User:Sjrussell1pstcc/sandbox


 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States


 * The Virginia Plan (also known as the Large State Plan or the Randolph Plan) proposed that the legislative department of the national government be composed of a Bicameral Congress, with both chambers elected with apportionment according to population (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States, section: 1787 drafting).

“THE IROQUOIS AND THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.” Handy Answer: Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples, 2016.

ISBN: 9781578595075
 * ISBN: 157859507X


 * Later, in 1790, Thomas Jefferson and others toasted the U.S. Constitution as an [Iroquois] “tree of peace” that sheltered the Americans “with its branches of union.”

Phase three

Constitution of the United States

"The Iroquois and the U.S. Constitution." Handy Answer: Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples, Yvonne Wakim Dennis, et al., Visible Ink Press, 1st edition, 2016. Credo Reference, Accessed 04 Oct. 2021.

The first diversity gap that I saw between the Indigenous and the Constitution was how the Constitution was inspired by the native tribes. This section of the book by Dennis is interesting and talks about this and why colonists wanted to gain insight from them over the other more notable governments. What I wish to bring to the Wikipedia article is how John Adams wanted to model the U.S. government as a bicameral union after the Iroquois instead of separate states of power. This would be in the section of History and the subsection on 1787 drafting.

Genovese, Michael A. “Unearthing the Buried Foundations of the American Presidency: What the Native Americans Taught the Framers About Political Leadership, and What They Can Teach Us.” White House Studies, vol. 4, no. 4, Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2004, p. 453.

The information from this article I want to put into the influences section of the Wikipedia article. This particular article is good because it shows how the creators of the Constitution looked at many different nations for inspiration. As for the link between the Iroquois and the Constitution, there is information on the different tribes that made up the Iroquois Confederacy, why they were special in their practice in government, and how that government was implemented into their society. The important part that I want to delve into is how each tribe was independent but also a part of the whole Confederacy creating a strong union. Genovese highlights how they base their power and legitimacy on a constitution of their own which is the same thing that the colonists were trying to do. What I notice in the article though is how almost all of the articles of the constitution are almost replicas of the Iroquois Constitution.

Phase four

1787 drafting section

Generally favoring the most highly populated states, it used the philosophy of John Locke to rely on consent of the governed, Montesquieu for divided government, and Edward Coke to emphasize civil liberties.[29] John Adams, James Wilson, and Randolph had the same vain of thought but wished to model the United States government after parts of the Iroquois Confederacy. Wilson went so far as to say that the "British government cannot be our model". Later, in 1790, Thomas Jefferson and others toasted the U.S. Constitution as an [Iroquois] “tree of peace” that sheltered the Americans “with its branches of union.”

Influences section

In his The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu argues that the separation of state powers should be by its service to the people's liberty: legislative, executive and judicial.

One aspect the delegates gained was entirely new in its practice than that of European practices of the past, however. This aspect was the local and federal governments and was implemented in a variety of ways. Many delegates, namely Adams and Rutledge, wanted to model certain selected parts of the Iroquois Confederacy. Adams notedly had asked the delegates before the Constitutional Convention to look into the the workings of the Iroquois Confederacy (this information is from the Handy Answer, but I could not link it). This Confederacy allowed its six tribes to function separately when it came to life and justice within their own tribe much like how states run themselves and are responsible for themselves. However, each tribe was also beholden to the Confederacy as a whole entity, again much like that of how states are beholden to the laws and justice of the United States Federal government.https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA134162920&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=15354768&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=tel_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true. They also had governmental concepts as bringing topics of concern to the tribes and Confederacy, the concept of impeachment, and the concept of who can take over if the current leader dies or is unable to be of use to the tribe.

Annotated Bibliography

"The Iroquois and the U.S. Constitution." Handy Answer: Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples, Yvonne Wakim Dennis, et al., Visible Ink Press, 1st edition, 2016. Accessed 04 Oct. 2021.

Genovese, Michael A. “Unearthing the Buried Foundations of the American Presidency: What the Native Americans Taught the Framers About Political Leadership, and What They Can Teach Us.” White House Studies, vol. 4, no. 4, Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2004, p. 453. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA134162920&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=15354768&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=tel_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true.