US Constitution on Full Public Display at the National Archives
See the full US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and rare “fifth page” in the Rotunda, Sept 16–Oct 8, 2025. Extended hours on select weekends in Washington, DC.
For the first time since 1787, the United States Constitution—every page, every amendment, even its elusive “fifth page”—has left the vaults and filled the Rotunda of the National Archives. Washington is bracing for crowds.
The occasion is Constitution Day and the country’s 250th anniversary. Visitors will stand before the original Bill of Rights, flanked by 17 constitutional amendments, in a setting designed less like a reading room and more like a stage. At its heart: George Washington’s signed instructions to the states on how to carry this new government into being—a sheet so rarely seen it carries the shock of discovery.
Lines are expected to snake down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the Archives has extended hours into late evenings on September 27–28 and October 4–5. The display runs until October 8, giving the public just three weeks to see the nation’s foundation laid bare.
The show is not just retrospective. In October, the Archives will open “The American Story and Discovery Center,” a permanent installation that taps artificial intelligence to craft personal journeys through history. But for now, the draw is simpler: ink on parchment, fragile but defiant, carrying 250 years of American tension and promise.
View the Virtual Exhibit
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