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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Some of the documents that helped shape the United States are temporarily leaving Washington, D.C., ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, giving many Americans a rare chance to see them in person.
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” – launched by The National Archives – is bringing founding-era records out of the nation’s capital and into communities across the country.
The nationwide tour kicked off Friday at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, where visitors can walk through a specially prepared exhibit room to see several historic documents up close.
The historical records are traveling around the country on what organizers call the Freedom Plane, a specially marked aircraft for the tour.
An early document related to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution is displayed inside the Freedom Plane exhibit at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. (Olivianna Calmes)
Boeing pilot Joe Seymour, who helped fly the Freedom Plane, said the mission carried special meaning.
“These are the founding fathers of the United States, and there’s a great pride that comes with that. To say it’s a privilege or an honor would really be an understatement,” Seymour said.
Jesse Kratzer, a historian with the National Archives, said many of the records rarely leave the National Archives building, giving the public an unusual opportunity to view history closer to home.
Among the documents featured in the exhibit are the Articles of Association from 1774; George Washington’s oath of allegiance from 1778; oaths of allegiance signed by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1778; the Treaty of Paris from 1783; a tally of votes approving the Constitution from 1787; a secret printing of the Constitution in draft form from 1787; and an 1823 engraving of the Declaration of Independence.
This list shows several founding-era documents featured in the National Archives Freedom Plane national tour. ()
Kratzer said some of the documents allow visitors to see the founders’ handwriting up close.
“When I touch this piece of paper, I’m touching the same piece of paper that Alexander Hamilton touched,” Kratzer said. “He signed it Alex Hamilton.”
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The documents are displayed under carefully controlled conditions in a dimly lit room designed to protect the centuries-old paper.
“We have them wrapped in mylar and then they are also encapsulated with plexiglass,” Kratzer said. “So basically they’re in their own microclimates.”
A historical record showing votes approving the U.S. Constitution in 1787 is displayed as part of the National Archives Freedom Plane exhibit touring the country. (Olivianna Calmes)
The exhibit tells the story of the nation’s founding, tracing the events that led to the creation of the United States government.
“This exhibit itself is really a history of the American Revolution, the creation of our government and then the creation of the Bill of Rights within one small space,” Kratzer said.
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Museum leaders say the exhibit brings together pieces of American history that many people have only read about in textbooks.
“These fundamental documents record all those happenings as our forebears sought to define who we were and who we wanted to be as Americans,” said Matthew Naylor, president and CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
The Freedom Plane aircraft sits on the tarmac before transporting historic founding-era documents for the National Archives’ nationwide tour. ()
Kansas City was chosen as the starting point for the national tour, a decision Naylor said highlights the importance of bringing the exhibit to communities beyond the East Coast.
“Why not for them to be in the heartland, in the Midwest as the beginning of this tour,” Naylor said.
A map shows the cities included in the National Archives “Freedom Plane” national tour, which begins in Kansas City before traveling to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, Dearborn, and Seattle. ()
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The exhibit will remain in Kansas City through March 22 before the tour moves to Atlanta and other cities across the country. It will end in Seattle in August.
A full schedule of tour stops and dates is available on the National Archives website.
This report was written by Multimedia Reporter Olivianna Calmes.
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