The Hidden History of the U.S. Constitution

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By Professor Victoria Sutton

August 25, 2024

Guest Opinion. The U.S. Constitution is often thought to have originated from the intellectual musings of the Founding Fathers in a tobacco smoke-filled room in Philadelphia.

The Magna Carta (1215) is often credited for its inspiration for our governance in America. But the Magna Carta speaks to fair trials and juries of equals, representation in government and abolishing the exclusive power of one King. That certainly inspired the Bill of Rights, but it did not speak to the structure of governance.

So what was truly considered in the development of the structure of the newly formed United States of America that makes up Articles I, II and III of the U.S. Constitution?

It was clear that there was little interest in copying Parliament as a model, and certainly no royalty would be part of the new structure of government.

As early as 1744 at the Lancaster Treaty Council, Benjamin Franklin and others had been advised by Canasatego, a Haudenosaunee (hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) leader, that they would be benefited by forming a government like theirs:

... we, the Six Nations, heartily recommend union and a good agreement between you .... Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this has made us formidable; this has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighboring Nations. We are a powerful Confederacy; and, by your observing the same Methods our wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power; therefore whatever befalls you, never fall out one with another.

—-Canasatego

This alone is often considered sufficient evidence that the U.S. Constitution was influenced by the structure of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter in 1751 to James Parker, expressing his admiration for the Haudenosaunee (with a Eurocentric perspective) :

It would be a very 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 appears indissoluble; and yet alike Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous; and who cannot be supposed to want an equal Understanding of their Interests. -- Benjamin Franklin

Ten years after being advised by Canasatego to adopt a plan like the Haudenosaunee, Benjamin Franklin wrote the Albany Plan of Union (1754) as the first plan to unite the colonies. “Scholars agree that Franklin "admired the Iroquois confederation and plainly had it in mind in his earliest discussion of the need of union among the colonies.”

Some stories around the time of the drafting of the Constitution tell the story that a group of Iroquois chiefs came to Philadelphia and were sleeping on the second floor of Independence Hall, during the time John Hancock was presiding over the Continental Congress. The story is that the Haudenosaunee had been invited earlier to come down and view this new Continental Congress.

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation (1777) was intended to address the ongoing trade wars that resulted in impeding commerce and constant bloodshed and wars between the colonies and the Indian Nations. The agreement to work together on commerce, seemed like a good idea, but the Articles of Confederation lacked the binding power it needed, and the ability to use resources from the colonies for its own national defense were major flaws which proved fatal. It was in effect from 1781 to 1789.

In 1787 ten years after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was unable to resolve trade disputes and had little power over commerce, where tariffs continued to prevent free trade. They began to think about revisiting the Haudenosaunee model.

The Need for the Constitution

A Constitution was needed to address these problems which led to the strong Commerce Clause power enumerated for Congress.

Something very much like the federalism structure of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was needed, as Canasatego recommended in 1744. It was evident that the federalism concept could be used to structure the relationship between the states and the federal government, much like the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Six Nations (the Tuscarora Nation was a later member Nation).

The formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederation

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy may be better known by the name given by the French, the Iroquois Confederacy, but they call themselves the Haudenosaunee.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is the oldest known representative democracy, and its formal beginning dates to 1142. In 1142, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas had agreed to the confederation, but the Onondaga were holding out. The occurrence of a total eclipse influenced their decision to join the confederation, marking the time of the formation of this compact with this cosmic event. The blood feuds that existed at the time had come from the tradition that required that if a person was killed by someone in another clan or in another Nation and then those in that victim’s clan were bound to go and kill or capture at least one person from the group that did the killing. There was no peace.

Hiawatha was a skilled speaker and speechmaker and other Tribes who heard of his vision of peace for all of the Tribes, sought him out for consultation. There are many stories about where the ideas originated. Some say Hiawatha was the speaker but Deganawida was the person with the ideas, but was a stutterer, so he was unable to deliver them as effectively as Hiawatha. They joined forces to stop the blood feuds and established the Great Law of Peace. Ultimately, in 1142 a union was formed which has lasted throughout that time to the present.

Federalism

The idea of separation of powers and power held by the people as well as the notion of federalism is set forth in the Great Law of Peace.

In 1785 when there was great frustration in the government with the Articles of Confederation, three representatives were asked to examine the Haudenosaunee form of government more closely and come back with a new proposal --- they were Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Jefferson became the ambassador to France. Monroe and Madison conferred with an Oneida Chief, Grasshopper. James Madison is largely credited with writing most of The Federalist Papers, considered the founding documents of the U.S. Constitution. The resulting U.S. Constitution with its three branches of government, enumerated powers and power to defend the nation are derived from the influence of the Haudenosaunee.

By June 1788, nine States had ratified the Constitution and by November 1789 all but one had ratified the Constitution so that meant according to the terms of the Constitution it would go into effect March 4, 1789.

Reflection

The Magna Carta, one of the most famous documents in the world, as well as the intellectual writings of philosophers like John Locke and Montesquieu are widely known as influences on the drafters of the U.S. Constitution. But the creation of the U.S. Constitution did not happen in a vacuum of European thought. With the colonies facing trade wars that threatened the economic viability of the colonies, the interference of the states, the inability to tax the colonies so the new nation could defend itself were all looming priorities as the Founding Father drew from the governing nations around them — the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, in particular. It is important not to forget that European thought was an important influence but to omit the historical reality of the influence of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on the structure of the U.S. Constitution is just intellectual dishonesty.

I often hear comments from law students that they had never even heard of this influence on the formation of the U.S. Constitution, and they are surprised to see the historical documentation was ignored through their early education. I have looked at dozens of references in traditional resources for any mention of the influence of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy on the Constitution and found none, even those specifically discussing the role of Benjamin Franklin who had the most documented evidence of this influence.

To read more articles by Professor Sutton go to:  https://profvictoria.substack.com/ 

Professor Victoria Sutton (Lumbee) is a law professor on the faculty of Texas Tech University. In 2005, Sutton became a founding member of the National Congress of American Indians, Policy Advisory Board to the NCAI Policy Center, positioning the Native American community to act and lead on policy issues affecting Indigenous communities in the United States.