The sun., 1912-07-04
LIBERTY BELL A FRAUD.
SAYS NOTED HISTORIAN
Never Was Rung to Proclaim
Independence in 1916.
Jackson Asserts.
CALLS TRADITIONS MYTHS
Says Relic Was Cracked in 183s
at Death Of Justice
Marshall.

| PHILADELPHIA. July g. Six h,,ndrol
thousand loyal Americans on an ayera.,
have travelled hundreds of miles annuaIly
| shed numerous tears aud believed than
selves to be looking at something wonde,.
full when they gazed upon the Liberty Pail
which IL on exhibition in independents
Hall hero.
Now Joseph jackson, probably phiA.
delphia's best known historian after yean
of study and research comes forward
with the statement that all those pretty
sentiments regarding the cracked bell ara
myths and that for years the old bell sim.
ply has been fooling the public.
Not only have thousands come 10 wish
the old bell. but 1t has been lugged around
the country to numerous exhihitions
II has had bodyguard and it has be.n
treated AZ a member Of the family.
According to Historian jackson the old
bell never proclaimed liberty through.
out the land. little boy never stood
at the foot of the tower and yelled to ths
gray haired old man in the tower Ring.
grandpa. ring" as the Declaration Of In.
dependence was proclaimed This. too.
according to Historian jackson. is another
| beautiful myth. and he produces the data
TO prove his statements.
He takes everything up in chronological
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 han.
pened to be made. The records in his
possession show that a resolution passed
by the House of Representatives on Octo.
Der 10. 1852. instructed the superintendent
Of the State House to procure bell for
the use of the Assembly. and that on No.
vember Of the same year letter was
despatched to Robert Charles of London
ordering a bell OF about 1000 pounds which
was to be cast with the following words
well shaped in large letters round it,:
BY order Of the Assembly of the Pro-
vince Of Pennsylvania for the State HOUSE
in the City of Philadelphia, l752.' and
underneath
Proclaim Liberty through all the land
10 all the Inhabitants thereof. Levitt,
ySV.. 10
MIR. jackson takes up the alleged ring.
ing Of the bell and the claim that it pro.
claimed liberty on July 4. 1870. SO far
al he has been able 20 discover after
years of research this misleading state
ment 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 state House
Bell and not the Liberty hell. and noth-
ing had been said about it's Use in pro.
claiming independence. Even as late
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,
says MIR. jackson, that during the dis
cussions in City Councils in lXS regard
ing the restoration OF the State House
and the introduction of "a clock in a pro-
and the old one-the now famous myth
Bell of Liberly-was to be given in part
payment for tha new bell"
Mr.. jackson takes up the crack in the
bell. which recently has widened so that
the old piece OF metal no longer may be
taken ON trips around the country. as 1t
was for several years. He declares that
from its quarters in the old tower and
tolled for the death Of Chief Justice
Marshall in 1888.
Mr.. jackson quotes an entire chapter
from the work Of George Lippard, a fic.
tion 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 asser-
tion that the bell was not rung on July
!. 1879. He gives as his authority Thomas
Mexican. who declares that the draft
OF the Declaration of Independence was
not adopted until very late In the evening
Of July 1. l778. 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. III is
not reasonable To suppose thav the bell
was rung on July I. 1910. when very few
persons knew anything about The adop-
ton OF the Declaration until July 5, l776,
Had the bell been rung on July 4 every
person in Philadelphia would have known
Of the action taken by Congress-
Not satisfied with this MIR. jackson
also quotes from the diaries of Charles
Bidde and Mrs. Deborah Logan and IN
neither Of them il any mention of the
Liberty Bell or the State House Bell hav
ing proclaimed liberty or even having
been rung.
Mr.. jackson declares that the Liberty
Bell received it's first real baptism in the
early '7Os, when preparations for the
Centennial celebration were being made.