The Liberty bell was given to San Jose State University in 1912 by the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a duplicate of the bell in Philadelphia. It was given to us because San Jose is seen as the sister city to Philadelphia. Originally, the bell was not used and the school saw it as a historical landmark. The University finally attempted to put the bell to use. San Jose State University tried to use it as a school bell in the in the summer of the year 1920. The bell worked wonders for the University and the students. The bell can be heard all around campus.
The bell is made from copper and was engraved by a man named Theodore Roosevelt. He was one of the original members of the group that made the Liberty bell in the late 1800s. Theodore Roosevelt single handedly engraved the bell for San Jose State University. After, he finished his presidency in 1909 he started to work on the duplication of the liberty bell. It took Roosevelt three years to completely build the bell. There was only one way for him to ship the bell to California and he had to call in a huge favor. The two men he called upon to help him out were the Wright brothers. Previously, in 1899 the Wright brothers were the first ones to fly a plane. This was the only way San Jose State University was able to receive the Liberty bell from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jon Leachman