National WWI Museum and Memorial/Provided
An 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence on display in Kansas City, MO, as part of the National Archives’ Freedom Plane tour.
Some of the most treasured documents in early American history are coming to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, as part of a national tour celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding.
The National Archives and Records Administration is embarking on a so-called “Freedom Plane National Tour,” bringing nine historic documents to eight cities across the country, including Houston.
From May 8-25, Houstonians can see such historic documents as an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, and George Washington’s oath of allegiance to the United States.
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“It’s a tremendous opportunity,” Dirk Van Tuerenhout, curator of anthropology and director of collections at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, said. “It’s a great honor to be able to share these documents, given the history, and, of course, the fact that they go back to the very beginning of the history of the United States.”
The documents are currently in Kansas City, Missouri, and will travel to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, Dearborn, MI, and Seattle.
The tour is in celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial, its 250th year. Each of the nine documents will travel aboard a Boeing 737, dubbed the “Freedom Plane,” and travel across the country.
It’s not the first time the United States has embarked on such a journey. As the United States approached its bicentennial in 1976, the “American Freedom Train” traveled across the country, carrying artifacts of American history and culture. Notably, though, the tour in 1776 went to more than 100 cities in each of the 48 contiguous states.
By contrast, Houston is the only city in Texas — and much of the southern United States — to feature a stop on the tour.
“I would just express a hope, first of all, we will get a large number of people that are interested in learning more,” Van Turenhout said. “It is actually the year to come and see these documents; otherwise, you would have to go to Washington. But it also gives you impetus, perhaps, a little bit of a spur in the moment.”
These are the nine documents featured on the tour:
William Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence, 1823: one of just 200 exact replicas of the Declaration of Independence created in the early nineteenth century, and one of just 50 known to still exist.
Articles of Association, 1774: the First Continental Congress’ agreement to boycott British goods.
George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr’s Oaths of Allegiance, 1778: nearly two years into the American Revolution, Congress ordered all Continental Army officers to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. More than a thousand survive, including these from prominent American leaders.
Treaty of Paris, 1783: the treaty signed by the United States and Britain, formally recognizing the U.S. as an independent nation.
David Brearley’s Secret Printing of the Constitution, 1787: one copy of the draft for the U.S. Constitution provided to delegates of the Constitutional Convention.
State Delegation Votes Approving the Constitution, 1787: the roster of the votes on the U.S. Constitution.
Senate Markup of the Bill of Rights, 1789: the Senate’s annotations and markup to what became the Bill of Rights.