It was first termed "the Liberty Bell" in the New York Anti-Slavery Society's journal, Anti-Slavery Record. In an 1835 piece, "The Liberty Bell", Philadelphians were castigated for not doing more for the abolitionist cause.

The bell originally weighed in at 2,080 lbs (940 kg), but by 1909, souvenir hunters had chipped away over one percent of its weight.

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln's body was laid out in Independence Hall after his assassination for a public viewing of the body. Due to time constraints, only a small fraction of those wishing to pay their respects were able to do so, and the lines were never less than 3 miles long. Nevertheless, between 120,000 and 140,000 people were able to pass the open casket and then the bell, carefully placed at Lincoln's head so mourners could read the inscription: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

Although the bell can no longer ring with the clapper, it has been struck with a mallet and the sound recorded. The strike note of the Bell is E-flat.

Beginning in 1885, the city of Philadelphia allowed it to go to various expositions and patriotic gatherings. The bell attracted huge crowds wherever it went, but additional cracking occurred, and pieces were chipped away by souvenir hunters. The last such journey occurred in 1915, after which the city refused further requests.

An image of the Liberty Bell appears on the current $100 bill. The image changes, depending on the angle at which it is held.

On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. The company said the bell would henceforth spend half the year at Taco Bell corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. Outraged calls flooded Independence National Historical Park, and Park Service officials hastily called a press conference to deny that the bell had been sold. After several hours, Taco Bell admitted that it was an April Fools' Day joke.