WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A new exhibit at the National Archives fills in the gaps around the Declaration of Independence, explaining what led to the famous artifact and how it’s been used since.

In the National Archives’ rotunda, visitors can see the original Declaration of Independence, along with the Constitution and Bill of Rights. But what led to its drafting is just as important as the text itself.

A new exhibit just steps away from the document’s permanent home explores its history.

“This exhibit really goes into those years leading up to [the drafting] and that final decision to go and declare independence,” said Franck Cordes of the National Archives Foundation.

Free and Independent: A Celebration of the Declaration provides background into what led the nation’s founders to risk death by signing their names. It includes a record of the legacy of America’s first act, as well as examples of how the document has been used and referenced over the years.

“It is the roots of our conversation of what it means to be free and what it means to be a nation… and it’s a conversation we’re still having,” Cordes said.

Cordes knows every artifact included in the exhibit, which tells visitors the story behind the United States’ founding in the words of those who were there.

Free and Independent also acts as an example of the Archives’ collection of artifacts, rotating out hundreds of primary sources collected by conservationists.

“At the heart of any exhibit at the National Archives are our original documents,” Cordes said. “[This exhibit] is a celebration of how far you’ve come, and a celebration of how you’re still going.”

Free and Independent opens at the National Archives April 25 and remains through July 5 of next year.