The "Liberty Bell" was first made famous by abolitionists who used it as a symbol and propaganda in their fight against slavery.

The inscription on the bell, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof", is a quote from the Bible, (Leviticus 25:10), referring to the "Jubilee" which was an instruction to the Israelites to free slaves and forgive debts every 50 years.

The Anti-Slavery Record was the first to name the bell the "Liberty Bell" in 1835.

The fact that the bell hung in the Pennsylvania Statehouse (Now called Independence Hall) and was assumed to have been rung to celebrate the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July 1776 (It might have, but we have no evidence that it did), combined with the inscription, made it a perfect icon for the Abolitionists.

The fact that the bell then famously cracked (in the 1840s), and could no longer ring, made it an even better symbol.

("Remember the dreams of 'All men created equal', and 'liberty', proclaimed when our country was founded? Those dreams have not been completed while slavery is allowed. The bell is cracked and silenced, almost in mourning. When, oh when, America, will you redeem the message of the bell, repair the dream of America, and 'proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto all the Inhabitants thereof'?)

It's a pretty good and stirring emotional appeal, and made great propaganda for the Abolitionists.

The bell was later used as a symbol by the Suffragists, fighting for women's rights, for much the same reasons.

Most American's today, think of the Liberty Bell as a symbol of the Declaration of Independence, but that's not what made it famous.

The Liberty Bell was originally famous as a symbol of the fight against slavery.