A treasure to behold: this exhibition "explores the drafting of the constitution in 1787, highlighting the key proposals and significant compromises that influenced the early drafts and shaped the document's final text".

• Position: USA Yesterday - "American Treasures: Documenting the Nation's Founding," exhibition

The exhibition "American Treasures: Documenting the Nation's Founding," which illuminates the founding era through priceless drafts of the Constitution--including Pennsylvania delegate (and eventual Supreme Court Justice) James Wilson's own handwritten drafts--is on display at the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pa.

The Wilson papers are among the most constitutionally significant documents in American history, showing the evolution of the Preamble of the Constitution from a document drafted in the name of the confederated states to one that recognized the sovereignty of "We the People of the United States."

Featuring an interactive component that allows visitors to compare the evolving texts, the exhibit will display rotating treasures from the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and other lending institutions. The exhibition includes a display of rare newspaper printings of the text of the Bill of Rights as it made its way through Congress. The drafts showcase how James Madison's original proposals became the Constitution's first 10 Amendments in 1791.

"By comparing the texts of early drafts of the Constitution, in the 'American Treasures' gallery and online, visitors can educate themselves about the evolution of American liberty and the emergence of popular sovereignty," says Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.. "We are especially thrilled to feature James Wilson's own drafts of the Constitution, which show the evolution of his thinking about how the sovereign power in America resides in [its citizens]."

Adds Charles Cullen, interim president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: "Recent scholarship on Wilson's handwritten drafts of the Constitution have led to new interpretations of the origins of the final document. These seminal documents have never been displayed together outside HSP, making this exhibit a rare opportunity for the public to view them and beside other items emanating from them."

"American Treasures" explores the drafting of the Constitution in 1787, highlighting the key proposals and significant compromises that influenced the early versions and shaped the document's final text. Visitors are introduced to the crucial figures who played a role in shaping the Constitution--from Madison to Wilson to Gouverneur Morris, often credited as the primary writer of the Constitution's final text.

The exhibition also explores the battle to secure a Bill...