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A Landmark Year: Rare National Archives Documents Come to Seattle
MOHAI marks the nation’s 250th anniversary with a free exhibit featuring a draft of the Constitution and other records from America’s early history.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2026 issue of Seattle magazine.
The United States celebrated its 250th anniversary earlier this month, and to mark that milestone, Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry is welcoming Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation, a traveling exhibit from the National Archives.
As one of only eight host venues, MOHAI is the final stop on the national tour before the documents return to Washington, D.C. “This is a rare opportunity to bring foundational documents of American history directly to our community,” says Leonard Garfield, the museum’s executive director. “For MOHAI, it reflects our role as a trusted civic space where people can engage with the past in meaningful and relevant ways, especially at a moment when conversations about history and democracy feel particularly important.”
Many of the documents on display are rarely seen outside of the National Archives and include the Articles of Association (1774), David Brearley’s secret printing of the Constitution, including hand-written notes (1787), and the Senate markup of the Bill of Rights (1789). “We’re proud to offer free admission to the exhibit, made possible through the generous support of our sponsors,” Garfield notes. “Offering free access was important to us—it allows more people in our community to engage directly with these defining pieces of history.”
Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation will be on view July 30–August 16 at the Museum of History & Industry.
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