Similarities Between Us And Iroquois Constitution

The U.S Constitution and the Iroquois Constitution have a lot of similarities. They both state the same law for the most part but come from different places the Constitution from the colonist and the Haudenosaunee from the Native Americans. The Iroquois Constitution was the root for the U.S Constitution. The colonist based their Constitution on the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace. The Iroquois Constitution and the U.S. Constitution have a lot of thing in common and in contrast.

One difference is the structure, or how the constitution’s were wrote. The Iroquois Constitution is not near as structured as the U.S. Constitution. For example, the Iroquois’s is like somebody talking and the U.S. has articles which are broken down

America is considered to have two constitutions, the modern one used today, and the old constitution it was based off of. The Constitution of the Iroquois is the basic structure of the present American Constitution. Though the Iroquois Constitution is the base US Constitution they are very different. The Iroquois Constitution is older, with older values and writing style. Even though the present American Constitution is not modernized to today’s exact principles, it still contains the ideal values the United States is known for.

The U.S. Constitution and Iroquois Constitution have very different types of structures. The U.S. Constitution states, “Each house may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and with the Concurrence of two, expel a Member” (Madison, Section). This constitution has a very sincere, businesslike tone, and is written out like a contract. This constitution is wrote in headings, articles, and sections. The U.S. Constitution is all about business and making sure everyone is following their rules. The U.S. Constitution does not have as much peace in it like the Iroquois Constitution does. The Iroquois Constitution says, “... see the council fire of the Great Peace” (Dekanawidah, 25). This constitution has a very hopeful, severe tone, and is written out like a narrative, oral tradition

The Great Law of peace is the oral constitution whereby the Haudenosaunee confederation was bound together. The haudenosaunee confederation influence can be seen in the similarities of ideas found within the Constitution of the United States. The Great law representatives are the chiefs, Clan mothers, faithkeepers, and Pine tree Chiefs. The founding fathers were influenced by the Great Law, it questions the basic tenets of Federal-Indian law and policy. In acknowledging that the Haudenosaunee had a complex centralized government, the Great Law of Peace, that was emulated by the founding fathers and existed before the first Europeans arrived, makes the U.S. judicial framework concerning Indians and federal-Indian policy.

This can also be very important if another country were to threaten The United States of America. The final similarity between The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution is they both had the possibility to be changed. It was much harder to with The Articles, but it still could have been

Although these documents were used at different times in the history of the U.S, they have some things in common and they also differ in other aspects. One difference between the Articles of Confederation and the constitution is that in the Articles of Confederation, states are sovereign, this is not the case with the constitution because it presents people of the United States as sovereign, and in addition, divides sovereignty between the central government and the states (Farrand, 2000). The difference here is that having sovereign states denies people the sovereignty while having people and the whole nation as sovereign gives people the sovereignty and the ability to exercise their sovereignty per the constitution. Farrand (2000)

     The Constitutions of both the Iroquois and the United States have similarities and differences between them. The Iroquois constitution came earlier in history than the U.S one did. Some of the same ideas that were in the Iroquois’ constitution were carried over to some of the ideas that we use in our government today. In this paper I will compare and contrast these ideas as they relate with one another. Ideas like Vito Power, When a Leader Gets Sick, 3 Branches of Government, A Bicameral Legislature, and impeachment are portrayed in both of these constitutions.

Although many people are ignorant of this fact, the United States Constitution is derived from the Iroquois's Great Binding Law. The Iroquois, also know as the Confederacy of Five Nations, are a Native American tribe which was formed when five warring tribes were brought together, with the help of  Dekanawida and Hiawatha, to promote peace. Before becoming allies, the five tribes were constantly fighting among themselves and competing for resources; the Great Binding Law created harmony, unity, and respect among the tribes. The recognition of Justice and individual liberty included in the Great Law exceeds that of many other doctrines. It is no surprise that the Founding Fathers based the United States Constitution off of the Great Law.

Every country has it’s own set of laws. Whatever they may be, they should be laws that are able to keep the country together. To keep a country together, these laws must satisfy, help and most certainly protect the people of this country. The United States has been a country that faced hardships, like being under Great Britain’s rule, it was divided into colonies, and it had unjust and unfair laws. This led them to fight for their rights and change these unfair laws so that it can help establish their satisfaction and freedom. After a series of events that occurred, they eventually established three documents that would satisfy, help and protect the people of the United States of America. These documents were The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and The Declaration of Independence. Of course the events that occurred have made a huge impact on the ideas in these documents. The ones that stick out the most are the Enlightenment thinkers, The

constitution, they did however integrate other principles from the Iroquois Confederacy. Many people who helped with the creation of the U.S. Constitution, would also thoroughly study the Great Law of Peace, and the Iroquois society. Not only was Thomas Jefferson greatly associated with the chiefs of the Confederacy, but also a U.S. delegate, John Rutledge of South Carolina, would read aloud long sections of the Great Law of Peace to the many other drafters of the U.S. Constitution. America’s founding fathers were more directly inspired by listening to stories, visiting with the Iroquois leaders, and being able to witness the government in action. As a matter of fact, a few Iroquois chiefs attended the Continental Congress in 1776 during the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. They would help the founding fathers construct a set of laws and guidelines that would help unite the 13 colonies, which was similar to their own

Nothing is more fundamental yet so important to the freedoms we enjoy as Americans as the United States Constitution, which guarantee our right to do and say as we please so long as it does no harm to anyone. The Iroquois Nation preamble is placed on perfect peace for the welfare of the people. Their focus was fighting for the liberty of the people. Among the Indian nations whose ancient seats were within the limits of our republic, the Iroquois have long continued to occupy the conspicuous position. Nations they now set forth upon the canvas of the Indian history prominent as for the wisdom of their civil institution of the federations. Only the Iroquois had a system that seemed to meet most of the demands espoused by the

The United States Constitution was recognized to Americans as a vague statement in clarifying the privileges and the rights of individuals and centralizing the power within the government itself. With the passing of the Bill of Rights and the first ten amendments, it grants the people to what is said to be their “natural rights” following additional rights that have significantly changed our society.

The articles of confederation and the constitution have many things in common yet if one doesn't come to the agreement the other one can’t proceed to make a decision. There is where the conflict starts because if one of the decision is not what the other wants there is a cause of dilemma. As an example, voting in congress. In the articles of confederation there is only one vote per state vs in the constitution it is one vote per representative, or senator.

"…all men are created equal… they have endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights… among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those are some of the words brought forward in the Declaration of Independence. But it was the Constitution that really lay down the fundamental building stone of what today is the United States of America. It was very much inspired by the French philosopher Montesquieu' and his power theory (De l'Esprit des lois, 1748) where the legislations, executive and the court are kept separate and balance each other out.