Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Liberty Bell - TPR's In Focus - June 30, 2026

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Liberty Bell - TPR's In Focus - June 30, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from Troy University's Trojan Cafe,
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  offering handcrafted Starbucks beverages
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  and a wide assortment of meal and snack options.
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  Located on Troy University's Montgomery campus,
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  across from the Rosa Parks Library and Museum.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  Alabama's replica of the famous Liberty Bell
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  will be rededicated on July 8th
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  on the South Lawn of the State Capitol.
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  Steve Murray, Director of the Alabama Department
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  of Archives and History, shares the story of its repair
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  and also previews the reading of the Declaration
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  of Independence on a special anniversary.
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  Steve Murray, welcome back to Troy Public Radio.
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  Thank you, Carolyn.
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  It's great to be with you.
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  Steve, this is an important year in our nation's history.
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  Can you tell us what's happening
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  at Archives and History to celebrate?
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  This happens to be the 125th year
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  of the Department of Archives and History
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  and it coincides with the 250th year of our nation.
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  We're really excited about a program coming up on July 8th
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  when we will welcome the public to the South Lawn
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  of the State Capitol for a really special program.
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  The program has an unusual name.
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  How long?
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  What's the story behind that name?
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  Well, we're really blending
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  these two important events together.
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  So it's the reading of the Declaration of Independence
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  and rededication of Alabama's Liberty Bell.
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  It's gonna be at five o'clock
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  on the South Lawn of the Capitol.
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  The first part of that has to do with a special anniversary
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  for our nation's founding document
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  because it was on July 8th, 1776,
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  when the public had its first opportunity
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  to hear the Declaration of Independence
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  read aloud in Philadelphia.
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  So this was four days after the text had been approved
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  by the Continental Congress.
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  It would be followed by weeks and months
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  of the Declaration being heard by the public
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  all over the new United States.
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  But on that day, July 8th, 1776,
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  a member of the Pennsylvania Militia
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  walked outside what we now call Independence Hall
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  and read the Declaration aloud for the first time.
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  Are you saying that this reading will be replicated
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  on the South Lawn of the Capitol at 5 p.m.?
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  That's right.
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  We're gonna have a wonderful group of Alabamians,
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  six people who will share the word of the Declaration
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  250 years later to mark this semi-quincentennial
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  of our nation 250 years later.
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  But at the heart of it,
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  it's about what happened in July, 1776,
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  and the decision for the colonies
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  to declare their independence,
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  declare themselves to be the new United States.
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  The language, the text itself of the Declaration
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  inspired not only the people of the new United States
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  during the Revolutionary War,
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  but freedom-seeking people all over the world
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  have looked at this document as a guide and as inspiration.
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  So it just seems appropriate to mark the occasion
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  by re-engaging the text itself.
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  So we've got a great cross-section of Alabama
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  that includes the Adjutant General
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  of the State of Alabama's National Guard, a minister,
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  we've got a state legislator, a local student,
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  one of the justices of the State Supreme Court,
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  and our local Montgomery County Sheriff.
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  So these folks who've come from different walks of life,
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  many of them have some responsibilities
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  or connection with either state or local government,
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  but they will split up and share that task
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  of reading the Declaration aloud to us.
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  Get us up to date on the Liberty Bell.
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  So the second part of the program
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  will be rededicating this replica copy of the Liberty Bell
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  that has been part of Alabama now for well over 70 years.
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  We all know the story of the original Liberty Bell
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  in Philadelphia, which is such an important symbol
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  of our country's freedom and the revolutionary era.
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  But in 1950, after the end of World War II,
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  the United States is taking on lots of new responsibilities
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  around the globe, and the federal government
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  wants to encourage the public to continue to invest in bonds.
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  So what we think of now as savings bonds
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  are being promoted during this era.
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  And in 1950, the federal government
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  wants to promote this new series
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  of independence savings bonds.
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  And what better symbol to represent that kind of campaign
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  for independence bonds than the Liberty Bell?
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  And the U.S. Treasury Department
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  worked with some major companies around the country
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  to fabricate very precise copies
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  of the original Liberty Bell in Philadelphia
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  to send one to each of the states and territories.
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  So Alabama and all the other states and territories
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  received theirs in 1950.
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  This bell traveled the 67 counties in Alabama
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  in the spring of that year, came back to Montgomery in June,
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  and was celebrated with a big event similar to the one
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  that we're gonna be having on July 8th.
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  And that bell actually was then installed
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  at the Archives Building, where it stayed
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  for about 25 years.
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  When was it moved?
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  Fast forward to the United States bicentennial
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  in 1976.
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  And the bell was moved to the south side of the Capitol,
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  where it's been ever since then.
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  Thousands of Alabamians, and especially school children,
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  have walked by it and had their class photos taken with it.
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  As we approach the 250th, it seemed the perfect occasion
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  to give the bell a little TLC, which it needed
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  after being outside for all these years.
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  So we were able to have it sent to a bell foundry
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  in Charleston, South Carolina,
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  that did some restoration work on the bell.
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  It's in beautiful condition.
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  It has a whole new wooden yoke that was built
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  and installed on it.
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  And so it's in good shape for the next 50 years
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  of inspiring visitors to the Capitol grounds.
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  So are you saying that on this occasion, July 8th,
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  this will be sort of a rededication of that bell?
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  That's right.
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  We are going to actually unveil the bell,
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  and then we'll have a ringing of the bell.
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  And we've got a special guest speaker
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  who will be with us that day.
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  It's actually State Treasurer Young Boozer.
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  And Treasurer Boozer has a special connection to this.
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  In 1950, his father, who was also named Young Boozer,
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  was a U.S. Treasury Department official in Birmingham,
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  and he was involved in this independence bond drive
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  and had a role in bringing the bell to Birmingham.
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  So from 1950 to today,
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  we've got the father who was involved originally,
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  and now the son, Young Boozer,
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  will be involved in helping us to unveil it
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  and celebrate the Liberty Bell.
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  Steve, how did the crack come about in the Liberty Bell?
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  Well, it was cast in Europe
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  and then brought to Philadelphia originally.
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  And I think upon its very first ringing, it cracked.
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  But my understanding is that just represented
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  probably a flaw in the casting
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  or in the metal that was used.
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  That original bell was melted down and recast
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  into yet another bell, and upon its ringing, cracked again.
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  And so then they decided there's a pattern here.
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  And so they set that bell aside,
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  and it's really just functioned
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  as a wonderful symbol to us ever since.
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  And the Alabama Bell and the bell that you can also find
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  in many other state capitals
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  are precise copies of the original, except the crack.
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  They did not try to replicate the crack in the bell.
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  But they have a beautiful tone when they're rung,
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  and so we're looking forward to marking
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  this great anniversary with the ringing of our bell.
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  So it sounds like everyone is welcome on July 8th.
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  That's exactly right.
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  So this is gonna begin at 5 p.m.,
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  and I haven't mentioned that these events
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  are taking place nationwide
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  with the reading of the Declaration
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  and to try to get as many Americans as possible
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  engaged in hearing the words of the Declaration
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  at the same hour.
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  So ours will be at 5 p.m. July 8th.
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  We will keep this to under an hour.
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  We'll have water available and shade for the public.
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  Be part of this important commemoration,
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  and hopefully it will initiate
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  some wonderful discussions among families
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  and the opportunity to reflect
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  on the founding principles of our country.
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  So what's the website
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  so that your listeners can find out more?
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  Our website is archives, with an S at the end,
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  .alabamaspelledout.gov.
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  So archives.alabama.gov.
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  We're on Facebook and Instagram,
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  and we do have some really good air conditioning
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  for the summertime.
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  It's a great place to visit,
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  and we're open Monday through Saturday, 8.30 to 4.30,
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  and admission is always free.
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  Thank you so much for your visit today
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  and the preview of July the 8th.
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  Thank you, Carolyn, so much.
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  We appreciate your interest and your listeners.
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  That was Steve Murray,
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  Director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
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  More information can be found at the website,
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  archives.alabama.gov.
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  Thanks for joining us for In Focus,
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  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson,
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  and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.