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The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Centennial Celebration





All eyes were on Portsmouth during the summer of 1905, as Japanese and Russian envoys met to end the bloody Russo-Japanese War. For thirty days, Russian plenipotentiary Sergei Witte and his Japanese counterpart, Jutaro Komura the plenipotentiaries representing Tsar and Emperor gathered every available resource including the social graces found in a Seacoast summer to draft the Treaty of Portsmouth that ended the fighting on September 5th. President Theodore Roosevelt won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the countries together and for the back-channel diplomacy that aided the face-to-face negotiations of the extraordinary Russian and Japanese diplomats.

But Portsmouth helped achieve the Peace, thanks to the the US Navy's peace process and the hospitality of the citizens of New Hampshire. Today it's called multi-track diplomacy.           

A committee of Portsmouth citizens representing businesses, cultural groups and a diverse host of community organizations have put together a calendar of events that lets visitors in the summer of 2005 see how it all happened a hundred years ago. They have also created a lasting legacy of new research featured

·             on a website recognized by the Library of Congress,

·             in an extensive and traveling exhibit of documents and artifacts,

·             in a school Curriculum and

·             on the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail that visitors can explore for years to come.

Centennial events include re-enactments, parades, performances, exhibits -- right up to and including the 100th anniversary of the moment the Treaty was signed: 3:47 pm EDT on September 5th. For more details and continuous updates, visit www.PortsmouthPeaceTreaty.com



For a month's view Calendar, click here.

The Japan-America Society is the 501c3 nonprofit that supports the efforts of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum. To join, click here.

© Richard Haynes
Haynes Images

For information about ordering fine art prints of this Treaty Centennial symbol, and other commemorative items, click here.


For information about the Russia Society of New Hampshire, write to
PO Box 177
Concord NH 03302-0177

For a Russian-language description of the Treaty exhibit click here.

For the Russian-language Library of Congress description of the Treaty of Portsmouth, click here.

 

 News and Links

To learn nore, the following books are available:

Heroes & Friends: Behind the Scenes of the Treaty of Portsmouth by Michiko Nakanishi

There Are No Victors Here: A Local Perspective on the Treaty of Portsmouth by Peter E. Randall

Also available:

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 Peace Treaty Trail

For hours, directions, details on the Portsmouth Historical Society museum where the Portsmouth Peace Treaty exhibit is displayed, click here.

For hours, directions, details on Strawbery Banke Museum and the Shapiro House, owned by one of the founders of Temple Israel who figured in the Treaty citizen diplomacy, click here.

For information about Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Building 86 where the formal negotiations were held. click here.

For more information about Wentworth By the Sea Hotel, where both delegations stayed, click here.

For more information about Green Acre Bahai School and Sarah Farmer's commitment to the peace process, click here.

The Portsmouth Public Library maintains an micorfilm archive of local newspapers and an index of the relevant Treaty reporting and other related materials. The archive of original newspapers, photographs and other documents is maintained by the Portsmouth Athenaeum.

 

 


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