An Indian Democracy Essay -- Essays Papers

An Indian republicDonald Grinde is the author of The Iroquois and the Founding of the American Nation, one of the earliest books to argue for an Indian influence on the arrangement of the American democracy. Since Grindes publication and Bruce Johansens a year later, there has been a great deal of debate over this issue. Many of the most outstanding opponents of the influence thesis have failed to distinguish between the arguments of more extreme authors, such(prenominal) as Gregory Schaaf, who claim that the Iroquois Gayanashagowa was copied by the U.S. Constitution, and those with a more moderate stance, desire Johansen and Grinde, who simply point to a clear influence (Johansen, 1998). This paper intends to argue along the lines of these latter authors. Our founding fathers did not copy the Gayanashagowa or Great lawfulness of Peace, but our Constitution was written with reflection upon the Iroquoian government with the goal of synthesizing this model into a form that coul d satisfy the needs of the American people. Given the evidence presented by Grinde and Johansen, it is clear that Native Americans influenced early U. S. political mindsif not directly, then at least indirectly.Elisabeth Tooker is one of the strongest opponents of the claim that there was a native influence on the U. S. democracy. She addressed Schaafs extreme claim that the U.S. had copied the Gayanashagowa, which is clearly not the case. Tooker sites differences between the Constitution and the Great Law of Peace such as majority come up rather than unanimous consensus. This line of argument works well to refute Schaaf, whos evidence is based almost entirely on his analysis of such parallels (Johansen, 1998) Tookers overall argument, though, is not effective ... ...en Founders . Ipswich, Massachusetts Gambit Incorporated Publishers.Johansen, Bruce E (1996). Native American Political Systems and the Evolution of Democracy an Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut G reenwood Press.Johansen, Bruce E. (1998). Debating Democracy Native American Legacy of Freedom. Santa Fe, NM Clear Light Publishers.Locke, John (1980). Second Treatise of Government. Indiana Hackett Publishing Company.Moquin, Wayne, ed. (1973). Great Documents in American Indian History. radical York Praeger,. OBrien, Sharon (1989). American Indian Tribal Governments. Norman University of Oklahoma Press.Parker, Arthur C. (1968). The Constitution of the Five Nations. Syracuse Syracuse University Press.Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1968). The Social Contract. Trans. Maurice Cranston.Harmondsworth, England Penguin Books.