For a month's view Calendar, click here.
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"An Uncommon Commitment to Peace" Exhibit - May 31, 2010
Season now open for the central exhibit on the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and the formal, informal, back channel and community diplomacy that led to the Treaty of Portsmouth. Created for the 100th anniversary of the Treaty in 2005 by the Japan-America Society of NH and made possible by the Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation. DAILY May 22 -Oct 31, 2010, 11 am to 5 pm, hosted by the Portsmouth Historical Society in the John Paul Jones House Museum. Admission $6 (seniors $5, children 12 and under free). |
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Sep 09, 2010 DAILY "An Uncommon Commitment to Peace" Exhibit Sep 11, 2010 The Fells:"Partners in Diplomacy: TR & John Hay" Sep 12, 2010 DAILY"An Uncommon Commitment to Peace" Exhibit |
Haynes Images
For information about ordering fine art prints of this Treaty Centennial symbol, and other commemorative items, click here.
Twitter.com: @PortsmthTreaty
To learn more about the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire
For information about the Russia Society of New Hampshire, write to
PO Box 177
Concord NH 03302-0177
Telephone: 603-226-2312
For the Russian-language Library of Congress description of the Treaty of Portsmouth, click here.
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To learn nore, the following books are available, click here to order: Heroes & Friends: Behind the Scenes of the Treaty of Portsmouth by Michiko Nakanishi Also available, click here for ordering:
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An Uncommon Commitment to Peace Exhibit Catalogue published by the Japan-America Society of NH
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: The Service of Thanksgiving for the Portsmouth Treaty, September 5, 1905 by Marina Grot Turkevich Naumann
Original 1905 newsreel footage on DVD
Treaty of Portsmouth 1905-2005 book of reproduction historical postcards.
The Portsmouth Peace Process: Guide for Teachers by Northeast Cultural Coop
| Portsmouth: One of history's great peace negotiations New research reveals the story The Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905 stands today as one of history's great peace negotiations. It ended the Russo-Japanese War and marked the emergence of a new era of diplomatic negotiations, multi-track diplomacy. Click here to learn the history of the War and the Peace and view archival 1905 newsreel footage. To listen to the story, click here for links to New Hampshire Public Radio interviews about the history, music and newspaper accounts of the Treaty summer of 1905. This official website for the study of the Treaty -- made possible by the Japan-America Society of NH funded by the Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation -- provides the context for celebrating the Treaty anniversary each year: the history of the war and the treaty, its impact on diplomatic history, and its future implications for international peace negotiations. The Library of Congress has selected this website to expand on its own "Meeting of the Frontiers" focus on the Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty, noting this site's "educational content and accessibility."
Samantha Power delivers Portsmouth Peace “What struck me, when I first heard about the negotiations here, are two aspects: First, the indispensable role of citizen and community in the peace that was brokered with the help of Portsmouth and with the help of Teddy Roosevelt. What was amazing about that sequence of those negotiations was the degree to which this community was at the center of negotiations. It wasn’t something held away from Americans as if it were something above our pay grade. Second was the absolute indispensability of diplomacy as a tool of American power. The force of diplomacy when it’s done well -- deftly, patiently and with American values and a commitment to peace at its core -- should not be understated.” |
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S Companion catalogue to the exhibit, "An Uncommon Commitment to Peace," available here, includes the newly-documented timeline of events during the 30 days the negotiators were in Portsmouth. It also contains images by noted photographer Richard Haynes, of the exhibit artifacts from 1905.
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Members of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee spent months researching details on the sites that played important roles in the events of August and September 1905. For the first time, scholars and visitors can follow a day-by-day account of the formal/informal diplomacy and both public and private events to learn how "an uncommon commitment to peace became a common virtue" in Portsmouth in 1905. Click on the maps pages to explore the key sites of The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail -- from venues for formal conference sessions to informal social settings, identified through original newspaper reports, diaries and letters from event participants -- to bring the 30 days in 1905 to life. |
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum and Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day
In 2005, on the 100th anniversary, local community groups celebrated the "spirit of the Treaty of Portsmouth." Dozens of organizations and hundreds of their volunteers celebrated the theme of a peace treaty reached with ordinary citizens providing a neutral, supporting atmosphere for peace. In 1905 in Portsmouth "an uncommon commitment to peace became a common virtue." In all, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Committee's community groups produced 45 events. Click here to learn more about all of the 100th Anniversary programs.
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty endures in the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum, established in 1994 as an organization committed to exploring diplomatic themes "in the spirit of the Treaty of Portsmouth." The Forum hosts this website, presents lectures and a traveling exhibit (under the auspices of the NH Humanities Council), sponsors special annual events (see Calendar) and presents the Theodore Roosevelt Nobel Peace Prize Commemoration each December. On December 12, 2009 the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum aired a complete and unedited rebroadcast of the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony, taped December 10th in Oslo. The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate was President Barack Obama. (For the official announcement of the 2009 award click here.) Past guests have included Samantha Power (on citizen engagement in 2008), Dennis Ross (on Statecraft in 2007), Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato (who in 2005 on the 100th anniversary said "Diplomats love Portsmouth because here diplomacy actually worked") and Graham Allison, who joined Dr. Kimura and Dr. Sarkisov to present a follow-up to their Beyond Cold War to Trilateral Cooperation report. Click here for transcripts of past Forums.The Forum also supports a Curriculum Guide now in use in schools, an archival record of the 100th anniversary, a bibliography on the topic, and continued research. For details, click here.
Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day in New Hampshire
On August 17, 2010 NH Governor John Lynch signed a bill making September 5th "Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day" throughout New Hampshire in perpetuity. Each year, an official proclamation by the NH Governor will "call on the citizens of New Hampshire to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and acticitives commemorating this importnat piece of New Hampshire history." For the press release, click here.
NH State Senator Martha Fuller Clark with co-sponsors Senators Bob Odell, John Barnes and Maggie Hassan and NH State Representative Robin Read and House co-sponsors Representatives Jacqueline Cali-Pitts, Laura Pantelakos, David Watters and James Splaine introduced a bill (Senate 379) proclaim September 5th of each year as Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day. For the full text, click here.
The NH Senate passed the bill unanimously on January 13, 2010 and the NH House passed it Wednesday, April 21, 2010. Testifying in favor at the House Committee hearing were Secretary of State Bill Gardner, co-sponsors Senator Fuller-Clark and Representative Read; Portsmouth Assistant Mayor Nancy Clayburgh on behalf of Mayor Tom Ferrini; Charles Doleac, chairman of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum; Steve Upton from the Japan-America Society of NH and Russia Society of NH; Sawako Gardner, member of the JASNH Board (by letter); and Don Alusic creator of a documentary about the Treaty.