Celebrating America’s 250th? See U.S. founding documents without leaving Miami
You don’t need to visit Washington to see the nation’s founding documents anymore.
For the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence, the National Archives is sending historical paperwork on tour. And the nine founding-era documents have just arrived in Miami.
The “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” include an engraving of the Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris, a draft of the Constitution, and Oaths of Allegiance by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
Many of the exhibits haven’t left D.C. in decades.
On Monday, the documents arrived at Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport and got a ceremonial water salute, the singing of the national anthem, and speakers from Miami-Dade County, the Museum of Miami and the National Archives Foundation.
“This story does not belong to any one person or institution, but to all Americans,” said Patrick Madden, CEO of the National Archives Foundation. “We hope that the next generation remembers the 250th of our country through the Freedom Plane National Tour.”
You can see the founding documents exhibition from June 20 through July 5 at the Museum of Miami, 101 W. Flagler St.
Miami is the sixth of eight stops on the tour. A law enforcement motorcade escorted the documents Monday afternoon from the airport to the downtown Miami museum to keep them safe.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for our residents to reflect on what is the country that we want to build together, what is the Miami that we want to build together,” Museum of Miami CEO Natalia Crujeiras said. “These documents are not relics stuck in the past — there was a promise of a nation.”
The Freedom Plane National Tour is inspired by the Bicentennial Freedom Train, a touring steam train that held 12 display cars with over 500 America-centered exhibits for visitors to explore for the country’s 200th birthday in 1976.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:51 PM.