On display at the National Archives are the three short texts upon which the United States is founded: the Declaration of Independence , the Constitution and the Bill of Rights . These three original sheets of parchment (three additional pages of the Constitution are not on display), drafted respectively in 1776, 1787 and 1789, are now contained in helium-filled glass cases, which drop underground in case of fire or other threat. You can usually look at them as long as you like, but if there's a crowd you have to shuffle on past. The impressive Neoclassical Greek temple - designed by John Russell Pope - also displays a 1297 revised copy of the Magna Carta , which established in Britain such basic concepts as trial by jury and equality before the law. The National Archives presents exhibitions and serves as the official repository of all US national records - census data, treaties (including the surrender of Japan in World War II), passport applications and genealogical records - most of which are kept in storage.
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