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Primary sourceDocument5 September 1905

Treaty of Portsmouth

5 September 1905

The 1905 treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, negotiated with Roosevelt's mediation and signed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Roosevelt mediated this treaty, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the Russo-Japanese War.

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Open handwritten document with red and white ribbon and four red wax seals along its bottom edge. Handwritten text ends with 'Done at Portsmouth (New Hampshire)' and signatures include 'Sergei Witte' and 'Komura' with 'Takahira'. Right page is blank with faint stains.
Treaty of Portsmouth, signed 5 September 1905. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

About this source

What it is

This document is the Treaty of Portsmouth, signed on September 5, 1905, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, formally ending the Russo-Japanese War between Japan and Russia. It is held by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Why it matters

President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the negotiations between the Japanese delegation, led by Komura Jutarō, and the Russian delegation, led by Sergei Witte. His role in brokering peace won him the Nobel Peace Prize, the first ever awarded to an American. The treaty shaped power in East Asia by recognizing Japan's dominance in Korea and giving it former Russian territories and railway rights.

Look closer

  • What do the wax seals and ribbon tell you about how official documents were made important at this time?
  • Why might a neutral third party like Roosevelt be useful to two warring nations?
  • What is missing from the document that you might want to know about how the negotiations actually went?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Theodore Roosevelt and Tsar Nicholas II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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