The National Archives has launched a cross-country tour carrying rare Revolutionary-era records to eight cities in a first-of-its-kind public exhibition.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

The National Archives Freedom Plane departed Washington, D.C., on Monday, beginning a nationwide tour that will carry original Founding-era documents to museums across the United States in advance of America’s 250th anniversary.

The National Archives and Records Administration announced that this marks the first time these original documents will travel collectively to eight cities across the country. The tour runs through Aug. 16.

Modeled after the Bicentennial Freedom Train that visited 48 states in 1975 and 1976, the Freedom Plane will transport historic records including the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Senate Markup of the Bill of Rights (1789).

“It’s tangible history, and tangible history inspires,” said Jim Byron, senior adviser to the acting archivist of the United States, according to The Associated Press. “These documents have not traveled, and they’ve certainly not traveled collectively, ever. They are here in vaults.”

The first stop on the tour is Kansas City, Missouri, where the materials will be transferred to the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Among the records on display will be an original 1823 engraving of the Declaration of Independence printed from a copperplate of the original; Oaths of Allegiance signed in 1778 by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other Continental Army officers; and a rare draft copy of the U.S. Constitution containing handwritten notes by delegates.

Matt Naylor, president and CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial, said the arrival of the documents has generated strong local interest.

“The reality that these documents are leaving D.C. and coming to the heartland is fantastic,” Naylor said. “There’s a lot of excitement about that and a lot of talk in and around the city about what that means.”

The Kansas City exhibition will run for a little more than two weeks beginning Friday. Naylor said more than 5,000 schoolchildren have already scheduled visits.

Following Kansas City, the Freedom Plane will carry the documents to Atlanta; Los Angeles; Houston; Denver; Miami; Dearborn, Michigan; and Seattle.

The tour represents a rare opportunity for Americans outside the nation’s capital to view foundational documents that have typically remained secured in archival vaults.