Founding-era documents showcased in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KQTV) -- As the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary, some of the country's unique founding-era documents are on display at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
The National Archives' exhibition, 'Freedom Plane: Documents That Forged a Nation,' made its first stop in Kansas City as part of an eight-city national tour.
Jessie Kratz, a National Archives historian, said the museum in Kansas City played a big role in selecting the stop for the tour.
"This venue has the perfect space for us. It has the perfect amount of temperature and humidity," Kratz explained. "It has the ability to handle a large amount of people. It's centrally located, so we can get people from a couple hours away. We're just thrilled to have Kansas City be our very first venue."
Matthew Naylor, president and CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial, said he was excited to have the historic documents on display.
"Tours like this are complicated. There's a tremendous amount of environmental considerations, security considerations," Naylor said. "Fortunately, here, we're one of the world's great museums and we exceed all of those requirements."
The documents are on display in Memorial Hall at the museum, which is part of the original building that honors those whose lives were lost in World War I.
"There's this fabulous thread between what happened in 1776, bringing us right through the events of World War I, when Americans left their shores to fight for those principles which are articulated in these documents," Naylor said.
This historic tour takes the precious documents out of their vaults in Washington, D.C., to every corner of the country, something Kratz admits she was a little nervous about.
"I was a little nervous. They don't leave very often," she said. "I feel like I'm home here, because this space and when people come here, they'll understand it. This space feels so much like it (the U.S. Capitol Rotunda), so even if you can't come to Washington, D.C., you can see the rotunda here. It feels like home."
Kratz encourages people to come take part in the celebration as a way to come together as a country.
"We have this collective past. We can learn about it together. This venue is actually perfect, because this room is about our country's sacrifice," she said. "You can come here and look at these great murals and learn maybe more about World War I. Learn more about history."
The exhibition includes an engraving of the Declaration of Independence from 1823, a secret printing of the Constitution in draft form from 1787, the tally of votes approving the Constitution from 1787, the Articles of Association from 1774, George Washington's, Alexander Hamilton's and Aaron Burr's Oaths of Allegiance from 1778, the Treaty of Paris from 1783, and a Senate markup of the Bill of Rights from 1789.
The exhibition will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 6 through 22. Admission to see the exhibition is free.
