Sunlight and Misuse Impact the Declaration of Independence

The United States commemorated its centennial in 1876 by featuring the Declaration of Independence prominently. The document, showing signs of age, was relocated from Washington to Philadelphia for the event. It served as the highlight of the Centennial Exhibition, the first official World’s Fair held in the country. With nine million attendees, the fair attracted an astonishing number of visitors considering the U.S. population was about 46 million at the time.

Now, as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the historic document remains at the National Archives in Washington. Preserved under bulletproof glass and surrounded by inert gases, it seems less significant in the current celebrations. These festivities commenced with an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn and will include the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a race around the National Mall in August. Both events occur near the Archives, yet the Declaration remains merely a background presence.

Colleen J. Shogan, who served as the U.S. archivist until her unexpected dismissal early in the Trump administration, said, “I think it is fair to say that the official activities haven’t put much emphasis on it.” Her departure was presumably linked to the institution’s demands for Mr. Trump to return documents taken to his Mar-a-Lago residence.

On Monday, precisely 250 years post-Thomas Jefferson’s final edits to the Declaration, visitors could enter the Archives’ rotunda without delay. Inside, they could peer through the glass and view the historic text beginning with “When in the course of human events…” and perhaps discern a familiar signature or two.