★ Coming Soon ★
Opening the Vault at the
Presidential Libraries
Museum Special Gallery
June 2 – July 5, 2026
Museum Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, the National Archives is partnering with Presidential Libraries to present some of the most significant documents in United States history. These iconic and historically valuable records highlight the people and moments that have shaped our nation.
The Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum is proud to host this landmark stop on the tour, bringing original records from the vaults of the National Archives & Records Administration — works rarely displayed outside Washington, DC — to Abilene, Kansas. Guests will have the rare opportunity to stand face-to-face with some of the most renowned documents in our national story.
The Featured Documents
Founding & Early Republic
- Original Design for the Great Seal of the United States, 1782
- Proclamation announcing the signing of the Treaty of Paris, March 1, 1784
- Proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution as passed by the Senate (Bill of Rights), September 14, 1789
- Louisiana Purchase Treaty, April 30, 1803
- Conference Committee Report on the Missouri Compromise, March 1, 1820
A Nation Divided
- Henry Clay's handwritten draft of the Compromise of 1850, January 29, 1850
- Amendment by Senator Stephen Douglas to the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
- Telegram announcing the surrender of Fort Sumter, April 18, 1861
- Joint resolution proposing the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, January 31, 1865
- Joint resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, June 13, 1868
A New Century
- Judgement, Plessy v. Ferguson, May 18, 1896
- President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points speech, January 8, 1918
The Modern Era
- Manhattan Project Technical Notebook, August 6, 1942 – June 30, 1943
- Act of Military Surrender, May 7, 1945
- Executive Order 9981, Establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, July 26, 1948
- North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), April 4, 1949
- Korean War Armistice Agreement, July 27, 1953
- Opinion, Oliver Brown, et al., v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al., May 17, 1954
- Executive Order 10730, Desegregation of Central High School, Little Rock, AR, September 23, 1957
- Voting Rights Act of 1965, August 6, 1965
- Joint resolution proposing the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, March 23, 1971