the first time it was rung. After its initial cracking, the bell was recast by John Pass and John Stow of Philadelphia,

Answer 5

When did the Liberty Bell crack? Back to Top

The original Bell received by the Whitechapel Foundry in 1752 cracked upon its very first strike. But, when the Liberty Bell, as we know it today, cracked is a much debated question...and a story with many renditions!

There is no document that definitely dates when the Liberty Bell cracked, however, we do know that it cracked sometime between 1817 and 1846. Some facts and legends:

One of the earliest dates of the Liberty Bell's cracking was reported in September 1824 during the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to Philadelphia. The newspaper accounts of this visit do not mention the ringing of the State House Bell which would have occurred to announce the arrival of the guest to the city.

Others claimed the Bell cracked while sounding for a fire during the winter of 1824-1825; however, this cannot be verified by contemporary newspaper articles.

In 1828, there was much discussion by the Philadelphia City Councils of the new clock bell and steeple in the Old State House (Independence Hall). None of the documents from these meetings indicated that the Liberty Bell was damaged or unusable.

The Liberty Bell was rung to announce the news of the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1828 in Great Britain. John Sartain in his book, Reminiscences of a Very Old Man, claims the Bell was cracked during this announcement:

"The final passage of the Emancipation Act by the British Parliament is linked to a bit of Philadelphia history. On receipt of the news in Philadelphia the Liberty Bell in the tower of the State House was rung, and cracked in the ringing. When I was up in the tower in 1830, two years after, viewing the cracked bell for the first time, Downing, who was then the custodian of Independence Hall, told me of it and remarked that the bell refused to ring for a British Act, even when the Act was a good one."

This claim is questionable. Three years after this alleged cracking, the Philadelphia Councils passed a resolution allowing all young men in the city and the county to ring the State House bell on July 4th. Additionally, The National Gazette and Literary Register (Philly's local newspaper at the time) gave official notice to the city firemen that the State House bell would be rung during the morning hours and not to mistake this for a fire alarm.

While pealing for George Washington's birthday on February 22, 1832, the Liberty Bell supposedly cracked; however, again, there are no support for this claim. According to newspaper accounts at the time, the State House bell was tolled on November 14th of that year to announce the death of the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll. Also, two years later, an article in Poulson's American Daily Advertiser appeared on July 22, 1834, stating that the bell was tolled for the news of the death of the Marquis de Lafayette.

After reading a story about how the Liberty Bell cracked, Emmanual Joseph Rauch contacted the New York Times in 1911 to explain that he was present when the Liberty Bell cracked. He claimed that as a boy, he was passing by Independence Hall on February 22, 1835, when the steeple keeper asked if he would like to ring the Liberty Bell in honor of George Washington's birthday. The steeple keeper took Emmanual and several other boys up into the tower and instructed them how to ring the bell. The boys pulled the rope and noticed a change in the tone of the bell. The steeple keeper inspected the bell and noticed a crack approximately one foot long. He ordered the youngsters to go home.

Not likely. Again, this story cannot be verified by contemporary newspapers or substantiated by any other accounts.

One of the more popular dates of the Liberty Bell's cracking is July 8, 1835, when the bell was tolled during the funeral procession of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall. Although newspaper accounts give details of the funeral, there is no mention of the Liberty Bell cracking. The earliest versions of this story appear in Thompson Westcott's The Official Guide Book to Philadelphia: A New Handbook for Strangers and Citizens published in 1876 for the Centennial Exhibition. Also, the custodian of Independence Hall, Frank M. Etting, announced in March 1876 that he learned that the bell was cracked in 1835 while tolling the death of Chief Justice Marshall. Neither source provides documentation to support their claims.

According to three contemporary newspaper accounts, the bell was rung during the viewing of the body of deceased President William Henry Harrison on April 7, 1841. The bell was also used to celebrate Washington's birthday on February 22, 1843. Two different authors, Thompson Westcott and Willis P. Hazard, claimed the bell cracked so badly on this date as to render it useless. However, it appears that Mr. Westcott may have confused his dates as he reports both of the cracking events in 1835 and 1843 in his official city guidebook of 1876.

Official City journals document that the Philadelphia Mayor at a meeting on February 12, 1846, of the Common Council and Select Council, requested that the "Independence Bell" be rung on George Washington's birthday. In order to honor the request, William Eckel, Superintendent of the State House, ordered that the fracture in the bell be drilled out which resulted in the crack that we see today. Given this order, the Liberty Bell had to have cracked sometime previously.
So, when did the Liberty Bell really crack? ...You decide!

(Source: Paige, John C., "The Liberty Bell of Independence National Historical Park: A Special History Study," NPS, p. 33-39.)

Answer 6

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

It was cracked when it was being moved by the clapper, because they were testing the sound.

Answer 9

I BELIEVE ORIGINALLY IT WAS CRACKED A LITTLE WHEN IT WAS RUNG TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE BRITISH WERE COMING...THEN LATER IT WAS DROPPED WHEN IT WAS BEING MOVED AND CRACKED FURTHER...

Answer 10

The actual answer to that is still being debated. No one knows for sure!