Congregation Ahavas Achim Hosts “Teddy Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize Diplomacy:
New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty” on May 17
Keene, NH (April 6, 2009) – In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt chose Portsmouth, New Hampshire to be the site of negotiations between Russian and Japanese delegations to end the Russo-Japanese War (now known as “World War Zero”). On Sunday, May 17th at 3 pm, Congregation Ahavas Achim in Keene welcomes NH Humanities Council speaker Charles B. Doleac, founder/moderator of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum, to present their Spring Nathan Cohen Lecture Committee program. The program is a NH Humanities Council “Humanities To Go” selection and is free and open to the public. A question and answer session will follow the illustrated talk.
Mr. Doleac’s presentation describes Roosevelt’s multi-track diplomacy that included other world powers, the Russian and Japanese delegations, the US Navy and New Hampshire hosts in the thirty days of negotiations that resulted in the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. Roosevelt earned America’s first Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his endeavors. A Portsmouth attorney, Mr. Doleac is the author of An Uncommon Commitment to Peace: Portsmouth Peace Treaty 1905, the definitive history on the 30 days of the peace conference deliberations in Portsmouth. Co-founder of the Japan-America Society of NH, Atty. Doleac received the Foreign Minister of Japan’s Citation for his “outstanding contributions to international understanding” in recognition of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum seminars.
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum was founded in 1994 to provide an opportunity for diplomats and scholars to explore diplomatic themes "in the spirit of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.” Each year the Forum presents a speaker with a current theme and/or book. In 2008, Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power spoke on her book, Chasing the Flame, a biography of UN peacekeeper Sergio Vieira de Mello. In 2007, Middle East envoy Ambassador Dennis Ross spoke on his book Statecraft. Previous Forum guests have included Graham Allison of Harvard, John Curtis Perry and Eileen Babbitt from the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University and Russian and Japanese diplomats.
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum also maintains a permanent and traveling exhibit (displayed at the New Hampshire State Archives in Concord and at the Portsmouth Historical Society’s museum) and the website that the Library of Congress cites as the best resource on the topic for its educational value and accessibility. The Forum also partners with the World Affairs Council of NH to present programs on diplomatic and foreign relations themes. Supported by the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire, the Forum produces additional annual events including a Seacoast Wind Ensemble concert, New Hampshire Humanities Council lectures, Pontine Theatre play, Portsmouth Peace Treaty/Labor Parade, a jazz and poetry Beat Night and the annual bell-ringing commemoration of the Treaty signing on September 5th. For more information, visit www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com
For more information on the program, contact the Synagogue office at (603) 352-6747.