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The National Archives houses thousands of documents accumulated by the United States Government since 1776. The most important documents, the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, are housed securely in the Rotunda of this building. These documents are what most people come to see; and this is what the line stretching around the block is waiting for. The words and signatures are faded, but they are still there, as powerful as ever. Before October, you could have also seen an original copy of the Magna Carta, owned by Ross Perot. But he unceremoniously removed the document in September for auction.
The remaining portions of the National Archives are a delightful surprise. Exhibits explain what kind of records the Archives keep, and what kind of records are publicly obtainable. The breadth of the collection is amazing: immigration records, census records, military records, homesteading records, tax records, presidential records, and even recently de-classified documents. The exhibits personalize, and create relevancy, for the whole dry business of archiving.
In the week after Labor Day, there weren’t any lines and there was hardly anyone inside the building. But if you come during tourist season you might have to wait hours in the hot sun. If you call your congressperson, you should be able to get a ‘Congress tour,’ allowing you into the building early through a special entrance and bypassing the lines.
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