Iroquios In The American Revolution Essay, Research Paper

The Iroquois were an important confederacy of North American Indians of the Iroquoian language family and of the Eastern Woodlands culture area. It was founded in the 16th century in what is now central New York State. The original confederacy consisted of five tribes the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca and was known as the Five Nations, or the League of Five Nations. Sometime between 1715 and 1722, however, the Tuscaroras, an Iroquoian tribe originally of North Carolina, which had migrated to New York, was formally admitted to the confederacy, and the name of the league was correspondingly changed to the Six Nations, or the League of Six Nations. As representative members of the Iroquoian family, and the ones first encountered and later most intensively studied by white people, the Iroquois gave their name to the family of which they are a part.

The Iroquois had an agricultural economy, based mainly on corn, with supplementary crops of pumpkins, beans, and tobacco and later of orchard fruits such as apples and peaches. They made fine pottery, splint baskets, and mats of corn husk and used wampum as a medium of exchange. Public records were woven into the designs of large wampum belts. Each town contained several long, bark-covered communal houses, which had both tribal and political significance; along their inner sides the families of a clan lived in semiprivate compartments, and the central areas were used as social and political meeting places. The common council of the entire confederacy met in such meeting places. These councils were fairly democratic in composition; delegates were elected by members of various lineages, and each delegate represented both a tribe and one of the matrilineal clans within a tribe. The office of delegate was restricted to chiefs, and every delegate had to meet the approval of both tribal and league councils. The league as a whole had no single head, and deliberative decisions were usually made by a unanimous vote of the league council.

The complexity and stability of this political organization, together with a carefully nurtured skill in warfare and the early acquisition of firearms, enabled the Iroquois to achieve and maintain a position of great power during the colonial period of American history. During their formative period in the 17th century they broke up the tribal confederacies to their west, notably that of the Hurons. They continued to expand the territory under their dominion until by 1720 they had subdued almost all the tribes in a vast region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from the Saint Lawrence River to the Tennessee River.

In their relations with white settlers, the Iroquois from the start played the role of an independent power. During the colonial period they held the balance of power between the French and English, particularly in the area around the Canadian border. With few exceptions, chiefly factions of the Mohawk and Cayuga, who came under the influence of French Jesuit missionaries, the Iroquois allied themselves with English interests. They bitterly opposed the extension of French settlement southward from Canada, and they were responsible for preventing the English colonies from being flanked on the west by the French.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the league council declared for neutrality but allowed each of the six component tribes to take sides as it saw fit. Most of them joined the British. After the revolution, the Mohawk, under their leader, Joseph Brant, crossed into Canada; they were followed by the Cayuga, and both tribes were eventually settled on two reservations to the north of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Despite their political importance, the confederacy probably never numbered more than 25,000.

Both the Americans and the British saw the importance of the Iroquois tribes when their tension mounted to its apex. Due to the location of the Iroquois settlements, they were major players in the conflict between the British and the Americans. The Iroquois settlements were situated in a manner so that they had access to major waterways and also created a barrier of White advancement westward. This led to the creation of the Proclamation Line of 1763.

The Proclamation Line of 1763 was supposed to secure the land west of the Appalachians to the Indians and keep the white settlements on the east side of the mountains at least temporarily contained until a more orderly land policy for the western regions could be devised. (p. 49)1

The British became fearful of what would happen if the Americans would gain control of these lands west of the Appalachians and expand out of British control. Therefore, it was necessary for the British to incite and become allies with the Iroquois tribes. The British were also very fearful of the Americans becoming allies of the Iroquois. For example, if the Americans and Iroquois were to become allies, they would hold the power to major waterways and other shipping routes. Also, the Iroquois held domain over many other tribes and could rebel on the behalf of the Americans against the British.

However, during the Campaign of 1777, the Iroquois Confederacy allowed each of their tribes to become an ally with whomever they chose. Some chose the British, some chose the Americans. This created a great strain on the Iroquois Confederacy–much like a civil war. Since the Iroquois were already being threatened by white settlement and westward expansion, but was very helpful to the American cause. Almost all of the Iroquois sided with the British. However, the Oneida and some of the Tuscarora sided with the Americans. This may have very well led to the destruction of the Iroquois Confederacy.

These two tribes aided in the Americans abilities to fight against the British. Since most of the Iroquois lands were unchartered, these tribes helped Americans familiarize themselves with these lands and use that knowledge in their fight for independence.

The main reason for many Indians siding with the British was simple. The British had naval transportation and could bring goods and services to them, whereas the Americans could not. Also, the British promised to stop the westward expansion of the Americans into Indian territories. In the year 1779, the Americans decided to fight back against the British and their allies in northern New York. This battle against the Six Nations was one of the most carefully planned, successful missions in the War for Independence. By battling against the Iroquois, the Americans were indirectly hurting the British.

After this successful campaign, the Iroquois were decimated and began to fight a civil war. General George Washington had successfully planned a coup against the British. Since the Iroquois were fighting each other in a civil war, they were not able to help the British. This weakened the British military significantly. This also destroyed years of peace and harmony for the Iroquois and their tribes.

The Indians suffered greatly in the harsh winter of 1779-80. Many animals perished and very little food was found. The tribes were weakened by the forced of nature and many died. These people had been conquered by both the Americans and nature itself. Later, when the Preliminary Articles of Peace between the British and Americans was drafted, it completely ignored the needs and desires of the Iroquois were completely ignored. The Americans and the British were both guilty of turning their backs against the people who had fought so valiantly for each of them respectively.

The Americans and British were both responsible for destroying the Iroquois Nation. Both sides believed that by becoming an ally with these tribes, they would gain a foothold on the enemy. I saw this because the British needed the manpower and skills of the Iroquois. Besides, the British, like the Americans, would rather see an Indian killed before on of their own fell.

The Americans, lacking the manpower and resources for consistent, successful campaign against the British, needed the Iroquois to guide them through unchartered lands and show them how to fight successfully. However, after the Iroquois divided and some sided with the British, the Americans were beaten convincingly time and time again. General Washington decided a coup against the Iroquois would keep them busy while the Americans and British fought their war. Since the British relied so heavily on the Iroquois, this was a great victory for the Americans.

After the Iroquois had settled their differences, they were moved to ostracized and forced to live outside their own lands. The British and Americans, after they had steeled their disputes, completely ignored the Iroquois and left them helpless. This, in a sense, was advantageous to the Americans, because if the Iroquois needed supplies, they would have to trade with the Americans. These incidents left one of the most powerful Indian nations without a home and nearly decimated from this earth.

Bibliography

Graymount, B.. (1972). The Iroquois in the American Revolution. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press

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