The Freedom Plane National Tour is a truly once-in-a-generational opportunity that astonishes even as we sit in this very notable milestone year of our dual anniversaries. We are proud to be called to this duty by our friends at the National Archives and National Archives Foundation to host these breathtakingly consequential documents in an effort to make them accessible to more Americans. 

As you have heard, these documents have never before traveled together outside of our nation’s capital. They are fragile, irreplaceable and easily read digitally online, so you may wonder why it would be important to fly the real documents across America. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this. And, I’ll be curious to hear your answer to that question after you have encountered seeing them up close this evening.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the timing, the ambition, and the palpability of the Freedom Plane initiative. We are commemorating America's 250th and Colorado’s 150th anniversaries while living through times that can often feel corrosive, divisive and untethered. You may find that it is easy to become hard and cynical. As I have been contemplating the arrival of the Freedom Plane documents, I've thought a lot about the word “inalienable” – as in the “inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Inalienable speaks to the idea that there are some things in this world whose value is inherent and unassailable and centered within the core of our humanity.

When you feel untethered, the best antidote is to reconnect to the fundamentals – to reach for our roots. The documents that we will witness tonight offer us this opportunity. And, in their authenticity, they help us to reflect on the originating ethos of this nation, to re-anchor to our formational ideals and to remind us who we are, who we could be and should be as a nation. 

It was and still is revolutionary to be a nation forged by shared ideals – not by aristocratic ties but by constitutional ones. The documents – like our Declaration of Independence signed 250 years ago – are not dusty, irrelevant parchments but active and dynamic elements in our lives. They play a role in some of our most essential rituals. For example, soldiers, elected officials, and new citizens all swear allegiance to the Constitution. They are also part of everyday American life. Ordinary people, not just legal scholars, regularly quote the Declaration, cite the Bill of Rights, or defend elements of Constitutional amendments.

We, as Americans, certainly do not always agree on definitions and meanings, but we are hardwired with a fierce protective reverence for our nation’s foundational covenants that everyone is created equal and endowed with inalienable rights. We are so invested in these originating ideals that, through the last 250 years, we have activated subsequent amendments designed to more fully realize them. 

I am most touched by the evidence of humanity found within the documents that you will see – the handwriting, suggestions, and imperfections of their creators. They were grappling with the large moral questions of the day and thinking about how they were shaping the future. This collection of documents embodies action and are as much of this moment as they are of our past. They tug at us and remind us of our obligations as civic members of society, as Americans, that our country requires us too. We may not be founding a new nation, but we are always forming as a nation. Nothing is inevitable. 

It is not hyperbole to say that I will be forever grateful to our friends from the National Archives for this opportunity to share these hallowed documents right here in Colorado. At History Colorado, we believe in the power of connecting the wide public with the authentic belongings and embodied documents of our history. Especially as we commemorate both America’s 250th and Colorado's 150th anniversaries, we can think of no greater mission and honor than to host the Freedom Plane National Tour and the documents that will open to the public tomorrow morning. Through their big ambitious initiative, the National Archives is reminding us that these documents belong to us and that this country is us. 

The United States is both a place and an idea. Our shared ideals are more than abstractions – they are what weave us together as Americans. Our foundational documents help us to articulate and animate those ideals, and we are honored to be in their presence for the next 18 days.