Michael Auslin is a fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of “National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America.”
They are among the documents that formed a nation — the Treaty of Paris, George Washington’s oath of allegiance and the 1774 Articles of Association. And for the first time, they’ll be traveling together outside of D.C. as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration this year.
If the semiquincentennial succeeds in building some degree of shared civic friendship, putting American history on national tours designed to link far-flung communities may be the legacy of the commemorations. Regardless of whether such efforts can transcend an era of hyperpolarization, the attempt to unite Americans in appreciation of their collective traditions and the sacrifices of previous generations is vital.
The most visible event will be the National Archives’ Freedom Plane tour, with its first stop in Kansas City on March 6. The Freedom Plane, a 737 provided by Boeing, is an homage to the 1976 Freedom Train. Funded by the National Archives Foundation, the plane will land in seven other cities: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, Dearborn (Michigan) and Seattle. It will carry seven founding-era documents, including a rare engraving by William J. Stone of the Declaration of Independence from 1823.
Rodney Slater, chair and president of the National Archives Foundation, said the ideals“enshrined in these records are not relics of the past, but living promises.”
The documents will spend about two weeks in each city, chaperoned by National Archives staff working with local organizations. The tour concludes in August.
The Freedom Plane is not the only traveling display for the semiquincentennial. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the America250 organization will send six 18-wheeler Freedom Trucks filled with exhibits to libraries, schools and community gatherings around the country throughout the year. The goal is to “reignite patriotism, celebrate our shared heritage, enhance local community celebrations, and ensure every American has the chance to learn about the ideals that made our country the greatest in the world,” said Keith Sonderling, the institute’s acting director.
After planes and automobiles, the final piece is the Freedom Train. The American Freedom Train Foundation 250 hopes to replicate the success of two journeys that rolled through the country in the 1940s and 1970s. Each time, millions of Americans boarded the trains in dozens of cities.
The foundation has mapped out a 44-city tour with five steam locomotives and 10 railcars covering 15,000 miles, from October to August 2027. Plans include a county fair-like experience at each whistle stop, with performances, displays of historical artifacts and children’s activities. Like the great railroads of the past, the Freedom Train could reach more Americans than any other anniversary initiative.
Jeff Anderson, a member of the foundation’s board, said the organization has raised $2 million for the tour. Anderson said the nation’s bicentennial celebrations lasted from April 1975 to December 1976. “By starting this fall and extending through next summer, the American Freedom Train will enable the quarter-millennial celebrations to last for 21 months as well,” he said. “This is a strength of the train, not a weakness. The train will also appear publicly during the July 4, 2026 festivities.”
Given today’s political and social tensions, all three mobile exhibitions are urgently needed, and overlap in as many cities as possible will deepen the impact of any one exhibit. They represent a national civics lesson at the local level.
In my forthcoming history of the Declaration of Independence,I note how over 12,000 towns and cities participated in the bicentennial with myriad events and community service initiatives. While many still remember the fireworks over the National Mall or the tall ships in New York Harbor, the bicentennial was most effective when celebrated locally. This year’s freedom planes, trains and automobiles can help ensure the same local impact long after Independence Day has passed.
Visits by the Freedom Plane should be treated as a civic priority by states and cities on the itinerary, and local libraries and schools should make the Freedom Trucks a community party. Corporations can ensure adequate funding for the Freedom Train, while helping promote regional celebrations. It’s a once in a quarter-millennium opportunity to encourage the kind of healthy patriotism and civil national dialogue needed if America is to survive another 250 years.
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