Study Notes on The Iroquois League, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution

Absence of American Indians in Historical Works:
- Mainstream academic works on the Constitution and Articles of Confederation omit significant contributions from American Indian influences.
- Major works lacking references to Indigenous political thought include:
- Gordon S. Wood's The Creation of the American Republic
- Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
- Samuel H. Beer's To Make a Nation
- Jack N. Rakove's The Beginnings of National Politics
- These authors emphasize European influences over Indigenous contributions.
Emergence of the Revisionist School:
- Revisionist authors, notably Bruce E. Johansen, argue that the Iroquois Indians were "forgotten Founders" of American democracy that impacted the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
- This school claims the Iroquois League significantly influenced:
- The unity of the 13 colonies (1776)
- Frameworks of the Articles of Confederation
- Construction of a federal system (1787-1788)
Lewis Henry Morgan's Contributions:
- Morgan's pioneering work on the Iroquois provided early evidence for the Iroquois influence thesis, suggesting the formation of a union was recommended by the Iroquois in 1755.
- Subsequent scholars continued to explore this thesis, including John N. B. Hewitt and Felix S. Cohen.

Advocacy for Union: Various instances where Iroquois leaders, such as Canasatego (1744) and Hendrick (1754), advocated for colonial unity, stressing that such unity led to strength against common enemies.
- Canasatego's speech at Lancaster:
- Urged colonial leaders to adopt similar unifying methods to those used by the Iroquois for strength and authority.
Benjamin Franklin's Interest:
- Influenced by Iroquois governance, Franklin promoted union among colonies, suggesting that if six nations (Iroquois) could unite, then so could the English colonies.
- In 1754, Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union, closely modeled after the Iroquois Confederacy.
Direct Transmission of Ideas:
- The Albany Plan was influenced by ideas from the Iroquois following Franklin's interactions at treaty meetings.
- Several attempts at confederation by colony leaders, partly drawing from Iroquois concepts, marked the prelude to the Constitution.

Iroquois Ideas in the Constitutional Debate:
- Some advocates argue that Iroquois political structures influenced the framers, particularly regarding the balance of powers.
- Documents and teachings were shared at treaty conferences, which led framers to indirectly consider Iroquois governance.
Criticism of the Iroquois influence thesis:
- Payne critiques that the Iroquois as understood by British-American leaders differed significantly from the strong federal system proposed by the U.S. Constitution.
- The perception of the Iroquois as a well-structured political entity is contrasted against historical realities:
- The Iroquois League did not possess mechanisms equivalent to the state-organized society of the colonies.
- Lack of written constitutions, taxation, judiciary, and bureaucracy in Iroquois governance hampered any direct modeling into the American constitutional framework.

Contrasts between Iroquois Governance and American Confederation:
- The Iroquois League consisted of a Grand Council with limited powers and autonomous tribes focused on diplomacy and conflict resolution.
- In contrast, the Articles of Confederation included taxation powers, criminal justice provisions, and distinct governance roles that were not present in Iroquois society.
- Historical records show that the colonists had encountered and utilized confederation systems long before they interacted with the Iroquois, citing examples such as:
- The New England Confederation (1643)

Final Thoughts:
- The influence of the Iroquois on the U.S. Constitution and Articles of Confederation is minimal when examined against the backdrop of prevailing European ideas and pre-existing colonial practices.
- There is no substantial evidence to support a model derived from Iroquois governance in drafting either the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution, highlighting a need to reassess claims of indigenous influence as more propagative than rooted in straightforward historical fact.
- Ultimately, American framers had the pragmatic experience of the Articles of Confederation and the lessons learned therein overshadowing any influence the Iroquois League may have had.