iroquois conferacy

According to Locke, how does a ruler gain authority?

According to Locke, a ruler gains authority through the consent of the governed.

Who was Canasatego

A leader of the Onondaga Nation who told the British colonists that the native forefathers established union and amity among the Five Nations which made them formidable and gave them great weight and authority with neighboring nations. He advised the colonists that by observing the same methods, they would acquire fresh strength and power.

What impact did English ideas and practices have on the US government?

America has a legislative body (like parliament), a head of state, and the bill of rights.

What was the Albany plan?

An early, pre-revolution attempt, crafted by Franklin, to unify the colonies that in some ways mirrors the Iroquois example.

Where did the idea of separation of powers come from?

From such varied philosophers as Aristotle, Calvin, Montesquieu

Why is Montesquieu famous?

He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world.

What happens if the government should fail to protect these rights, according to Locke?

If the government should fail to protect these rights, its citizens would have the right to overthrow that government.

What did Locke write in his Second Treatise of Government?

In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke identified the basis of a legitimate government.

When did they become six nations?

In the 18th century, when the Tuscarora joined the league to increase the membership to six nations.

What was the petition of right?

THE PETITION OF RIGHT (1628) extended the rights of "commoners" to have a voice in the government.

According to Locke, what is the duty of government?

The duty of government is to protect the natural rights of the people, which Locke believed to include life, liberty, and property.

How did the Iroquois construct their government?

The member nations of the Iroquois League all lived under matrilineal societies, in which they inherited status and possessions through the mother's line. Headmen were not elected, but rather clan mothers chose them. Representation was not based on equality or on population. Instead, the number of Council members per nation was based on the traditional hierarchy of nations within the confederation. Moreover, the League of Six Nations did not have a centralized authority like that of the federal system the Euro-Americans eventually adopted.

How old was the Iroquois confederation

The most popular theory holds that the confederation was created around 1450, before Columbus' "discovery" of America.

Who was John Locke?

A 17th century Englishman who redefined the nature of government, and the single most important influence that shaped the founding of the United States.

Who was Montesquieu?

A political philosopher who lived during the Age of Enlightenment.

What was the Iroquois confederation?

A powerful northeast Native American confederacy, known to the English as the "Five Nations"), and later as the "Six Nations,"

What European political philosophers influenced the way the framers wrote the constitution?

Baron de Montesquieu, Jean Jacque Rousseau, and John Locke

Support for the belief that Native governments, particularly the Iroquois, served as models for the nation's new government

Canasatego's admonition, and the words of founders such as Benjamin Franklin, who in 1751 wrote to his printer colleague James Parker that "It would be a strange thing if Six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable of forming a scheme for such an union, and be able to execute it in such a manner as that it has subsisted ages and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like union should be impracticable for ten or a dozen English colonies."

What are other arguments against Iroquois influence?

It is doubtful that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention 1787 would have proposed a system under which only their relatives could become members of Congress or a system under which each legislator was chosen by a close female relative of the previous holder of the office. Nor does it seem likely that if such a hereditary system had been adopted, the Constitutional Convention would have opted for matrilineal inheritance of office, which by its very nature excludes a son from succeeding to his father's position."

What did Rousseau argue?

Jean Jacque Rousseau argued that by joining together into civil society through the social contract and abandoning their claims of natural right, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free.

What did Locke believe?

John Locke wrote that government arises from a contract between the ruler and the ruled

What do Native American scholars argue?

Native American Studies Professor Bruce Johansen and American Studies Professor Donald Grinde, among others, argue that American colonists "drew freely on the image of the American Indian as an exemplar of the spirit of liberty they so cherished." These scholars argue that the framers of American governments understood and admired Native American government structures, and they borrowed certain indigenous concepts for their own governments.

Did Rousseau believe in a representative assembly?

No. Rousseau opposed the idea that the people should exercise sovereignty via a representative assembly. He approved the kind of republican government of the city-state, where the community votes on all decisions.

What do the skeptics say?

On balance, the consensus appears to be that although British North Americans were certainly aware of the confederal nature of the Iroquois government, the case for causation has not been made, according to Alison LaCroix, a law professor at the University of Chicago, in The Ideological Origins of American Federalism, published in 2010.

What was the English Bill of Rights?

The English Bill of Rights (1688) guaranteed free elections and rights for citizens accused of crime. Although King George III still had some real power in 1776, Britain was already well along on the path of democracy by that time.

What are the differences between Iroquois and US government?

The Iroquois system is based on hereditary positions and clan-based leadership -- elements that are entirely foreign to the United States' system (and arguably seem more similar to the British system the colonists were trying to escape). The Iroquois League's governmental power was vested in a council of 50 chiefs known as sachems. Each sachem had a title that was essentially hereditary, and each of these titles belonged to a particular clan within a particular tribe. The division of council seats was fixed, but without any relation to the member nation's population size. Meanwhile, as the council's "firekeepers," the Onondagas had the responsibility of presenting the matter to be discussed. The council acted based on consensus, rather than by majority rule, as became the system under the Constitution of 1787. "

Did the Iroquois influence the US constitution?

The Iroquois system of government was known to 18th-century leaders in the colonies and the new republic, and it shared some similarities with post-revolutionary attempts at governance. However, major elements of the Iroquois system are altogether absent in the U.S. government, including hereditary, clan-based governance. The Iroquois meme focuses on Iroquois influences to the exclusion of European precedents that are at least as important, and likely more so.

What were the similarities in the Iroquois and US government structure?

The Iroquois system was federal in nature -- the five or six individual tribes handled their own affairs, as the American states eventually would, and those tribes came together to form an overarching government to address issues of common importance. The Iroquois system also had aspects of representational democracy.

What is the meme about about the Iroquois?

The U.S. Constitution owes its notion of democracy to the Iroquois Tribes, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of powers in government. The only difference is the Iroquois included women and non-whites.

What would cause these five particular nations to come together?

These five nations bore common linguistic and cultural characteristics,

Why did they form an alliance?

They formed the alliance to protect themselves from invasion and to deliberate on common causes.

Which American patriot was deeply influenced by Locke?

Thomas Jefferson, as he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Which nations were the original five members of the confederation?

the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca