In February 1861 , the President-elect , Abraham Lincoln , came to the Assembly Room and delivered an address en route to his inauguration in Washington DC . In 1865 , Lincoln 's body was returned to the Assembly Room after his assassination for a public viewing of his body , en route to his burial in Springfield , Illinois . Due to time constraints , only a small fraction of those wishing to pass by the coffin were able to ; the lines to see the coffin were never less than long . Nevertheless , between 120,000 and 140,000 people were able to pass by 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 . " In 1876 , city officials discussed what role the bell should play in the nation 's Centennial festivities . Some wanted to repair it so it could sound at the Centennial Exposition being held in Philadelphia , but the idea was not adopted ; the bell 's custodians concluded that it was unlikely that the metal could be made into a bell that would have a pleasant sound , and that the crack had become part of the bell 's character . Instead , a replica weighing ( 1,000 pounds for each of the original states ) was cast . The metal used for what was dubbed " the Centennial Bell " included four melted-down cannons : one used by each side in the American Revolutionary War , and one used by each side in the Civil War . That bell was sounded at the Exposition grounds on July 4 , 1876 , was later recast to improve the sound , and today is the bell attached to the clock in the steeple of Independence Hall . While the Liberty Bell did not go to the Exposition , a great many Exposition visitors came to visit it , and its image was ubiquitous at the Exposition grounds — myriad souvenirs were sold bearing its image or shape , and state pavilions contained replicas of the bell made of substances ranging from stone to tobacco . In 1877 , the bell was hung from the ceiling of the Assembly Room by a chain with thirteen links
his assassination
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Liberty Bell