United States Diplomacy: From Its Beginnings to Today
An exhibit that celebrates diplomatic accomplishments throughout America’s 250-year history.
The exhibit is intended to capture the important role that diplomacy has played across American history. It begins with the Revolutionary War, when Benjamin Franklin – America’s first diplomat – was dispatched to Paris to secure the French military assistance that proved critical to winning our independence. It takes you through how diplomats protected our young republic and then helped expand both our borders and our global trade.
In the 20th century, it captures diplomats’ role in navigating two World Wars and in building an international system that helped us win the Cold War. It concludes with diplomats confronting 21st century challenges such as transnational terrorism, technology advances, climate change, environmental degradation and global health/pandemics.
What You’ll See
These three panels represent just a small part of the full 21-panel exhibition. Together, they highlight how American diplomacy has evolved across different eras, challenges, and global relationships.
Inside the Exhibit
The exhibit has already been displayed at the State Department, American University, the DACOR-Bacon House, the U.S. Army War College, the International Student House of Washington DC, and at the national conference of the World Affairs Councils of America.
If you are interested in hosting the mobile exhibit, which has appeared across the country from Florida to Oregon and Alabama to Wisconsin, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We will be happy to work with you to make it possible.
With funding from the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, ADST has created a mobile version of our U.S diplomatic history exhibit on permanent display at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) and the National Defense University (see the exhibit content here: History of U.S. Diplomacy Exhibit).