Justice Bell History and Celebratory Events

Did you know that the Justice Bell, a galvanizing symbol of women’s suffrage, lives right here at the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Park? Read the story of the bell below and the local festivities happening on Tuesday, August 25 to send it off on its journey to Philadelphia for the weekend celebration of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial.

In 1915, suffragists in Pennsylvania were looking for a way to drum up support for an amendment to the state constitution that would give women the right to vote. A referendum to approve such an amendment would appear on the ballot in the November election, so there was no time to waste. They needed to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the male voters who would go to the polls. They needed to create some buzz.

That’s when Chester County activist Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger came up with an idea. Why not make a replica of the Liberty Bell, one of the nation’s most enduring symbols of freedom, and drive it around the state? The words Establish Justice were engraved on the bell and its clapper was chained to its side, not to be rung until women were silenced no more.

All summer and up until Election Day, a detail of suffragists escorted the bell around the state on a flatbed truck. In town after town, crowds rushed out to witness the unusual spectacle amid fanfare and hype. Surely this gutsy effort would pay off. Alas, the state referendum failed, but over the next few years, the Justice Bell became a galvanizing symbol not just in Pennsylvania but around the country. Finally, in 1920, after passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave all the nation’s women the right to vote, the Justice Bell was finally rung in a huge celebration at Independence Square in Philadelphia.

After the passage of the women’s right to vote, the Justice Bell ended up in Ruschenberger’s backyard until she deeded it to the Washington Memorial Chapel in 1943, and there it sat, in a chicken-wire cage in the woods, for five decades. In 1992, Rev. Richard Lyon Stinson arrived at the church as the new rector. Stinson decided the bell deserved a new lease on life, so he enlisted the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters and the Daughters of the American Revolution to help raise money to house it in a proper setting. Three years later, it was installed in the carillon rotunda where it proudly sits today.

The nationally acclaimed female skydivers of “The Highlight Pro Team,” part of the Women’s Skydiving Network’s Project 19 initiative, are scheduled to perform a special jump at the Freedoms Foundation At Valley Forge (1601 Valley Forge Rd, Valley Forge, PA) on Tuesday, August 25 at approximately 2 PM to pay tribute to the passage of the 19th Amendment and deliver a special champagne bottle to christen the Justice Bell’s journey.

After the jump, the all-female team of skydivers will lead a caravan one mile down the road to the National Patriots Bell Tower at Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Historic Park (2000 Valley Forge Park Rd, Valley Forge, PA). An old-fashioned suffrage program will be held from 6PM to 8PM with VIPs and music before the Justice Bell departs for its journey to Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

The celebration will continue Wednesday, August 26 from 12PM to 2PM in front of Independence National Historical Park in partnership with the Park and Vision 2020’s “Toast To Tenacity”, PA Daughters of American Revolution, League of Women Voters and many other patriotic and women’s organizations. The Bell will be unchained and rung ceremoniously with music, dignitaries and speakers. After the ceremony, the Bell will be transported to a secure area of the park for ongoing activities and public display until September 30.

Virtual livestream of the event at the Chapel will be available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wmchapel/

For more information go to justicebell2020.org or justicebell.org.