Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation

MOHAI will showcase original founding-era documents on loan from the National Archives, central to the creation of the United States.

These irreplaceable documents are traveling together for the first time as part of the Freedom Plane National Tour. After appearing at a limited number of cultural institutions nationwide, the tour will conclude at MOHAI before the documents return to the National Archives.

Tickets Coming Soon
The Freedom Plane will be on view at MOHAI July 30 – August 16, 2026. Free timed-entry tickets will be required and will be released closer to the exhibit opening. Sign up for MOHAI’s e-newsletter to be notified when tickets become available.

Members Get Early Access
MOHAI members will receive early access to reserve timed-entry tickets before they are released to the public. Become a MOHAI member now.

Corporate Events & Sponsorship Opportunities
A limited number of sponsorship opportunities and corporate event rentals are available during the exhibit run. Please contact the MOHAI Development Team for more information.

Original documents on view will 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.
• Senate Markup of the Bill of Rights, 1789: After the Constitution was ratified by the states and became the supreme law of the land, Representative James Madison proposed a series of amendments. Several states advocated for additional protections for individual liberties. This is the U.S. Senate’s “markup” of what became the Bill of Rights. On September 25, 1789, Congress passed these 12 amendments, and they were sent to the states for approval. Articles 3 through 12 were ratified in 1791, ensuring such basic American freedoms as the right to freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedom of assembly. Records of the United States Senate, National Archives

Other stops on the Freedom Plane National Tour include institutions in Kansas City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, and Dearborn, before concluding at MOHAI in Seattle.