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Fallout 3 Hints
Retrieve the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives.
1 of 13: Ask Washington where the National Archives building is to get it marked on your world map, then go there. It's part of the Mall interior region, so see the D.C. Ruins Interior Regions hints for some ways to get there if you can't fast-travel to the Mall.
2 of 13: After you enter the National Archives building through its front (southern) doors, do the "Winning Fruit-Flavored Mentats" undocumented quest if you want to.
3 of 13: Find the large open doors with the "ROTUNDA FOR THE CHARTERS OF FREEDOM" sign above it and quicksave before going through them. The rotunda is rigged with frag mines, and it's about to be attacked by super mutants.
4 of 13: After the combat is over, talk to Sydney and agree to team up with her in order to get her password. Also, you can ask if she's hurt and give her a stimpak to heal her if she is, but you may not want to.
5 of 13: She's carrying a unique SMG that you'll want to get sooner or later, and the quickest and easiest way to do it is to get her killed. Doing so will also get you 400 extra caps when you finish the quest, though it'll deprive you of her post-quest services as an ammo merchant.
6 of 13: After scouring the entire rotunda for unexploded frag mines, use Sydney's terminal on the overturned filing cabinet behind her sandbag wall. It'll let you unlock the rotunda cargo lift.
7 of 13: Go over to the lift and activate it (no need to actually get on it) to get yourself and Sydney transported to the Archival Secure Wing East area.
8 of 13: Go through the door in the north wall, then down some stairs to reach a room with a large utility gate. Your Science skill will have to be pretty high to get the gate open.
9 of 13: In the room on the other side of the gate, look to the left of the gate to find a turret generator. If your Repair skill is high enough, you can fix it so that none of the turrets in the nearby areas will be hostile to you. (Otherwise, you'll have to carefully avoid turrets, or shoot them out from cover.)
10 of 13: Go down the nearby stairs and through a door to reach a hall with two locked side doors. If your Lockpick skill is 50 or higher, you can optionally get the Bill of Rights and Magna Carta now, and sell them to Abraham Washington later.
11 of 13: When you're ready to move on, go through the unlocked door at the north end of the hall. In the room beyond, go north to a hallway, then turn left.
12 of 13: You'll soon come to the door to the Archival Strongroom area. Refrain from opening fire after you go through the door, since the deranged robot who greets you is friendly (sort of).
13 of 13: If you blow Gwinnett away, look around for the real Declaration of Independence. Otherwise, do the "(Optional) Bring Button Gwinnett the ink" objective to get a forged Declaration.
