Current Exhibit
Let Freedom Ring!
February through April 2023
The Pennsylvania State House Bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, is one of the most famous and instantly recognizable bells in the world. The Liberty Bell Museum explores the myths and facts surround this iconic symbol of freedom in our new exhibit, “Let Freedom Ring!.” This exhibit answers the most-asked questions about the bell, explains the roles of the city Allentown and Zion’s Church in the bell’s history, and how it became a symbol of the civil and women’s rights movements of the 19th and 20th Centuries. In addition, there are dozens of Liberty Bell replicas on display, spanning nearly 150 years.
This Week in History
March 22, 1765: Parliament passed the Stamp Act, the first direct British tax on the American colonies. This Act imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies, including playing cards.
March 23, 1919: Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Party. It was Italy’s ruling party from 1922 until Mussolini was deposed in 1943.
March 24, 1765: Parliament passed the Quartering Act, requiring the American colonies to provide food and shelter for British troops stationed there.
March 25, 1911: A fast-spreading fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City killed 145 garment workers. Most of the victims, mainly Jewish and Italian immigrant women in their teens and 20s, were trapped in the building because of faulty or missing safety equipment and locked doors. The tragedy put a national spotlight on the dangerous conditions and the rights of workers in the New York garment industry.
March 26, 1979: Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty, ending 30 years of warfare between their countries.
March 27, 1794: President George Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794, which established a permanent U.S. Navy to protect commercial ships from attack.
March 28, 1979: The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania nearly suffered a meltdown when its reactor core overheated and released radioactive steam into the atmosphere. The incident created a great deal of debate over the safety of nuclear energy.
March 29, 1790: John Tyler, the 10th U.S. President, was born in Virginia. He was the first Vice-President to become President after the death of the sitting President, William Henry Harrison. Tyler also holds the presidential record for having the most children – 15!
March 30, 1981: Only two months after his inauguration, President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinkley, Jr., outside of a Washington, D.C., hotel. Reagan survived the assassination attempt, as did his press secretary, James Brady, who was shot in the head.
Sponsors of the Liberty Bell Museum
Revolutionary Supporters
Amaranth Foundation
Karen ElChaar
Honorary First Defenders – Allentown Chapter
Patriot Supporters
Dennis and Nanci Blankowitsch
David Hoffman
Steve Leaser
Ruth Marcon
Doris and Ralph Todd
Colonist Supporters
Chris Bauder
Sara Jane and Geoff Brace
J.S. Burkholder Funeral Home Inc.
Cathy and Bill Campbell
Shirley A Christman
Sandra J. Dorney
Jean L. Engler
Tim Flores
James Follweiler
Joanne Hartshorne
Bill and Jane Marks
Jim Martin, District Attorney
S Jane Merkel
Edwards Business Systems
Michael and Rosanne Pickett
Annie Prince
Mr. and Mrs. William Remo, Jr.
MMS Advancement Associates
Robert Stevens
Frank and Susan Strouse
Ann Wertman
Bruce Wilson Contracting
Zator Law
Gloria Zimmerman