The Iroquois Constitution Summary

United States Americans have always learned about the constitution, but they don’t know everything about it. What most people don’t know is that the U.S Constitution is based off the Iroquois Constitution. The Iroquois is a group of Indians that were having conflict between their five nations; because of this they created a constitution to unite and give structure to their nations. Their constitution is mostly different than the U.S. Constitution, but there are a few similarities between the two.

In “The Keynote Address of Seneca Falls”, Elizabeth Stanton uses the rhetorical devices, repetition, imagery, and tone to portray her feelings about women’s rights and to speak up for all women who believe that woman are just as great as man. Seneca Falls in New York was where one of the first women’s right’s convention was held, which over three hundred people, men and woman, attended. This convention is where Elizabeth gave her speech to hundreds of people who wanted to reach the same goals.

     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.

The declaration states that men have had "absolute tyranny" over women throughout all of history, and it is this idea that has prevented the progression of women's abilities an talents.1 The declaration continues to say that women have been robbed of their inalienable rights, rights to hold property, representation in government, an education, job opportunities, and many other rights that have only been applicable to men in the past.2 The ideas and concepts suggested in the Seneca Falls Declaration evoked strong feelings of equality among women, and it also sparked anger amongst men.

2. “He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men—both natives and foreigners.”

Prior to this time period woman were expected to follow rule of man and had little to no rights, unlike men. The Seneca Falls convention was an event that changed this. Declaration of Sentiments proclaimed, “He has created a false public sentiment, by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women,” (Seneca Falls 305) Somewhere along the way of creating America the roles of a gender were created and misinterpreted. This is saying that women are equal to men and can do everything men cannot and that it is not morally wrong for this to occur. Support for women’s rights came from important funding documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Sentiments expressed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;” (Seneca Falls 304) This quote explains that the Declaration of Independence is in support of women’s rights. No man should be greater than women and vice versa. The reform grows in size and significance because as soon as one person speaks up others feel as though they can as well. Many events were significant to the reform impulse but slaver and women’s rights are two that stand

There are many similarities between the constitution and the principles of the Iroquois. Researchers Vine Deloraia, Bruce Johnson, and Donald Grind have found that the very foundation of both sets of principles mirror each other (Johansen 1998:79):

The “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott stated that all men and women were created equal, therefore they both should have the inalienable rights of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” (Doc 1). Since both women and men were created equal, the idea of suffrage should be of one for all, not subjected to only white, Anglo-Saxon males. These inalienable rights of liberty should pertain to the right to vote. Additionally, it was questioned that since women were able to take care of their families, loving and guiding their children, why were they not allowed the freedom to vote (Doc 6). This poem by Herman Paley discussed the idea of how various women throughout history “gave” the United States their leaders, then they should also have the right to

She focuses on how women's rights were removed and backs that information with proof: "Women were totally excluded from voting… [,]…their right to divorce were violated in the 1876 Indian Act. [And it] also undermined female authority by denying them the right to participate in decisions concerning the disposition of reserve lands," (Stevenson, 1999, 71-3). These arguments strongly back up her proposal, which makes her statements very hard to disagree with.

Obviously, both of the constitution has similar and different things. The Iroquois Constitution uses symbols and the United States Constitution does not. They both deal with laws and members and rules. Both get the job done. They are different by the structure, symbols, and

Sub-point B: The declaration of sentiments which is primarily known as the declaration of rights and sentiments is a document signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men at the Seneca Falls. It argues that women are oppressed by the government and the patriarchal society.

Mott and Stanton then took their knowledge about human freedom and applied it to women and wrote this document. By applying this knowledge they became  professional in the modern feminist act. In the first passage she states that “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”                            (stanton , Elizabeth c. “The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848 .” Internet History Sourcebooks, sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/senecafalls.asp.)                                                                 Stanton also points out that the government was created to keep our rights and protect them; therefore if they are not doing their job we must stand up and oppose the government. Stanton felt as if she was a slave, men owned women and had no freedom. The writer list her reasons for “absolute tyranny over her” in bullet points, which can be seen as a similar writing style used by delegates who wrote the Declaration of Independence and it puts it into perspective that while white

Of all the issues that were in the middle of reformation mid 1800’s, antislavery, education, intemperance, prison reform, and world peace, women’s rights was the most radical idea proposed. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a rally held by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the common goal to eventually achieve equal rights among all citizens. Frederick Douglass, who became an acclaimed activist in the African American Equal Rights movement, accompanied the movement. Moreover, The Declaration of Sentiments was a document that reflected the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, reiterating the sentiment from the Bible that “all men [and women] are created equal.” Concurrent to the publication of this document, for the first time, women insisted that they were men’s equals in every way. The Declaration of Sentiments was pivotal in Women’s history, although it was not given credit until the late 20th century. However, immediately after the Declaration of Sentiments was published, women and activist groups were inspired to take action towards rights for all underprivileged American citizens. The convention took place in a small town in upstate New York, which was home to four of the five people who organized the gathering. (DuBois, 1999, p. 45) This was the first time female equality was discussed in a public place. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was one of the most important events in women’s rights history.

In 1848 a group of women met at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York and began to formulate a demand for the enfranchisement of American women (Women’s Suffrage, 2011). Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, stating that “a man should not withhold a woman's rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote” (Kelly, 2011, para.3 ). The convention participants spent two days arguing and refining the content of the Declaration of Sentiments, then voted on its contents; the document received support from about one third of the delegates in attendance. The Seneca Falls Convention was not a resounding success, but it “represented an important first step in the evolving campaign for women’s rights” (Tindall & Shi, 2010, p.374, para.1).

For many years women have been trying to claim their rights while men have many privileges that women do not have.