Bill of Rights Day Community Bell Ringing

*What: 232^nd Annual Bill of Rights Day Event

When: Bill of Rights Day, Friday, December 15, 2023

Time: 12:00 Noon  to 12:03:52 PM, EST

Where: In front of Hillsborough’s historic 1845 courthouse, 104 East King Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278.

Details: 232 seconds of simultaneous community bell ringing to mark the 232nd anniversary of when the first ten amendments became part of the U. S. Constitution, December 15, 1791.

The public is invited to “bring bells, ring bells!” and join the bell ringing, too, too! It’s a great way to mark the “last great American holiday” and gives new meaning to the age old phrase, “Let Freedom Ring!”

Contact: Scott Washington, Hillsborough Historian, former Assistant Director of the Orange County Historical Museum, Founder and Organizer of the Bill of Rights Day Bell Ringing event (started 2012)

Website: https://www.facebook.com/December15Bells/

*BILL OF RIGHTS DAY 2023 – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023*

December 15th 2023 is Bill of Rights Day. It marks the anniversary of that day in 1791 when the first ten amendments became part of the U.S. Constitution, the ones we call “The Bill of Rights.” Every president of the United States, Democrat and Republican, since Franklin D. Roosevelt, have issued proclamations urging citizens to celebrate Bill of Rights Day with appropriate local observances.

Citizens in Hillsborough, North Carolina, county seat of Orange County (“Birthplace of the Bill of Rights”) have a unique way of celebrating this “Last Great American Holiday.” Instead of parades and speeches, citizens in Hillsborough. North Carolina, celebrate the holiday a little differently.

For as many seconds as there have been years since those amendments have been in force, bells have been ringing simultaneously across Hillsborough’s historic district, from church belfries to ordinary citizens starting at 12:00PM Noon on December 15th and continuing simultaneously for as many seconds as the Bill of Rights, those first ten amendments to the U. S. Constitution, have been in force.

This year marks the 232^nd anniversary so that means 232 seconds (3 minutes, 52 seconds) of continuous bell ringing to mark the 232^nd anniversary of when the Bill of Rights became part of the U. S. Constitution and every citizen’s birthright. It’s also a day when we invite anyone in the world in sympathy with these great values to join us celebrating this great American holiday and the enduring values they represent, too.

In Hillsborough, a great place to “bring bells, ring bells” will be in front of the historic 1845 courthouse, 104 East King Street, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, at 12:00PM Noon. It’s the same spot where other courthouses have stood in Orange County since colonial times when the Bill of Rights first became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791.

The modern Bill of Rights Day Community Bell Ringing event was started in 2012 by Scott Washington, former Assistant Director of the Orange County Historical Museum, and every year since then, bells have rung from church belfries to bells rung by ordinary citizens on Bill of Rights Day in Hillsborough’s historic district, an example of what other cities could do across the nation to mark this “Last Great American Holiday.”

There are no speeches and no fireworks – only the sound of bells ringing together simultaneously. It’s fun, free, festive, and short. The Bill of Rights is the “common ground” of values that all Americans share together. They also represent the aspirations of people of goodwill throughout the world.

Hillsborough has a claim to fame as being the only place in the United States to celebrate this “last great American holiday” this way. It’s something that any city could do from Hillsborough to Honolulu, too.

From beginning to end, the Hillsborough Bill of Rights Day event this year will last 232 seconds (3 minutes, 52 seconds) to mark the 232nd anniversary of when the first ten amendments, the ones we call The Bill of Rights, became part of the U. S. Constitution on December 15, 1791.

The public is invited to “bring bells, ring bells” of any size and sound (from car keys to sleigh bells) or come hear them in Hillsborough’s historic district. Rain or shine, people will gather in front of the historic 1845 courthouse on East King Street where courthouses have stood on the same spot going back to the 18th century when the Bill of Rights first became part of the U.S. Constitution, quietly protecting the rights of Americans ever since. It’s also a great place to ring bells and hear them, too.

Backstory:

Orange County, North Carolina has a special claim to the moniker, “Birthplace of the Bill of Rights.” On June 19, 1771, six men were executed by English colonial governor William Tryon in Hillsborough, North Carolina, the county seat of Orange County, following the Battle of Alamance on charges of High Treason for daring to question English tax and fee policies. These brave patriots stood for the very principles that the Bill of Rights would later define. Denied legal counsel, there was no Bill of Rights to protect them then.

Seventeen years after those brave men died in 1771, North Carolina’s Constitutional Convention, held in Hillsborough in 1788, was determined that would never happen again. North Carolina became the only state of the original thirteen to postpone ratification of what was then the “new” U. S. Constitution until provisions were made for introducing a Bill of Rights and amendments to the Congress and ratifying states. That became the “tipping point” why the newly elected Congress took up this important issue and why amendments were proposed and sent to the ratifying states for consideration. On December 15, 1791, enough states had ratified ten amendments for those ten to become part of the U. S. Constitution, the ones we call the “Bill of Rights.”

Hillsborough’s Bill of Rights Day Community Bell Ringing event is a grassroots, nonpartisan annual event that began in 2012, over a decade ago, with participation from citizens, merchants, church and civic leaders, and is family friendly, open to all.

In years past, historic churches of different denominations dating back to the 18th and 19th century have rung bells on Bill of Rights Day from their belfries including Dickerson Chapel AME, First Baptist of Hillsborough, Hillsborough Presbyterian, Hillsborough United Methodist, and St. Matthews Episcopal.

The public is invited to bring bells, ring bells, too. The event is free, fun, fast, festive, and short, giving new meaning to the age old refrain, “Let Freedom Ring!”