Joyously the great bell in the steeple of the State House at Philadelphia, swung its iron tongue and pealed forth the glad news, proclaiming Liberty throughout all the land. The tidings spread from city to city, from village to village, from farm to farm. There was shouting, rejoicing, bonfires, and thanksgiving. Copies of the Declaration were sent to all the States. Washington had it proclaimed at the head of his troops; while far away in the Waxhaws, nine year old Andrew Jackson read it aloud to an eager crowd of backwoods settlers. The great bell--the Liberty Bell--that had proclaimed Liberty, was carefully treasured. To-day, it may be seen in Independence Hall, as the old State House is now called. Around the crown of the Liberty Bell are inscribed the words which God Almighty commanded the Hebrews to proclaim to all the Hebrew People, every fifty years, so that they should not oppress one another:-- _Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land, Unto all the inhabitants thereof._ Twenty-three years before the Declaration of Independence was signed, these prophetic words from the Bible had been inscribed upon the crown of that great Bell. ONLY A REPRIEVE _Fondly do we hope,--fervently do we pray,--that this mighty scourge of War may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”_ ABRAHAM LINCOLN There were two statements in the Declaration of Independence, which must have profoundly disturbed its Signers:-- “All men are created equal,” and have the right “to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Many of the Signers were slave-holders. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, the Framer of the Declaration, was an Abolitionist, and an active one, throwing the weight of his great influence against the institution of slavery. He earnestly believed that all men--white and black alike--are born equal. So, when he was asked to frame the Declaration of Independence, he put into it a clause condemning the slave-trade, as an “assemblage of horrors.” During the debate in the Convention, this clause was stricken out. Though Jefferson had his reasons for not freeing his own slaves, he continued to speak and write against slavery as a violation of human rights and liberties. “This abomination must have an end,” he said. There were other Americans who believed as he did.