The+Iroquois+Constitution+and+The+Us+Constitution

Iroquois Constitution and The U.S Constitution "Rutledge proposed they model the new government they were forming into something along the lines of the Iroquois League of Nations, which had been functioning as a democratic government for hundreds of years, and which he had observed in Albany." (The Iroquois Constitution)

• Both constitutions constructed a federal government that had a central leader, which governed a nation with a great deal of land that had different sections.

• The Iroquois Constitution governed five Native American nations and the U.S Constitution governed the original thirteen states. "It must also be pointed out that this document refers to to the "Five" Nations, while other references to the Confederacy speak of the "Six" nations. From the inception, there were the Five Nations discussed in this Constitution. In about 1715, the Tuscarora Nation, once part of the Iroquois peoples in a much earlier period of their history, moved up from North Carolina to avoid warfare with the invading white settlers, and were adopted into the Confederacy."

"All the business of the Five Nations Confederate Council shall be conducted by the two combined bodies of Confederate Lords. First the question shall be passed upon by the Mohawk and Seneca Lords, then it shall be discussed and passed by the Oneida and Cayuga Lords.  Their decisions shall then be referred to the Onondaga Lords, (Fire Keepers) for final judgement. The same process shall obtain when a question is brought before the council by an individual or a War Chief."

"But I DID find sufficient data and evidence to convince me that the Iroquois most certainly did have a considerable influence on the drafting of our own Constitution, and we present-day Americans owe them a very large debt."

• Both the of the constitutions promoted peace and harmony within its nations. • They formed a democracy with a system of checks and balances. The Iroquois Constitution and the U.S. Constitution had leaders and representatives from each nation or state.

• Both constitutions protected the rights of the people of each nation or states. "No individual or foreign nation interested in a case, question or proposition shall have any voice in the Confederate Council except to answer a question put to him or them by the speaker for the Lords."

• Both governed the same land at different time periods of history. • Both used a “tree” to symbolize the different sections of the government. In the Iroquois Constitution they referred to, “The Great Tree of Peace” while the U.S. Constitution refers to “the branches” of government.

• Individual religious ceremonies and religions were protected by both constitutions. • An individual could join each “country” if they agreed to follow the rules set down by the constitutions.

Do you think that the Iroquois Constitution could have been changed from generation to generation and why?

Why would The United States base their government off the Iroquois Constitution, when the US didn’t respect the Native Americans?

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