The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-08-23

years the Ola Dell simply mas peeH
fooling the public.
Not only have thousands come to
visit the old bell, but it has been lug
ged around the country to numerous
exhibitions, it has bodyguard and it
has been treated as a member of the
family
According to Historian Jackson the
old bell never proclaimed liberty
throughout the land, little boy never
stood at the foot of the tower and yel-
led to the grayhaired old man in the
tower, Ring, grandpa, ring" as the
Declaration of independence was pro-
claimed. This, too, according to His
torian Jackson, is another beautiful
myth, and he produces >the data to
prove his statements.
He takes everything up in chrono-
logical order and one by one skaters
the dreams of other historians who
have accepted all these dreams about
the Liberty Bell without question.
Historian Jackson starts his denial
with an explanation of how the bell
first happened to be made. The re-
cords in his possession show that a
resolution passed the house of repre-
sentatives on October 16, 1852, in
structed the superintendent of the
state house to procure a bell for the
use of the assembly, and that on No
vember l of the same year letter was
dispatched to Robert Charles, of Lon
don, ordering a bell of about 1000
pounds, which was to be cast, the fol-
lowing words well shaped in large
letters around it."
."By order of the Assembly OF the
Province of Pennsylvania for the state
house in the city of Philadelphia,
1872" and underneath:
proclaim liberty through all the
land to all the Inhabitants thereof.
Lav:t., XIV, TO-"
Mr.. Jackson takes up the alleged
ringing of the bell and the claim that
it proclaimed liberty on July 4, ITS.
So far as he has been able to discover,
after years of research, this mlslead-
ing statement is directly traceable to
"Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, :"
which was published in 1880.
. Prior to the publication of that work
the bell was known as the statehouse
bell and not the Liberty Bell, and
nothing had been said about its use in
proclaiming independence. Even as
late as 1880 it was known as the state
house bell, even after that building
had ceased to be the assembly and
title had passed to the commonwealth
of Philadelphia.
$50 little was thought of the bell,
saws Mr.. Jackson, that during the
discussions in city councils in 1928
regarding the restoration OF the
statehouse and the Introduction OF a
clock in proposed tower a new bell
was ordered and the old one-the now
famous myth Liberty Bell-was to be
given in part payment for the new
bell"
Mr.. Jackson takes up the crack
in the bell, which recently has wild
ened so that the old piece of metal no
longer may be taken On trips around
the country, as it was for several
years. He declares that the bell was
cracked when it was taken from its
quarters in the old tower and tolled
for the death of Chief Justice Mar
shall in 1888.
Mr.. Jackson quotes an entire chap
ter from the work of George Lippard,
a fiction writer, whom he blames for
many Of the historic myths, in which
the story of the ringing of the bell is
told. He then retraces his steps and
makes the assertion that the bell was
not rung on July 4, 1776. He gives as
his authority Thomas Mexican, who
declares that the draft of the Declar-
alton of independence was not adopt
ed until very late in the evening OF
July 4, 1776, and it was not until
twenty-four hours later that it was
decided to make known the fact of the
adoption of the Declaration.
therefore" says Mr.. Jackson, sit
is not reasonable to suppose that the
bell was rung On July 4, 1875, when