<b>Brief</b>

The two Treaties at Fort Stanwix made in 1768 and 1784, respectively, appear to be the continuation of treaty-making practices that fleeced the Indians and took their land. However, the savvy Iroquois were not simple-minded political actors. There was an Iroquois plan behind the treaty-making process in 1768 to retain power in an offensive maneuver. However, the American Revolution twisted fate against them, and in 1784 their Nation was punished an forced in to subordination even though the skillful peacemaker, The Cornplanter, tried his best to save the Iroquois Nation from as much suffering as he could.

 

<b>Primary Sources Used</b>

Dills, R. S. <i>History  of Greene County together with Historic Notes on  the Northwest and the  State of Ohio Gleaned from Early Authors, Old  Maps and Manuscripts,  Private and Official Correspondence, and All Other  Authentic Sources.</i>  Dayton: Odell and Mayer, 1881. 

Available at <a href="http://bit.ly/cQZTyh">http://bit.ly/cQZTyh</a>

(accessed on May 4, 2010).

This text has a manuscript of the official  proceedings at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784, which names the  American negotiators of the Treaty and the Indian negotiators,  Cornplanter and Red  Jacket. (p. 

139)<i> </i>

 

<i>Proceedings of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs Appointed by Law for the Extinguishment of Indian Titles in the State of New York.&nbsp;</i><i> </i>Original Manuscript. Albany: Joel Munsell, 1841. Available online at <a href="http://bit.ly/cxbhDh">http://bit.ly/cxbhDh

</a> (accessed on April 27, 2010).

These documents show that Cornstalk fights the Treaties of Fort Stanwix late in to his life and tries to reclaim ceded Indian lands (page 466).

 

<i>Records of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784).</i> Correspondences and Manuscripts<i>. </i>Pittsburgh: Wright and Charlton, 1848. The Olden Time; a Monthly Publication Devoted to the Preservation of Documents and Other Authentic Information in Relation to the Early Explorations and the Settlement and Improvement of the Country Around the Head of the Ohio, Vol. II. Available online at <a href="http://bit.ly/cH5by6 ">http://bit.ly/cH5by6</a> (accessed on April 27, 2010).

These documents offered astonishingly in-depth insights in to the proceedings of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784. Some insights I've already gotten:

- The six nations still have American hostages at the time of negotiations and refuse to  give them up. (pg 425)

- The American negotiators question weather the Indians can speak for all the  nations they claim to speak for. (pg 423)

- We can see that the parties are still passing gifts back and forth often.

- An order is revealed that directs that no liquor can be sold to the Indians during the negotiation of the Treaty.  (p 409)

 

<i>Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)</i>. Transcript. University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Collection of Early Recognized Treaties with American Indians. Available online at <a href="http://earlytreaties.unl.edu/treaty.00007.html

">http://earlytreaties.unl.edu/treaty.00007.html</a> (accessed on April 27, 2010).<i> </i>

 

<i>Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784). </i>Transcript. Accessed at Ohio History Central. Available online at <a href="http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=449

">http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=449</a> (accessed on April 27, 2010).

&nbsp;

<b>Secondary Sources Used</b>

Billington, R. A.&nbsp; “The Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768.”&nbsp; New York History,  Vol. 25 (1944).

This source is helpful in getting an idea of what some historians thought the story of the 1968 treaty was all about. I argue against this view.

 

Dunsmore, Christopher. <i>Red Jacket: Iroquois Orator and Diplomat</

i>. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1999.

All of the useful scans are saved in the folder "redjacket as a coward." Under "red  jacket as a cow killer and peace lover," a story is told of Red Jacket  (negotiator in the 1784 treaty) as a peace lover and an  unwilling combatant. The story says he killed a cow in order to bloody his axe and say he had killed an American. Under 

"cornplanter calls redjacket a coward," Redjacket is said to have  

wanted to retreat in the face of American opposition and Cornplanter is  said to have told his wife that Redjacket should not be allowed to procreate. This is crucial in identifying the tension between the two chief Indian negotiators of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784.

 

Griffis, William Elliot . <i>Sir William Johnson and the Six Nations</

i>. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1891. Available at <a

i>href="http://bit.ly/aqKabU

">http://bit.ly/aqKabU</a> (accessed on May 4, 2010).

This 19th century characterization of Sir William - the man responsible for negotiating the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768 - makes Johnson out to be a wily Irishman who was on the look out for increased fortune himself. He was an entrepreneurial opportunist more than the emissary of a righteous king. This is surprising to readers who picture the English government as more reserved settlers, and a "knighted man" as a land-hungry entrepreneur.

 

Kelsay, Isabel.&nbsp; Joseph Brant 1743-1807 Man of Two Worlds.&nbsp;

Syracuse:  Syracuse University Press, 1984.

This source is particularly useful in getting an idea of the role Joseph Brant played in the 1784 treaty negotiations.

 

Marshall, Peter. "Sir William Johnson and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768." <i>Journal of American Studies </i>Vol. 1, No. 2 (Oct., 1967). 

Available at <a href="http://www.jstor.org/pss/27552784">http://www.jstor.org/pss/27552784

</a> (accessed on May 4, 2010)

Pgs. 149 - 179 discuss the conduct of Sir William Johnson - the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the English and condemns his actions as "fleecing."

 

Nester, William R. <i>"Haughty Conquerors": Amherst and the great Indian uprising of 1763</i>.&nbsp;<i> </i>Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2000. Available at <a href="http://bit.ly/cTuyt2">http://bit.ly/cTuyt2

</a> (accessed on May 4, 2010).

This source is helpful in characterizing the environment around the negotiations of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768, particularly page 281.

 

O’Toole, Fintan.&nbsp; White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of  America.&nbsp; New York: Ferrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2005.

This book is very useful in getting an idea of the economic relationships between Sir William Johnson and the Iroquois Nation.&nbsp;

 

Snowden, James Ross. <i>Gy-ant-wa-chia - The Cornplanter and of the Six Nations of Indians. </i>Harrisburg: Singerly and Meyers, 1867. 

Available at <a href="http://bit.ly/bEjQMh">http://bit.ly/bEjQMh</a>

(accessed on May 4, 2010).

These scans are saved under "the cornplanter memorial." They tells that Cornplanter knew he had to cede large tracts of land to the Americans because the Iroquois been abandoned by the British at the Treaty of Paris. This shows that the more militant negotiator was even aware that the Iroquois negotiating position was very weak at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784. (p 48)

 

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