The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787. While the Founding Fathers, former British subjects, rejected the British Parliament's model with its House of Lords and Commons, they were not entirely without inspiration. European governments offered little guidance for democracy at the time. However, existing models closer to home provided valuable insights.
The flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
The Cherokee, in a region encompassing what would become eight states, practiced a representative democratic system. Even more relevant was the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, established in 1142 CE. This remarkable federation united five member nations – the Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, and Onondaga – under the Great Law of Peace.
The Great Law included assumptions foreign to the monarchies of Europe: leaders were the servants of the people, rather than their lords. In case those leaders did not serve well, there were provisions for impeachment. The Haudenosaunee upheld freedom of expression in political and religious matters, and forbade the unauthorized entry of homes. It provided for political participation by women, who were not merely equal, but honored as being superior to men.
Parts of The Great Law were mirrored by the emerging American government: a bicameral legislature with distinct powers, a judicial branch, and an executive branch, all operating with checks and balances.
The unification of the Haudenosaunee under the Great Law of Peace is commemorated by a wampum belt known as the Hiawatha Belt, depicted here on a leather wallet made by Cliff Redeye III.
The influence extends even to national symbolism. The Great Seal of the United States, with an eagle clutching an arrow for each member state and an olive branch in the other talon, echoes the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's imagery.
As early as the 1750s, Benjamin Franklin advocated using The Great Law as a model for union. During the drafting of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia invited representatives from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. An Onondaga sachem bestowed upon John Hancock the Iroquois name Karanduawn, meaning "The Great Tree," a gesture of friendship and respect.
Thomas Jefferson, critical of Europe's feudalistic governments that divided people into "wolves and sheep," believed in limited government as a path to prosperity. He admired societies like the Haudenosaunee, and even viewed their political systems as superior to European governments.
The U.S. Constitution was certainly not a wholesale adaptation of Native American law. The Great Law, for instance, granted equal power to women and men – a level of equality the U.S. still strives for. However, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy offered a living example of the very governing principles the Founders envisioned, successfully implemented for over six centuries.
These connections, however, were not widely acknowledged. The fledgling nation sought to establish itself as an equal among European powers. It is easy to imagine the skepticism a European nation might have shown towards a government modeled after Native American systems. Some American historians denied any influence from Haudenosaunee law. Yet, upon closer examination, there are clear parallels between the Great Law and the Constitution.
Finally, in 1987, the U.S. Senate formally recognized this influence. A resolution, read on September 16th, said:
“The original framers of the Constitution, including most notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts, principles and governmental practices of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Confederacy as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the Constitution itself."
Map of indigenous placenames in West Virginia and western Maryland
The Cherokee and Haudenosaunee both practiced these forms of democratic government throughout Appalachia--including the areas we now call Virginia and West Virginia. Little wonder, then, that founders like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would hold them in high regard. Our history books still tend to focus on the conflicts between Native Americans and immigrant settlers. More attention should be devoted to the ways the founders of the nation embraced Native American forms of democracy.
Learn more about Indigenous people in the AFNHA region through our Indigenous Voices in Appalachia program and Creating Home exhibit at the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center.
