An exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley shows some documents from pivotal moments in U.S. history. The library recently added 14 new items to its America 250 exhibition.
"It's everything from the Louisiana Purchase to the deed for the Statue of Liberty," explained Melissa Giller, who oversees cultural programming for the library. "All of them are on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration as part of their Opening the Vault at the Presidential Libraries series."
Included in the exhibit is the Louisiana Purchase. The U.S. wanted control of the port of New Orleans, which was then French territory. But instead of just offering the port, France decided to sell 828,000 acres of land for $15 million. It needed the money for its ongoing wars in Europe.
"What's amazing to me about the Louisiana Purchase is that a library director, Duke Blackwood, wanted to borrow the document from the National Archives for years, but it never happened," said Giller. "I sent him a text this morning saying we finally have it on display."
According to Giller, the documents are on a tour of presidential libraries, but locations are getting different combinations of papers depending on what they requested from the archives.
Other documents on display include:
- A treasury warrant for $7.2 million for the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia.
- The deed of gift for the Statue of Liberty.
- A draft of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868, providing civil rights, equal protection, and due process for everyone born or naturalized in the U.S.
- Early Supreme Court rulings
- The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, which upheld legal segregation in 1896
- The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, overturning school segregation.
Because of their age, the documents are being displayed in low-light display cases to protect them from light damage.
The Reagan Library’s America 250 exhibition closes September 13, but the newly added 14 documents from the National Archives will be open to the public through October 14.
