How old is the declaration

The packing process continued under constant armed guard. The container was finally sealed with lead and packed in a heavy box; the whole weighed some pounds. It was a far cry from the simple linen bag of the summer of At about 5 p.

Armed Secret Service agents occupied the neighboring compartments. After departing from Washington at p. More Secret Service agents and a cavalry troop of the 13th Armored Division met the train, convoyed its precious contents to the Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, and placed the Declaration in compartment 24 in the outer tier on the ground level.

The Declaration was periodically examined during its sojourn at Fort Knox. One such examination in found that the Declaration had become detached in part from its mount, including the upper right corner, which had been stuck down with copious amounts of glue. In his journal for May 14, , Verner W. Clapp, a Library of Congress official, noted: "At one time also about January 12, an attempt had been made to reunite the detached upper right hand corner to the main portion by means of a strip of 'scotch' cellulose tape which was still in place, discolored to a molasses color.

In the various mending efforts glue had been splattered in two places on the obverse of the document. The opportunity was taken to perform conservation treatment in order to stabilize and rejoin the upper right corner. Over a period of 2 days, they performed mending of small tears, removed excess adhesive and the "scotch" tape, and rejoined the detached upper right corner.

Finally, in , the military authorities assured the Library of Congress that all danger of enemy attack had passed. On September 19, the documents were withdrawn from Fort Knox. On Sunday, October 1, at a. The Declaration was back in its shrine. With the return of peace, the keepers of the Declaration were mindful of the increasing technological expertise available to them relating to the preservation of the parchment.

In this they were readily assisted by the National Bureau of Standards, which even before World War II, had researched the preservation of the Declaration. The problem of shielding it from harsh light, for example, had in led to the insertion of a sheet of yellow gelatin between the protective plates of glass. Yet this procedure lessened the visibility of an already faded parchment.

Could not some improvement be made? Following reports of May 5, , on studies in which the Library staff, members of the National Bureau of Standards, and representatives of a glass manufacturer had participated, new recommendations were made. In the Declaration was sealed in a thermopane enclosure filled with properly humidified helium. The exhibit case was equipped with a filter to screen out damaging light. The new enclosure also had the effect of preventing harm from air pollution, a growing peril.

Soon after, however, the Declaration was to make one more move, the one to its present home. See Appendix B. He announced that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would eventually be kept in the impressive structure that was to occupy the site.

Indeed, it was for their keeping and display that the exhibition hall in the National Archives had been designed.

Two large murals were painted for its walls. In one, Thomas Jefferson is depicted presenting the Declaration to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress while members of that Revolutionary body look on. The final transfer of these special documents did not, however, take place until almost 20 years later. In October President Franklin D.

The President told Connor that "valuable historic documents," such as the Declaration of Independence and the U. Constitution, would reside in the National Archives Building.

In a meeting with the President 2 months after his appointment, Connor explained to Roosevelt how the documents came to be in the Library and that Putnam felt another Act of Congress was necessary in order for them to be transferred to the Archives. Connor eventually told the President that it would be better to leave the matter alone until Putnam retired. MacLeish agreed with Roosevelt and Connor that the two important documents belonged in the National Archives.

Solon J. Buck, Connor's successor as Archivist of the United States , felt that the documents were in good hands at the Library of Congress.

His successor, Wayne Grover, disagreed. Luther Evans, the Librarian of Congress appointed by President Truman in June , shared Grover's opinion that the documents should be transferred to the Archives. In the two men began working with their staff members and legal advisers to have the documents transferred. The Archives position was that the documents were federal records and therefore covered by the Federal Records Act of , which was "paramount to and took precedence over" the act that had appropriated money for the shrine at the Library of Congress.

Luther Evans agreed with this line of reasoning, but he emphasized getting the approval of the President and the Joint Committee on the Library. Senator Theodore H. Green, Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, agreed that the transfer should take place but stipulated that it would be necessary to have his committee act on the matter. Evans went to the April 30, , committee meeting alone.

There is no formal record of what was said at the meeting, except that the Joint Committee on the Library ordered that the documents be transferred to the National Archives. Not only was the Archives the official depository of the government's records, it was also, in the judgment of the committee, the most nearly bombproof building in Washington.

At 11 a. Ross, commanding general of the Air Force Headquarters Command, formally received the documents at the Library of Congress. Twelve members of the Armed Forces Special Police carried the 6 pieces of parchment in their helium-filled glass cases, enclosed in wooden crates, down the Library steps through a line of 88 servicewomen.

An armored Marine Corps personnel carrier awaited the documents. Once they had been placed on mattresses inside the vehicle, they were accompanied by a color guard, ceremonial troops, the Army Band, the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps, two light tanks, four servicemen carrying submachine guns, and a motorcycle escort in a parade down Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues to the Archives Building.

At a. General Ross and the 12 special policemen arrived at the National Archives Building, carried the crates up the steps, and formally delivered them into the custody of Archivist of the United States Wayne Grover. Already at the National Archives was the Bill of Rights, protectively sealed according to the modern techniques used a year earlier for the Declaration and Constitution. The formal enshrining ceremony on December 15, , was equally impressive.

Vinson presided over the ceremony, which was attended by officials of more than national civic, patriotic, religious, veterans, educational, business, and labor groups. Carvel of Delaware, the first state to ratify the Constitution, called the roll of states in the order in which they ratified the Constitution or were admitted to the Union. As each state was called, a servicewoman carrying the state flag entered the Exhibition Hall and remained at attention in front of the display cases circling the hall.

President Harry S. Truman, the featured speaker, said:. Senator Green briefly traced the history of the three documents, and then the Librarian of Congress and the Archivist of the United States jointly unveiled the shrine.

Marine Corps Band played the "Star Spangled Banner," the President was escorted from the hall, the 48 flagbearers marched out, and the ceremony was over. The story of the transfer of the documents is found in Milton O. The present shrine provides an imposing home. The priceless documents stand at the center of a semicircle of display cases showing other important records of the growth of the United States.

The Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights stand slightly elevated, under armed guard, in their bronze and marble shrine. The Bill of Rights and two of the five leaves of the Constitution are displayed flat. Above them the Declaration of Independence is held impressively in an upright case constructed of ballistically tested glass and plastic laminate.

Ultraviolet-light filters in the laminate give the inner layer a slightly greenish hue. At night, the documents are stored in an underground vault.

It can detect any changes in readability due to ink flaking, off-setting of ink to glass, changes in document dimensions, and ink fading. The system is capable of recording in very fine detail 1-inch square areas of documents and later retaking the pictures in exactly the same places and under the same conditions of lighting and charge-coupled device CCD sensitivity. The CCD measures reflectivity. Periodic measurements are compared to the baseline image to determine if changes or deterioration invisible to the human eye have taken place.

The Declaration has had many homes, from humble lodgings and government offices to the interiors of safes and great public displays. It has been carried in wagons, ships, a Pullman sleeper, and an armored vehicle. In its latest home, it has been viewed with respect by millions of people, everyone of whom has had thereby a brief moment, a private moment, to reflect on the meaning of democracy. The nation to which the Declaration gave birth has had an immense impact on human history, and continues to do so.

In telling the story of the parchment, it is appropriate to recall the words of poet and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish. He described the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as "these fragile objects which bear so great a weight of meaning to our people.

While perhaps true, Franklin also hoped to convince the French to supply the colonists with aid. Independence would be necessary, however, before French officials would consider the possibility of an alliance. Throughout the winter of —, the members of the Continental Congress came to view reconciliation with Britain as unlikely, and independence the only course of action available to them. When on December 22, , the British Parliament prohibited trade with the colonies, Congress responded in April of by opening colonial ports—this was a major step towards severing ties with Britain.

By February of , colonial leaders were discussing the possibility of forming foreign alliances and began to draft the Model Treaty that would serve as a basis for the alliance with France. Leaders for the cause of independence wanted to make certain that they had sufficient congressional support before they would bring the issue to the vote.

Other members of Congress were amenable but thought some colonies not quite ready. This copy was signed on August 2, The United States didn't exist until after the Declaration was signed! However, all but eight of the signers were born in colonies that would become the United States. The first public reading of the Declaration took place on July 8, , in Philadelphia.

A fictional story written in the s suggested that the bell now known as the Liberty Bell was rung that day to bring the people together. However, historians now doubt that this happened. The steeple that housed the bell was in very bad condition at the time and the bell was probably unusable.

Although August 2, , was the date of the official signing ceremony, there were several people who signed on later dates. Call to order: or order pocket constitution books online. All rights reserved. Thomas Jefferson was the main author. Once the Congress approved the actual Declaration of Independence document on July 4, it was sent to a printer named John Dunlap.

Today, 26 copies remain. Then on July 8, , Colonel John Nixon of Philadelphia read a printed Declaration of Independence to the public for the first time on what is now called Independence Square.