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Portsmouth celebrates the Centennial of the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty
with special events, educational programs, and museum exhibits.

Due to the efforts of Governor Mclane, the State of New Hampshire along with Portsmouth, New Hampshire and its citizens became the unlikely host for the first international treaty to be signed in the United States. Only now is it becoming apparent that the hospitality of the State of New Hampshire and the residents of Portsmouth and vicinity played a significant informal role in creating an atmosphere that made the formal peaceful settlement possible.

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 fought between Russia, an international power, and Japan, a tiny, isolated nation was the first modern war to incorporate the telephone, telegraph, barbed wire, armored battleships, mine fields and machine guns. Without the military restraint shown by other nations and the diplomacy efforts of President Roosevelt and the United States, it could have easily been the First World War.

"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." (from Portsmouth Peace Treaty)

In August of 1905, the people of Portsmouth encouraged the delegates' efforts for peace at numerous social events, especially during the times when formal negotiations were breaking down. The Portsmouth peace process provides an important example for diplomacy today.

President Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring delegates from Russia and Japan together in the neutral town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Portsmouth Peace Treaty explores the causes of the war, the military conflict on land and sea, President Theodore Roosevelt's back channel diplomacy, and the peace negotiations hosted by the United States Navy and the State of New Hampshire.