Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix, signed on October 22, 1784, between representatives of the United States and the Iroquois Confederacy, was one of the first treaties negotiated after the American Revolutionary War. It was intended to establish peace and define boundaries between the newly formed United States and the Iroquois nations, primarily the Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, and Cayuga.

The treaty was negotiated at Fort Stanwix (present-day Rome, New York). The U.S. commissioners, Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, sought to acquire land in the Ohio Country, territory west of the Appalachian Mountains. The American position was that the Iroquois had forfeited their claim to this land by siding with the British during the Revolution.

The Iroquois Confederacy was deeply divided at this time. Many of the Iroquois nations had suffered significant losses during the war and were vulnerable. White settlers were already encroaching on their lands. The treaty ceded a significant amount of Iroquois territory to the United States, including lands in western New York and Pennsylvania, as well as much of the Ohio Country.

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) is controversial. Its legitimacy is disputed because the Iroquois representatives who signed it did not have the consent of the entire Confederacy. In particular, the Mohawk chief Joseph Brant strongly opposed the treaty, arguing that the Iroquois nations were being coerced into ceding land. The treaty also exacerbated tensions between the Iroquois and other Native American tribes in the Ohio Country, who also laid claim to the ceded land.

The treaty was followed by subsequent treaties and agreements, often revising the boundaries established at Fort Stanwix. Its impact on Native American sovereignty and land rights remains a subject of historical debate. The Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) is considered a significant event in the history of U.S.-Native American relations, highlighting the complexities and injustices involved in westward expansion and land acquisition.