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Documents to travel the country on Boeing 737 “Freedom Plane” for display at major museums for the first time in history

On January 20, 2026, the National Archives and Records Administration, in partnership with the National Archives Foundation, announced the “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation ” traveling exhibition that will bring Founding-era documents to eight American cities throughout 2026. Inspired by the Bicentennial Freedom Train, the Freedom Plane National Tour will make historic and consequential documents fundamental to America’s founding accessible across the nation to celebrate the semiquincentennial. The tour will kick off in March and run through August.

A livestreamed National Archives press briefing announcing the Freedom Plane National Tour was held on January 20, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET.

“Americans across the country can bear witness to the people and principles that shaped our nation through the Freedom Plane National Tour,” said Senior Advisor to the Archivist of the United States Jim Byron. “There is no more noteworthy an occasion than America’s 250th birthday to share this history, to inspire our fellow Americans to champion our nation’s founding ideals into the future.” 

The Freedom Plane National Tour is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation, through the generous support of The Boeing Company, Comcast Corporation, Microsoft, and P&G.

"At Boeing, we’re honored to help bring these foundational documents directly to communities across the country,” said Jeff Shockey, Executive Vice President of Boeing Government Operations, Global Public Policy & Corporate Strategy. “Just as flight connects people and places, this tour will connect Americans to the ideas and sacrifices that forged our nation, and make history accessible to people from coast to coast.”

“Through our critical support of the Freedom Plane National Tour, the National Archives Foundation is helping to bring not only founding-era documents themselves, but the patriotism, celebration, and wonder that they inspire, to Americans everywhere—from sea to shining sea,” said National Archives Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Patrick M. Madden. 

The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” exhibition will visit the following cities: 

• Kansas City, MO: National WWI Museum and Memorial: Friday, March 6 – Sunday, March 22
• Atlanta, GA: Atlanta History Center: Friday, March 27 – Sunday, April 12
• Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California Fisher Museum of Art: Friday, April 17 – Sunday, May 3
• Houston, TX: Houston Museum of Natural Science: Friday, May 8 – Monday, May 25 
• Denver, CO: History Colorado Center: Thursday, May 28 – Sunday, June 14 
• Miami, FL: HistoryMiami Museum: Saturday, June 20 – Sunday, July 5 
• Dearborn, MI: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation: Thursday, July 9 – Sunday, July 26 
• Seattle, WA: Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI): Thursday, July 30 – Sunday, August 16 

The original National Archives records featured in the exhibition are traveling together for the first time. They will journey from Washington, DC to all eight cities via a Boeing 737 in Freedom Plane livery, and Boeing will provide the aircraft and associated operational support to transport the records between the venues. Those documents include:

• Original Engraving of the Declaration of Independence, 1823: One of only about 50 known engraved copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed from a copperplate of the original. Commissioned by John Quincy Adams and made by engraver William J. Stone, the engraving captured the size, text, lettering, and signatures of the original document (on loan from David M. Rubenstein). 
• Articles of Association, 1774: Signed by all 53 delegates, the Articles of Association urged colonists to boycott British goods and was the Continental Congress's first major unified act of resistance against Britain.
• George Washington’s, Alexander Hamilton’s, and Aaron Burr’s Oaths of Allegiance, 1778: Oaths of Allegiance that all officers of the Continental Army signed during the Revolutionary War. 
• Treaty of Paris, 1783: Signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, this Treaty with Great Britain formally recognized the United States as an independent nation.
• Secret Printing of the Constitution in Draft Form, 1787: A rare copy of the U.S. Constitution in draft form, with the delegate’s handwritten notes made during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. 
• Tally of Votes Approving the Constitution, 1787: The voting records of the Constitutional Convention reflecting the debates, resolutions, and eventual vote on the final text that would become the Constitution. 

“The Freedom Plane National Tour underscores that the rich history of our nation belongs to all of us, not just those Americans living in or visiting Washington, DC,” said Chair and President of the National Archives Foundation Board of Directors, Rodney E. Slater. 

The exhibition will be free and open to the public at all eight venues. To secure tickets, visit the individual museum websites or contact the museums directly.