1. Contrast the political status of Haudenosaunee women in 1787 with colonial/early American women under the legal doctrine of coverture (where women had no separate legal rights).
2. How did 19th-century suffragists like Matilda Joslyn Gage and Elizabeth Cady Stanton cite Haudenosaunee Clan Mothers as proof that female equality and political power were both natural and effective?
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Constitutional Analysis
Directions: Complete the matrix comparing the foundational structures of the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace (*Gayanashagowa*) and the United States Constitution (1787).
Governance Dimension
Great Law of Peace
U.S. Constitution (1787)
Union Structure
5 (later 6) sovereign nations united under one longhouse
Legislative Decision Model
Consensus (unanimous agreement across all 3 council benches)
Checks on Leaders
Clan Mothers veto, public recall, consensus confirmation
Time Horizon of Decisions
Seventh Generation Principle (decisions must protect people 7 generations ahead)
U.S. Senate Res. 331 (1988) Reflection
Prompt: In 1988, the 100th U.S. Congress passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 331 acknowledging that "the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was influenced by the political system developed by the Iroquois Confederacy." Evaluate the evidence for this influence while also addressing the significant structural differences between the two constitutions.
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"The lineal descent of the people of the Five Nations shall run in the female line. Women shall be considered the progenitors of the Nation. They shall own the land and the soil. Men and women shall follow the status of the mother."
Wampum 45: Chieftainship Titles Owned by Women Executive Appointment
"The women heirs of the Confederate Lordship titles shall be called Royaneh (Clan Mothers) for all time to come. The women heirs shall hold the titles of chieftainship from generation to generation... Clan Mothers alone possess the legal right to nominate candidates for council chiefs."
Wampum 53: The Three Warnings & Impeachment ("De-Horning") Recall Protocol
"When a chief fails in his duty, or acts contrary to the Great Law, the Clan Mother shall warn him first in private. If he does not reform, she shall warn him a second time before his clan. If he persists in defiance, she shall warn him a third time with a male confederate chief. If he refuses amendment, the Clan Mother shall proceed to the Council, divest him of his deer antlers [symbol of title], and depose him forever."
Section III: The Deliberative Process & Bicameral Consensus Wampums 8–11
Wampum 9: The Three Benches of the Grand Council Tripartite Balance
"All the business of the Council shall be transacted by the two united bodies of Confederate Lords: first the Mohawk and Seneca Lords (the Older Brothers), second the Oneida and Cayuga Lords (the Younger Brothers). When both bodies have deliberated across the fire and come to full consensus, they shall refer their decision to the Onondaga Lords (the Firekeepers) for confirmation. If the Onondaga discover error against the Great Law, they shall return the question with counsel until complete unanimity is attained."
Constitutional Significance: Unlike Roman or British systems where political power was concentrated exclusively among male aristocrats, the Great Law embedded female leadership as the supreme checking mechanism over the executive branch.
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Legacy & Influence
Section IV: Civil Liberties & The Seventh Generation Principle Wampums 79, 93 & 101
Wampum 79: Freedom of Assembly & Speech
"When the people of any clan or nation desire to assemble to discuss matters of welfare or redress grievances, no Lord shall forbid them. The voice of the common people shall always be heard by the Council."
Wampum 93: Religious & Cultural Liberty
"The people of the Confederacy shall be free to practice their traditional rites, ceremonies, and thanksgiving without molestation or coercion from any chief or nation."
Wampum 101: The Seventh Generation Principle Intergenerational Duty
"In all of your deliberations in the Confederate Council, in your efforts at law making, in all your official acts, self-interest shall be cast into oblivion. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present, but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground—the unborn of the future Nation."
Section V: U.S. Senate Concurrent Resolution 331 (100th Congress, 1988) Official Congressional Record
"Whereas the original framers of the Constitution, including most notably George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy; and
Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was influenced by the political system developed by the Iroquois Confederacy, as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the Constitution itself...
Resolved, That the Congress, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, acknowledges the historical debt which this Republic of the United States of America owes to the Iroquois Confederacy and other Indian nations for their demonstration of enlightened democratic principles and government."
Reading Analysis Prompt: Use these primary source wampum excerpts to cite specific textual evidence in completing your Great Law Comparison Activity.
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