The Freedom Plane will soon embark on a landmark mission, transporting America’s most iconic founding documents nationwide as the country celebrates its semiquincentennial.
Announced on 20 January 2026, the Freedom Plane National Tour will see a specially equipped Boeing 737 transport an exhibit called Documents That Forged a Nation beyond Washington, DC, for the first time in history. Beginning in March and running through August, the tour will bring these irreplaceable artifacts to eight cities nationwide, allowing millions of Americans to experience them up close in their own communities.
The Freedom Plane, inspired by the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train, is organized by the National Archives Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, and partners such as Boeing.
“Americans across the country can bear witness to the people and principles that shaped our nation through the Freedom Plane National Tour,” said Jim Byron, Senior Advisor to the Archivist of the United States. “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 Aircraft Behind the Freedom Plane Mission
The aircraft selected for the tour is a 26-year-old Boeing 737-700 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) flying in a dedicated Freedom Plane livery. Registered as N836BA, the aircraft is owned by Boeing Executive Flight Operations. With the exception of a couple of stints with NetJets and the Government of Kazakhstan, the jet has been owned by Boeing since 18 May 2000, according to planespotters.net.
Boeing will provide the Freedom Plane aircraft along with the “operational support required to safely transport the documents between each tour stop,” according to officials.
“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 and 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.”
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.
Jeff Shockey | Executive CP of Boeing Government Operations, Global Public Policy and Corporate Strategy
By using air travel, the Freedom Plane transforms what was once a static exhibition into a moving national experience, placing aviation at the center of how history is shared.
Protecting History Every Step of the Way
12 May 1778
RG 93
War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records
Rediscovery # 01669
Moving documents of this significance requires precision, planning, and security on par with any complex aviation operation.
According to remarks made during Tuesday’s announcement, every movement of the documents aboard the Freedom Plane is tightly scheduled, diligently monitored, well-prepared for, and secured. Once the documents disembark from the aircraft, they are transferred to climate-controlled vehicles and handled by professional National Archives staff. Each arrival occurs under police escort, with Archives personnel coordinating closely with experienced, credentialed museum teams to prepare the materials for public display. While on view, the documents are protected at all times.
The Freedom Plane cargo includes some of the most consequential records in American history. Among them are the 1823 original engraving of the Declaration of Independence, commissioned by John Quincy Adams, the Articles of Association signed by all 53 delegates in 1774, and the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783 by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, formally recognizing the United States as an independent nation.
Also traveling aboard the Freedom Plane are Oaths of Allegiance signed by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr; a rare, secret printing of the Constitution in draft form from 1787, complete with handwritten notes; and the official tally of votes approving the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention.
“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 Rodney E. Slater, Chair and President of the National Archives Foundation Board of Directors.
The exhibition will be free and open to the public at all eight stops. Tickets can be obtained through individual museum websites or by contacting the museums directly, with complete tour details available on the National Archives website.
Freedom Plane National Tour Schedule
- Kansas City, Missouri | National WWI Museum and Memoria | 6-22 March
- Atlanta, Georgia | Atlanta History Center | 27 March – 12 April
- Los Angeles, California | University of Southern California Fisher Museum of Art | 17 April – 3 May
- Houston, Texas | Houston Museum of Natural Science | 8-25 May
- Denver, Colorado | History Colorado Center | 28 May – 14 June
- Miami, Florida | HistoryMiami Museum | 20 June – 5 July
- Dearborn, Michigan | Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation | 9 July – 26 July
- Seattle, Washington | Museum of History and Industry | 30 July – 16 August
For more information, click here.
