Video
Diplomacy Classroom: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy
Human rights has not always been a foreign policy priority. However, over the past 100 years, human rights have become a growing part of foreign…
Civil War and Reconstruction Era (1860-1877)
Showing 1–10 of 11 results
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Story of Diplomacy
The Declaration Heard ‘Round the World
The 1776 Declaration of Independence is one of the most universally well-known historical documents. American diplomats continue to promote the democratic values enshrined in its…
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Online Exhibit
Mutiny on the Amistad: A Victory for Democracy
“All We Want is Make Free” In 1841, a treaty meant the difference between freedom and slavery for a group of Africans who had been…
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Item
Eleanor Wilson's Passport
While the way that passports look has changed a lot since 1887, their purpose has not — to identify an international traveler as a national of a given country. A 19-year-old woman from Washington, D.C. named Eleanor Salome Wilson was issued this U.S. passport for a grand trip that included stops in…
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Simulation
Spanish American Conflict of 1898: Treaties and Self-Determination
The United States sent the USS Maine battleship to Havana Harbor to protect its citizens and interests in the Spanish-Cuban conflict. On the night of February 15, 1898, an explosion rocked the ship which eventually sank, killing 266 sailors.
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Period
Civil War and Reconstruction Era
In the Civil War era, Americans from all walks of life discussed domestic politics and foreign policy. Debates on slavery were at the center of international relations.
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Item
1871 Medal Commemorating George Robinson
On the night of President Lincoln’s assassination, John Wilkes Booth’s co-conspirators attempted to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. The co-conspirators’ attempts failed. In the case of Secretary Seward, this was thanks to the actions of George Robinson, a soldier detailed to guard Seward. In 1871 the…
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Story of Diplomacy
The Diplomatic Career of Frederick Douglass
“One of the duties of a minister in a foreign land is to cultivate good social, as well as civil relations, with the people and…
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Story of Diplomacy
Sarah Parker Remond: Citizen Diplomacy and the Emancipation Proclamation as Foreign Policy
When the Civil War erupted in April of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward’s official reason for the war was to…
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Story of Diplomacy
The Trent Affair: Diplomacy, Britain, and the American Civil War
In 1861, as the Civil War was beginning at home, U.S. diplomats faced a unique dilemma. The United States needed to maintain relationships abroad. At…
