The Sarsaparilla Times #6: The Cradle of Freedom Starts in Liberty Square
The world should never forget the spot where the Liberty Tree once stood.
How often do guests that breeze through Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom miss the tree that started it all? Do guests get pictures of the nation’s most famous tree, or do they pass by it on their way to make the very important Lightning Lane time for Mickey’s Philharmagic?
My guess is that most will casually notice the tree but not spend more than a moment’s glance at the most important plant in American Revolutionary history.
Liberty Square spends its time trying to educate visitors about the founding of the nation and the incredible growth that has been witnessed for the last two hundred years, from sea to shining sea. Between the market of hot dogs and turkey legs, ‘The Hall of Presidents’ and ‘The Haunted Mansion’ sits two items that are integral in the story of the nation.
The Liberty Tree replica that sits at the side of the busy part of Magic Kingdom is a replica of the large elm that stood in Boston and inspired the vigor and fire of American patriots. Located near Boston Common and planted in 1646, the tree would become a popular meeting spot for Boston citizens as this was the main artery to town. The revolutionary group ‘The Sons of Liberty’ would use the tree as their meeting spot to protest British taxes and government policies.
When the ‘Stamp Act’ of 1765 was legislated against the colonies, which would result in everyone who had any documents being made to pay an additional tax to the King of England, the ‘Sons of Liberty’ took their anger to the tree and began to protest vehemently with effigies of the tax collectors. A year later when the tax was repealed, the same group would celebrate under the tree.
The Liberty Tree would also see many Royal officials tarred and feather under its branches in the coming revolutionary days. When Boston Loyalists and British soldiers seized the city in 1775, they cut down the tree and burned it for firewood. A year later when Patriots retook the city, they placed a liberty pole in the stump of the tree, and the myth of the fabled wooden revolutionary would pass into the history books.
In Magic Kingdom beside the replica of the Liberty Tree stands another replica of the Philadelphia artefact ‘The Liberty Bell’. Commissioned in 1751 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s ‘Charter of Privileges for Pennsylvania’ the State House bell would come to have a more glorious moment in time for the United States of America.
Initially used to summon lawmakers to government sessions, the state house bell would also alert citizens to public meetings and proclamations. When the Declaration of Independence was adopted and proclaimed throughout the new nation on July 4, 1776, the Liberty Bell undoubtedly rang to celebrate this united action by the colonists.
Hidden during the American Revolution for fear the British would melt the massive bell for muskets balls, the true power of the bell came long after the surrender at Yorktown by the British. In the 19th Century, the bell would become a rallying cry for abolition, and for the commemoration of what was achieved during the American revolution.
When the bell was cast in England at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry it was given an inscription that would guarantee that this bell would be forever remembered with ‘Proclaim LIBERTY throughout the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof."
The Pennsylvania State House Bell would forever be the ‘Liberty Bell’.
These two powerful symbols of the growth of the nation and the sacrifice of many have replicas that sit quietly in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom, waiting for people to discover them and to remember what they mean.
In the hustle to beat the lines, and the rush to find the food to nourish the body that is badly depleted from walking twenty thousand steps a day, it is easy to miss the small things that make Magic Kingdom, and all the Disney Parks, so magical.
One may notice when an animatronic is broken, or when a favorite item of merchandise is sold out, but sadly, many walk by the moments of creativity that the Imagineers have placed into the overall storytelling that is layered in grand actions and small moments through all the Disney Parks.
In Liberty Square, the story of the nation unfolds. Whether you dine at the Columbia Harbor House, watch the evolution of the country through the ‘Hall of President’s,’ sit idly by as the Riverboat passes by for one last time, or stare off into the magic that is ‘The Haunted Mansion’ the history of America can be found throughout this tiny portion of the Magic Kingdom.
Even the roadways, with the brown streak of pavement through the middle bordered by the red brick walkway is symbolic of the growth of America. Liberty Square is a one-of-a-kind place that Disney Parks has not replicated anywhere else.
As the July 4th holiday is upon us and if you happen to be in Magic Kingdom, take a moment to stop and admire the Liberty Bell and Liberty Tree in Liberty Square. While one real symbol is lost to the annals of history and another sits on display in Philadelphia, a visitor at Magic Kingdom can see these detailed replicas, and while they may not be as tall as ‘Space Mountain’ visitors to this part of the Magic Kingdom will stand amongst the giants of American history.
Liberty Tree and Liberty Bell Fun Facts:
- 1) Thomas Paine memorialized the tree in a 1775 poem.
- 2) When the Marquis de Lafayette toured through the USA in 1825, the noble Frenchman and friend of the United States remarked that “The world should never forget the spot where once stood Liberty Tree."
- 3) Thomas Jefferson gave American history this famous quote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." He was referencing the Liberty Tree. This quote would also be used by Ed Harris in the Hollywood Pictures film, The Rock. A film I highly recommend.
- 4) When the Liberty Tree was cut down for burning, it reportedly made 14 cords of firewood.
- 5) The Liberty Bell is referenced in the Walt Disney Pictures action film National Treasure. Another movie I highly recommend.
- 6) The crack is a well-known feature of the Liberty Bell. It had initially arrived from England with a crack, which was repaired, and then over several decades of use, the crack widened. In 1846, the thin crack that was evident in the bell was widened to prevent further damage to the bell and to restore proper tone to the bell.
- 7) In 1950, Liberty Bell Savings Bonds were created and to promote the campaign, over fifty replicas of the famous bell were made and dispersed around the country, one for each state and the territory of the United States.