The Iroquois Confederacy's system of democracy begins with a legend. In the distant past, five nations were at war with one another. With the help of the warrior Hiawatha -- also called Ayonwatha -- a leader known as the Peacemaker united all five: the Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca and Cayuga. (Today, there are six nations -- the Tuscarora became part of the confederacy around 1720.) Central to the Peacemaker's plan was the creation of a body of leaders entrusted to govern the nations as a whole while preserving the rights of each tribe.
The Iroquois Government
The Peacemaker created a constitution called the Great Binding Law or the Great Law of Peace. The Iroquois passed it down through oral tradition for hundreds of years. The Great Binding Law outlines a system of government in which 50 chiefs, also known as sachems, make important decisions and resolve disputes. Women select new chiefs and remove those who are not fulfilling their duties from office. This responsibility is passed down from generation to generation.
The Iroquois and the Birth of America
It's clear that some of the Founding Fathers admired the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations. In 1744, Canasatego, chief of the Onondaga, spoke at the Treaty Council at Lancaster, Pa. In his speech, he advised his audience to follow the example of the Iroquois Confederacy. Benjamin Franklin printed and distributed a reproduction of this speech. He later spoke favorably of the Iroquois government in a letter.
A Wealth of Inspiration
Less clear is the extent to which the United States government and its Constitution are modeled on the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations. There are some definite parallels -- the United States has a federal government, but states retain their own governments. But there are also differences. For example, Americanwomen did not have the right to vote until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Some historians point out that the Iroquois also inspired political views on the other end of the spectrum. These include communist forerunners Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The general consensus, though, is that the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations was one of many influences in the United States Constitution. In fact, in 1988, one year after the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the House and Senate passed a resolution that included an acknowledgement that the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations played a role in the Constitution's development.
