Congress debated every paragraph of the Declaration and
removed one-third of thematerial. Issues, such as those dealing with
slavery, were deleted before the southern colonies would agree to
sign. On July 4, 1776, after many long debates and arguments, the
Declaration of Independence was approved. Twelve colonies voted for
independence with New York choosing not to vote.
The actual declaration was not read in Philadelphia until July 8.
The
Liberty Bell
, which became a symbol of American freedom, was
rung in celebration of the reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The bell was cast in London, England in 1751 to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of WilliamPenn’s Charter of Privileges.
As bells go, this was a very large one. It measured 12 feet
around, 5 feet high, and weighed over 2000 pounds. Youmay have
heard that this symbol of freedomhas a large crack in it. On the first
attempt to ring the bell in 1752, a crack appeared near the bottom.
No one knows what caused the crack. An attempt wasmade to repair
the crack, but it was unsuccessful. Today, the Liberty Bell has a
separate “house” close to Independence Hall where it has been
viewed by millions of tourists.
L
ET
’
S
R
EVIEW
1. Explain the reason for both of the nicknames for Pennsylvania.
2. Use the concept of “cause and effect” to explain the impact
of the French and IndianWar on the American colonies.
3. What does Continental Congressmean?
4. Why was Philadelphia chosen as the site for both
Continental Congressmeetings?
5. Describe one result of the First Continental Congress
meeting held in 1774.
6. Identify two results of the Second Continental Congress
meeting held in 1775.
7. Why was the Declaration of Independence such a radical
document?
8. What might have happened to the Declaration of Independence
if issues such as slavery had not been removed from this
document?
9. What metallic item is a symbol of American freedom?
Legend has it that the citizens of Philadelphia
were notified by the ringing of the Liberty Bell
that theDeclaration of Independence would be
read. Though the wording of this famous
document was approved on July 4, whenwe
celebrate IndependenceDay, most historians
agree that it was signed nearly amonth later
onAug. 2, 1776.
Anger Among the Colonists with England’s Rule
49
