7-22-2024 8:34pm

History Buffs: Document That Ended World War I Resurfaced After 103 Years

Donnella Tilery Editor

This article has not been edited or changed by Raritan Neighbors NJ - Donnella

July 2nd, 2024- On the 103 Year Anniversary of the documents signing, Raritan Borough residents gathered to conduct one of the first ever private viewings of the Knox-Porter Joint Resolution (also known as Treaty of Raritan) at our Nations Archives in Washington D.C. The document had been stored in [now Record Group 11] of our archival vaults for the last 103 years. The viewing was the first time that New Jersey residents of Raritan Borough (and members of the public) had seen the document in-person since Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr. in July of 1921.

The three-page signed resolution includes the signatures of President Warren G. Harding and Vice President Calvin Coolidge- who later served 6 years as President of the United States following Hardings heart attack in August of 1923.

The retrieved archival copies of the document (the first of their kind) are currently in the process of being framed and donated to the Borough of Raritan / State of New Jersey for public display. The two copies set for donation to the Borough will have their own respective unveiling ceremonies (locally)- with one copy designated to be on display at the New Municipal complex on Main Street- and one copy designated for use by Raritan Borough’s Historical & Cultural Committee.

BACKGROUND:

The Treaty of Raritan, otherwise known as the Knox-Porter Joint Resolution, (42 Stat. 105) was a joint resolution of the United States Congress signed by President Warren G. Harding on July 2, 1921, officially ending the United States involvement in World War I. The documents were signed on the estate of U.S. Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, Sr. right here in Raritan, New Jersey. Harding and Senator Frelinghuysen were playing golf at the Raritan Valley Country Club across the street when word arrived that a courier was on his way from the Raritan train station, having traveled from Washington with the signing copy of the resolution. Harding walked back to the estate and signed the document, and then returned to complete his round of golf. The Knox-Porter Joint Resolution formally terminated the state of war between the Imperial German Government and the United States of America and between the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government and the United States of America. At the site, located near the Somerville circle off of Route 28, now sits a Burger King and a memorial plaque.

Extensive historical research was needed to determine the documents current location. The event and the personnel involved had to be assessed and the legislative procedures / internal conflicts of the time period had to be taken into consideration. Many locals said the document was no longer in existence- some believed the document had been destroyed in a fire at Senator Frelinghuysen’s estate in the 1950’s, and others said the resolution would likely be in the State Archives. Throughout all of my research, I could not find a copy or scan of the actual document anywhere I looked.

Nobody had ever really seen the document itself. After reaching out to Raritan Borough’s Historical & Cultural Committee, I reached out to some of our County’s Preservation Planners, who assisted me in contacting the New Jersey State Archives. The State Archives didn’t have the documents and confirmed that they’ve never had them. I then reached out to the Center for Legislative Archives in Washington, D.C., as I was certain they would have more information that could help me in my pursuits.

Adam Barenbak, an archivist working with the Center for Legislative Archives, sent me a copy of the Committee Report from the April prior which laid out the nitty-gritty of the resolution. Mr. Barenbak then referred me to the collection which he believed the document that President Harding signed was most likely located. I contacted the General Records of the US Government (Record Group 11). Jane Fitzgerald, an archivist with the Archives 1 Reference Branch (apart the National Archives and Records Administration) in Washington, DC, was able to locate the document within Record Group 11, in the series entitled "Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-2014".

After months of research and dozens of collaborations- I am extremely proud to see the document finally come home to where it belongs. In Raritan Borough, New Jersey.

Respectfully,

Adam S. Armahizer

Raritan Borough Councilman