Watch: The “Freedom Plane” carrying key American founding documents takes off on a national tour

Some of the United States’ most important historical documents begin a first-of-its-kind journey on Monday as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Watch a Freedom Plane event in our video player above.

Usually kept in tightly controlled vaults under the watchful eye of preservation experts at the National Archives, documents such as the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that officially ended the Revolutionary War and the Statute of 1774 that urged colonists to boycott British goods are rarely transferred.

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But those documents, signed by George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other American revolutionary leaders, will make their way across the country and be displayed for free in local museums.

“It’s tangible history, and tangible history inspires,” said Jim Byron, senior adviser to the acting archivist of the United States. “These documents did not travel, and they certainly did not travel en masse at all. They are here in the vaults.”

The document-carrying Boeing 737 “Liberty Plane” is just one of many events and activities planned across the country to mark America’s upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. A congressionally chartered committee, America 250, and a separate White House-led initiative, called Freedom 250, are coordinating the events, an overlap that has faced some criticism in Washington.

Among the planned activities are a fleet of traveling museums touring across the country, a story-collecting initiative and the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump has announced plans for a “Patriot Games” sporting event featuring high school athletes and a UFC mixed martial arts fight at the White House.

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The Freedom Plane is scheduled to depart Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday and head to its first stop in Kansas City, Missouri, where the documents will be transported to the National World War I Memorial and Museum. Records include a rare original engraving of the Declaration of Independence printed in 1823 from a copper plate of the original; The Oath of Allegiance signed by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other officers of the Continental Army in 1778; A rare copy of the United States Constitution includes handwritten notes by the delegates.

Other planned stops will be in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, and Seattle.

“The fact that these documents have left D.C. and arrived in the heart of the country is remarkable,” said Matt Naylor, president and CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial, where they will be on display for a little more than two weeks starting Friday. “There’s a lot of excitement about that and a lot of talk in and around town about what that means.”

Naylor said the early response has been overwhelming. Local schools have already booked visits for more than 5,000 pupils.

“This indicates that there is a lot of enthusiasm for this,” he said.

The “Freedom Plane” tour was inspired in part by the “American Freedom Train” that toured 48 states in 1975 and 1976 as part of the country’s bicentennial celebration. It held various pieces of American history, including the original Louisiana Purchase documents, Judy Garland’s dress from The Wizard of Oz, and Jesse Owens’ gold medals from the 1936 Olympics.