Photo Gallery: Let Freedom Ring

Circuit Judge Dan Ballou was the keynote speaker during the Sons and Daughters of the America Revolution’s Let Freedom Ring bell ringing ceremony Saturday.

Ballou spoke about the importance of having loyalty not to one political party or the other, but instead to the constitution, which is a cornerstone document the principles of which our country was founded upon.

The annual ceremony was held in front of the Hutton Business Building on the campus of the University of the Cumberlands. The building is a replica of Independence Hall

The local chapters of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution hold the ceremony each year in honor of the 13 original colonies.

Attendees read the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, sang the National Anthem, and said the Pledge of Allegiance.

At the close of the ceremony, a replica of the Liberty Bell is rung 13 times in honor of the original colonies, which later became the first 13 states.

There were about 50 people present for the bell ringing ceremony.