Sometimes our documents go on display in other museums.This fall, page 5 (describing the executive’s powers) of George Washington's personal draft of the Constitution is on display at Mount Vernon. Next to this document you can see Washingt
on's personal copy of the book "Acts of Congress," recently acquired by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Washington's handwritten notes in pencil can be seen scribbled in the margins. Washington received the book in 1789, his first year in office as U.S. president, and brought it with him to Mount Vernon upon his retirement in 1797. Only three are known to exist today, the Washington copy and copies originally owned by Thomas Jefferson and John Jay.
Washington’s copy of the draft Constitution is from the National Archives and will be on view through October. The Acts of Congress can be seen through February 22, 2013. Shown together for the first time, the two documents “offer an unprecedented view of history in the making, through the mind and actions of America’s first president.”
For more about Washington and these documents, read this blog post:
http://go.usa.gov/rAFA For more about Mount Vernon and the exhibit, go here:
http://www.mountvernon.org/ Image courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.