In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary this year, a traveling exhibition featuring several original documents from the National Archives that help tell the story of the founding of the U.S. will be on display in Los Angeles for roughly two weeks.
It’s part of the “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation,” an eight-city exhibition that began in Kansas City on March 6 and will end in Seattle on Aug. 16. Other stops include Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Miami and Dearborn.
L.A. is the third stop in this nationwide tour, with the exhibition running April 17 through May 3 at the USC Fisher Museum of Art.
Patrick Madden, CEO of the National Archives Foundation, second from left and Katherine Blakeley, dir. of government operations at Boeing, are greeted by USC President Beong-Soo Kim and Bill McSherry, vice president of state advocacy and global engagement at Boeing, as they bring nine “founding-era” documents from the National Archives and Records Administration to Van Nuys Airport. The exhibition’s L.A. stop is part of an eight-city tour in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary on Monday, April 13, 2026. The documents will be on display at the USC Fisher Museum from April 17 through May 3. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Nine “founding-era” documents from the National Archives and Records Administration arrive aboard a “Freedom Plane” at Van Nuys Airport. The L.A. exhibit is part of an eight-city tour in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary on Monday, April 13, 2026. The documents will be on display at the USC Fisher Museum from April 17 through May 3. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Air Force USC ROTC students bring nine “founding-era” documents from the National Archives and Records Administration off the “Freedom Plane” at Van Nuys Airport. The L.A. exhibit is part of an eight-city tour in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary on Monday, April 13, 2026. The documents will be on display at the USC Fisher Museum from April 17 through May 3. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Last page of the Treaty of Paris. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
A stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
George Washington’s Oath ofAllegiance. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
The first page of the Articles of Association. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
First page of the Treaty of Paris. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
George Washington’s Oath ofAllegiance. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
The first page of the Articles of Association. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
First page of the Treaty of Paris. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
A stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence. In celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary this year, the National Archives and Records Administration is staging a traveling exhibition to showcase several “founding-era” documents that help tell the story of the founding of the United States – from the original engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
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Patrick Madden, CEO of the National Archives Foundation, second from left and Katherine Blakeley, dir. of government operations at Boeing, are greeted by USC President Beong-Soo Kim and Bill McSherry, vice president of state advocacy and global engagement at Boeing, as they bring nine “founding-era” documents from the National Archives and Records Administration to Van Nuys Airport. The exhibition’s L.A. stop is part of an eight-city tour in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary on Monday, April 13, 2026. The documents will be on display at the USC Fisher Museum from April 17 through May 3. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Documents that are part of the exhibition include:
• An original 1823 engraving of the Declaration of Independence.
• The 1774 Articles of Association, which urged colonists to boycott British goods. Signed by all 53 delegates, the document represented the Continental Congress’ first major unified act of resistance against Britain.
• The 1778 Oaths of Allegiance of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. All Continental Army officers signed this oath during the Revolutionary War.
• The 1783 Treaty of Paris — signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay — in which Great Britain formally recognized the U.S. as an independent nation.
• A secret printing of a draft of the U.S. Constitution, featuring a delegate’s handwritten notes during the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
• The Constitutional Convention’s voting records, reflecting the debates, resolutions and vote on the final text of the U.S. Constitution.
• A U.S. Senate markup of what would become the Bill of Rights.
These documents are normally stored in vaults in Washington, D.C., by the National Archives and Records Administration, making the exhibition a rare opportunity to view these slices of U.S. history.
“These records, which document the decisions of our early nation and symbolize the bold declarations of our founding, have stood the test of time and become the living democracy that has evolved, endured and defines us today in our unyielding pursuit of a more perfect union,” Patrick Madden, CEO of the National Archives Foundation, said at Van Nuys Airport on Monday, shortly after a “Freedom Plane”-themed Boeing 737 plane transporting the documents touched down on the tarmac around noon.
The hope, Madden said, is that “seeing these original documents firsthand will invite meaningful reflection, ignite a civic spark for the next generation to carry out the founding ideals forward and write the following chapters of our American story.”
The concept for the Freedom Plane was inspired by the Freedom Train, when a train carrying unique artifacts representing the nation’s history traveled to all 48 contiguous states from 1975 to 1976, as part of the country’s bicentennial celebration.
Officials and students from USC, including members of the Trojan Marching Band and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, were there to greet the crew members, Madden and other passengers aboard the plane on Monday afternoon.
USC President Beong-Soo Kim, noting that USC is the only university to participate in the traveling exhibition, spoke of the “tremendous privilege and responsibility” of hosting.
“Like all great universities, we are constant stewards of the principles that they (these documents) enshrine,” Kim said.
“We live up to that stewardship in the way we teach our students. We live up to it in the way we foster academic freedom and freedom of expression. And we live up to these ideals in the way we engage and contribute to the public discourse,” he continued.
Toward the end of the event, USC’s ROTC students carried the carefully wrapped documents down the plane and to a waiting vehicle to be transported to their next destination.
The exhibition will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, starting this Friday and running through May 3, though it will be closed to the public on April 20 and 27.
The USC Fisher Museum of Art is at 823 Exposition Blvd., in Los Angeles.
Admission is free, though advance ticket reservation is required.
For information or tickets, visit fisher.usc.edu/visit-us/freedom-plane.