All American Road Trip Sidebar: Happy 4th of July!

As I sit here in my air conditioned living room watching baseball, waiting for family to come over for some of my husband's fantastic BBQ, I am thinking about our recent visit to DC, specifically the National Archives.

The National Archives is where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are preserved and displayed. In addition to these Charters of Freedom, the Archive houses everything from military records to naturalization records to slave ship manifests and the Emancipation Proclamation. The records belong to, and are available to the people of the United States to "help us claim our rights and entitlements, hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, and document our history as a nation." And a lot of folks use them to trace their family history.

The National Archives Washington D.C.

We just wanted to see the Charters of Freedom. We made reservations before we left, so we didn't have to stand in the line that wraps around the building. In fact, we didn't have to stand in line at all. It costs $1.50 (it is free otherwise), but it was well worth it to walk right in and head up to the The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.

Once at the Rotunda be sure not to miss the Magna Carta. It's right when you walk in, before you get in line to view the Charters of Freedom. It seemed like most people were passing by without noticing it.

The line in the Rotunda wasn't bad and they have a few plaques describing the documents you are about to see. You have time, so I would suggest reading them, instead of acting up and being reprimanded by the Secret Service. Oh, and don't chew gum. They don't like it.

Small-ish groups are let in together and given instructions to not line up once in The Rotunda. Instead, they prefer that you spread out and look at The Charters and the displays flanking them. Take this advice. And, look at the displays. They look at the making of The Charters and their impact. Two of my favorite displays are a draft of the Declaration of Independence with edits and the Expansion of Rights and Liberties.

MLK Memorial with Jefferson Memorial in background

It is important to remember that people struggled and fought hard for our freedom during the Revolution. It is also important to remember that not all of us equally created people were given the same, if any, freedom and rights at that time. People have been rising up and fighting for them ever since. Some still are.

The Declaration of Independence was an amazing start, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Read The Declaration of Independence here.
Plan your visit here.