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For
Posterity: NIST Helps to Preserve the "Charters of Freedom"
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The
second page of the Constitution is securely displayed in a new,
titanium-framed encasement made at NIST
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Since our nation's
earliest days, leaders, philosophers, and even everyday citizens have
advised that three vital documents—the Declaration of Independence,
Constitution, and Bill of Rights—must never fade away. On the
six pages of animal-skin parchment that make up these Charters of Freedom,
the founding fathers set down the fundamental principles that have successfully
guided our 225-year-old democracy.
A
team of NIST scientists, engineers, and technicians helped to make
certain that the original words are preserved and yet accessible so
that they will inspire generations to come. The National Archives
and Records Administration engaged NIST, along with NASA and Heery
International, to design and make new state-of-the-art encasements
to secure the documents against all types of environmental assault—harmful
light, oxygen, humidity, and more. In all, NIST built nine glass encasements
for NARA, custodian of the charters. Five hold the four pages of the
Constitution and its transmittal page (which was signed by George
Washington). One each is used for the Declaration of Independence
and the Bill of Rights. The two prototype encasements built at the
start of the project are used as spares.
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After
keeping destructive gases and micro-organisms at bay for half
a century, the lead-solder seal is cut on one of the Charters
of Freedom encasements built by NIST in 1951. (Photo by Earl
McDonald, NARA)
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Before
they are placed in new encasements, the parchment pages are
comprehensively examined and treated. Here, a NARA conservator
removes a tiny sample of ink from splatters between the lines
on the transmittal page. Researchers analyze micro-samples of
ink and parchment to learn about the ink and the stability of
the parchment. (Photo by Earl McDonald, NARA)
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New
encasement containing the second page of the Constitution is carefully
transported in its shipping container. (NARA photograph)
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The
second page of the Constitution was displayed in the Rotunda
of the National Archives during September 2000. The new encasement
is positioned at an angle for easier viewing. (NARA photograph)
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Learn more
about the new NIST-built encasements:
Read
about NIST's early work:
Visit
the NARA web site on the Re-encasement Project
The re-encasement
was part of a larger project that included redesigning the National
Archives Rotunda, where all six pages of the Charters of Freedom
were placed back on display on September 17, 2003.
More on the
Charters of Freedom from NARA web site:
Created: June
21, 2001
Updated: Feb, 4, 2005
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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