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61-481: The laws were first recorded and transmitted by means of wampum , shell-bead belts that encoded the message in a sequence of pictograms. In the 19th century it was translated into English and other languages. The Great Law of Peace is presented as part of a narrative noting laws and ceremonies to be performed at prescribed times. The laws, called a constitution , are divided into 117 articles. The united Iroquois nations are symbolized by an eastern white pine tree, called

122-436: A Roman Catholic priest from Germany told her the vine was a "Tokay" ( Tokaji ) from Hungary . Mrs. Scholl, however, referred to the grape as a Catawba. Adlum's first vintage from his estate was produced in 1821 or 1822 (the history of winemaking at "The Vineyard" is unclear), and in 1822 had about 10 acres (40,000 m ) under grape cultivation. Adlum sent Jefferson a bottle of what he called "Tokay" in 1822, but Jefferson

183-472: A 50-acre (200,000 m ) parcel adjacent to Rock Creek and Georgetown owned by George Corbin Washington , nephew to President George Washington .) He added another 1 acre (4,000 m ), purchased from Joseph Nourse, on June 11, 1819. His final land acquisitions came on February 4, 1820. They consisted of 93.75 acres (379,400 m ) from James Dunlop (who had also purchased part of the "Addition to

244-487: A book The Legends of the Iroquois in 1902 based on found notes he was given purporting to be written from comments of Cornplanter reportedly to an employee of the surveyor company Holland Land Company , perhaps John Adlum , known friend of Cornplanter. It is the primary source of the mention of a solar eclipse. Another Seneca version was given by Deloe B. Kittle to Parker and was published in 1923. The Tuscarora joined

305-527: A book by Paul A. W. Wallace in 1948, and a second version published in 1910 by Arthur C. Parker . Fenton discusses Newhouse' contributions in a paper in 1949. Wallace also published a separate book without stating his source in 1946 called The Iroquois book of Life - White Roots of Peace , which was later revised and extended with endorsements by Iroqouis chiefs and Iroquoian historian John Mohawk in 1986 and 1994. Oneida versions have been noted in various places. One from New York, has been echoed/summarized by

366-595: A bundle of arrows. However, eagles and bundles of arrows are common imagery in European heraldry, which is the more likely influence. Their thesis argues the U.S. constitution was the synthesis of various forms of political organization familiar to the founders, including the Iroquois Confederation. Franklin's Albany Plan is also believed to have been influenced by his understanding of Iroquois government. John Rutledge of South Carolina , delegate to

427-409: A currency and adopted it as such in trading with them. Eventually, the colonists applied their technologies to more efficiently produce wampum, which caused inflation and ultimately its obsolescence as currency. Wampum artists continue to weave belts of a historical nature, as well as designing new belts or jewelry based on their own concepts. The term wampum is a shortening of wampumpeag , which

488-543: A domestic wine, no matter how good). But Jefferson advised him to stick to domestic varieties, as European vines would take "centuries" to adapt to the American climate and pests. Adlum's military experience did not go unnoticed in Maryland. On January 8, 1799, the federal government commissioned him a major in the 11th Regiment of Infantry of the new Provisional Army . The Provisional Army disbanded in 1800, and Adlum

549-563: A formal affirmation of cooperation or friendship between groups, or as an invitation to a meeting. In his study on the origins of money, anthropologist David Graeber placed wampum as it was used by indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands before European colonization in a category of things with symbolic cultural value that were "mainly used to rearrange relations between people" rather than being used in exchanges of everyday items. The Iroquois used wampum as

610-451: A grinding stone with water and sand until they were smooth. The beads would be strung or woven on deer hide thongs, sinew, milkweed bast, or basswood fibers. The process to make wampum was labor-intensive with stone tools. Only the coastal tribes had sufficient access to the basic shells to make wampum. These factors increased its scarcity and consequent value among the European traders. The introduction of European metal tools revolutionized

671-517: A memory aid in oral tradition, and were sometimes used as badges of office or as ceremonial devices in Indigenous cultures, such as the Iroquois . For example, the 1820 New Monthly Magazine reports on a speech given by chief Tecumseh in which he vehemently gesticulated to a belt as he pointed out treaties made 20 years earlier and battles fought since then. Wampum strings may be presented as

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732-453: A person's credentials or a certificate of authority. It was also used for official purposes and religious ceremonies, and as a way to bind peace between tribes. Among the Iroquois, every chief and every clan mother has a certain string of wampum that serves as their certificate of office. When they pass on or are removed from their station, the string will then pass on to the new leader. Runners carrying messages during colonial times would present

793-441: A portion of "The Vineyard" and establish an agricultural experiment station. The proposal was not acted on, however. In 1825, Adlum determined that the "Tokay" was not a Tokaji, and he began referring to the grape by the term Mrs. Scholl had used. (Botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey says that Adlum changed the name in 1828, but that does not fit with the rest of the known history of Adlum's winemaking.) Later investigations showed that

854-513: A proclamation setting the rate at six white or three black to one penny ; this proclamation also applied in Delaware. The black shells were rarer than the white shells and so were worth more, which led people to dye the white and dilute the value of black shells. In the writings of Robert Beverley Jr. of Virginia Colony about tribes in Virginia in 1705, he described peak as referring to

915-448: A quarter of an inch long and an eighth of an inch wide. One 17th-century Seneca wampum belt featured beads almost 2.5 inches (65 mm) long. Women artisans traditionally made wampum beads by rounding small pieces of whelk shells, then piercing them with a hole before stringing them. Wooden pump drills with quartz drill bits and steatite weights were used to drill the shells. The unfinished beads would be strung together and rolled on

976-506: Is derived from the Massachusett or Narragansett word meaning "white strings of shell beads". The Proto-Algonquian reconstructed form is thought to be (wa·p-a·py-aki) , "white strings". The term wampum (or wampumpeag ) initially referred only to the white beads which are made of the inner spiral or columella of the channeled whelk shell Busycotypus canaliculatus or Busycotypus carica . Sewant or suckauhock beads are

1037-699: Is more consistent than not), or stories that tell distinct elements not shared in other versions, into a narrative she includes in the Encyclopedia of the Haudenosaunee published in 2000. An untranslated version has been posted by the Smithsonian Institution. Another is mentioned being presented to Michael Foster. There are several Mohawk versions that made it into print and several of those were printed more than once. Horatio Hale published one in 1883 he traced somewhat earlier which

1098-1063: Is widely believed that Adlum was buried at the Presbyterian Burying Ground in Georgetown. Margaret Adlum died in 1852. John Adlum's body was probably disinterred at this time, and both John and Margaret buried in nearby Oak Hill Cemetery . Gahn and winemaking historian Thomas Pinney claim that Adlum's grave was lost for many years. Adlum's children and grandchildren, however, were buried alongside him in 1852, 1853, 1873, 1892, 1902, 1905, and 1924. Four of Margaret Adlum Barber's grandchildren were disinterred and buried alongside their grandfather as well. These included Carline R. Barber (February 20, 1848 – July 26, 1848), Margaret Adlum Barber (May 20, 1846 – July 6, 1849), Mary Virginia Barber (October 17, 1843 – July 9, 1849), Susan Rowles Barber (April 22, 1842 – July 11, 1849), and Luke White Barber (June 3, 1849 – July 9, 1849). The Adlum and Barber graves were in place by April 1854, with

1159-539: The Tree of Peace . Each nation or tribe plays a delineated role in the conduct of government. The exact date of the events is not known, but it is thought to date back to the late 12th century ( c.  1190 ). The narratives of the Great Law exist in the languages of the member nations, so spelling and usages vary. William N. Fenton observed that it came to serve a purpose as a social organization inside and among

1220-654: The Washington Evening Star noting their beauty. To commemorate Adlum's horticultural work, the botanist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque named the climbing plant, Adlumia , in Adlum's honor in 1807. Adlum's contributions to American viticulture were largely forgotten after his death. It was not until the end of the 1800s when botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey rediscovered his work, and popularized Adlum's contributions to vine-growing and winemaking. Adlum's home at "The Vineyard" became derelict, and in 1903

1281-524: The East Coast . Adlum's own winemaking efforts were not successful, however. He added significant amounts of sugar to his must , he often mixed poor-quality wild grapes with his Catawba in order to create more juice, and he preferred to allow temperatures to rise as high as 115 °F (46 °C) during fermentation. Nonetheless, he became a national expert on winemaking, wrote extensively in agricultural journals, and lobbied agricultural societies and

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1342-620: The Raid on Havre de Grace on May 3, 1813. Adlum moved his family to the District of Columbia in 1814. Two years later, on December 4, 1816, he purchased 45 acres (180,000 m ) from John Heath in what is now the Cleveland Park neighborhood north of the town of Georgetown . This land was, at the time, known as the "Addition to the Rock of Dumbarton". (The "Rock of Dumbarton" was

1403-454: The U.S. Constitution . They contend that the federal structure of the U.S. constitution was influenced by the living example of the Iroquois confederation, as were notions of individual liberty and the separation of powers. Grinde, Bruce Johansen and others also identify Native American symbols and imagery that were adopted by the nascent United States, including the American bald eagle and

1464-634: The quahog or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam. In New York, wampum beads have been discovered dating before 1510. Before European contact, strings of wampum were used for storytelling, ceremonial gifts, and recording important treaties and historical events, such as the Two Row Wampum Treaty and the Hiawatha Belt . Wampum was also used by the northeastern Indigenous tribes as a means of exchange, strung together in lengths for convenience. The first colonists understood it as

1525-521: The Catawba from Adlum in 1825 and planted the vine on a large scale. Longworth made a vast fortune from the effort. The second great expansion of the Catawba grape came in 1845, when Ulster County, New York , winemaker William T. Cornell obtained cuttings from Adlum to found a major vineyard in the Hudson Valley . Cornell's efforts proved so successful that Catawba cultivation spread over much of

1586-662: The Catawba was a hybrid grape which grew naturally in thin soil along the Catawba River near Asheville, North Carolina . How the vine got to Maryland, or whether Adlum knew that it came from the Catawba River region when he began using Scholl's nomenclature, is not clear. Botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey called Catawba grape "the first great American grape", and Adlum is known as the "father of American viticulture". The Catawba first became widely known after Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati , Ohio , obtained cuttings of

1647-692: The Constitutional Convention, read excerpts of various Iroquois Treaties to the drafting committee In October 1988, the U.S. Congress passed Concurrent Resolution 331 to recognize the influence of the Iroquois Constitution upon the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. The extent of the influence of Six Nations law on the U.S. Constitution is disputed by other scholars. Haudenosaunee historian Elisabeth J. Tooker has pointed to several differences between

1708-650: The Iroquois Confederacy in 1722. There is a version of the Great Law of Peace attributed by Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson of the Tuscarora published in 1987. However, there is a claim this was borrowed. Some historians, including Donald Grinde , have claimed that the democratic ideals of the Kaianere’kó:wa provided a significant inspiration to Benjamin Franklin , James Madison and other framers of

1769-527: The Iroquois Thanksgiving ceremonies. Wampum was central to the giving of names, in which the names and titles of deceased persons were passed on to others. Deceased individuals of high office are quickly replaced, and a wampum inscribed with the name of the deceased is laid on the shoulders of the successor, who may shake it off and reject the transfer of name. The reception of a name may also transfer personal history and previous obligations of

1830-688: The Iroquois society together. When Europeans came to the Americas, they adopted wampum as money to trade with the native peoples of New England and New York. Wampum was legal tender in New England from 1637 to 1661. It continued as currency in New York until 1673 at the rate of eight white or four black wampum equalling one stuiver , meaning that the white had the same value as the copper duit coin. The colonial government in New Jersey issued

1891-595: The Milwaukee Public Museum. Another has been published by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin in two sections. Another account is also reported. Parts of Horatio Hale's work The Iroquois Book of Rites is said to have Onondaga sources. J. N. B. Hewitt recorded Chief John Buck and included his presentation in 1892. John Arthur Gibson shared several versions that have gathered notable awareness among scholars like Fenton and others. His first version

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1952-461: The Rock of Dumbarton") and 80 acres (320,000 m ) from John Heugh. This latter property, called "Gizor", Adlum renamed "The Vineyard," and he built a home there for his family. Adlum began growing grapes on his farm, and in 1819 began cultivating the Catawba grape. Adlum took cuttings from a vine owned by a Mrs. Scholl, who lived in Clarksburg, Maryland , in 1819. Mrs. Scholl advised that

2013-563: The area around Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania ), and to survey the navigability of the Susquehanna River . He later won a joint contract to survey the navigability of the Schuylkill River . Adlum was so well-regarded, and westward expansion was proceeding so swiftly, that he made a small fortune as a surveyor. Adlum was appointed one of the first associate judges of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania , in 1795. He

2074-507: The black or purple shell beads made from the quahog or poquahock clamshell Mercenaria mercenaria . Sewant or z eewant was the term used for this currency by the New Netherland colonists. Common terms for the dark and white beads are wampi (white and yellowish) and saki (dark). The Lenape name for Long Island is Sewanacky , reflecting its connection to the dark wampum. Wampum beads are typically tubular in shape, often

2135-499: The conversion of wampum to European currencies and the introduction of a monetary system was not something that the indigenous people had a desire to take part in, thus increasing tensions as trades held different economic value to each contributing party. However, when wampum was legal tender, it was one of the most important forms of currency in the region amongst settlers as well as between settlers and indigenous groups. John Adlum John Adlum (April 29, 1759 – March 14, 1836)

2196-528: The deceased (e.g., the successor of a person killed in war may be obligated to avenge the death of the name's previous holder, or care for the deceased person's family as their own). ... the Iroquoians (Five Nations and Huron alike) shared a very particular constitution: they saw their societies not as a collection of living individuals but as a collection of eternal names, which over the course of times passed from one individual holder to another. Just as

2257-535: The early 18th century. The use of wampum as currency spans back to 1622, when the Dutch implemented it into their trade. After the introduction of wampum into European currency, the European colonists quickly began trying to amass large quantities of this currency, and shifting control of this currency determined which power would have control of the European-Indigenous trade. The wampum's significance to

2318-444: The federal government to acknowledge viticulture as a scientific discipline. But his lack of success at winemaking itself left Adlum without a good income, and in his later years his family came close to poverty. Adlum attempted to have the federal government purchase his 1828 book, Adlum on Making Wine , and sell it as a national textbook on viticulture. He was unsuccessful in this petition. Longworth observed that by this time, Adlum

2379-572: The nations, a constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy or League, ceremonies to be observed, and a binding history of peoples. Fenton also observed some nine common points focusing more simply on the narrative story line, though Christopher Vecsey identified 22 points shared across some two dozen versions of the narrative or parts of the narrative both direct and indirect: Barbara Mann has gathered versions featuring conflicting but harmonized elements (who does what varies, but what happens

2440-539: The original U.S. Constitution, including the original Constitution's allowing denial of suffrage to women, and majority rule rather than consensus. Mann argues that the early colonists' interaction with Native Americans and their understanding of Iroquois government did influence the development of colonial society and culture and the Suffragette movement, but stated that "the Constitution as originally enacted

2501-470: The production of wampum, and by the mid-seventeenth century, production numbered in the tens of millions of beads. Dutch colonists discovered the importance of wampum as a means of exchange between tribes, and they began mass-producing it in workshops. John Campbell established such a factory in Passaic, New Jersey, which manufactured wampum into the early 20th century. Eventually the primary source of wampum

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2562-808: The rest to Philadelphia and volunteered to join the nascent American national army led by George Washington . He volunteered for duty on July 7, 1776, and was assigned to the Flying Camp . Commissioned a corporal when his training was complete, he helped build Fort Lee in New Jersey . He was captured by the British on November 6, 1776, at the Battle of Fort Washington , but was imprisoned along with many American officers in homes in New York City where he had relatively good freedom of movement. He

2623-512: The tribes that collected it meant that no one individual wanted to amass too much of it, however, European colonists did not care about its cultural significance, but it would always hold value to the indigenous populations. In this way, colonists could trade wampum for goods and sell those goods to Europeans for European currencies, therefore amassing wealth. This is one of the few examples of settler adaptation of indigenous practices for trade with indigenous people and also amongst themselves. However,

2684-622: The two documents, or reason to believe the Six Nations had a meaningful influence on the American Constitution, and that it is unclear how much impact Canassatego 's statement at Lancaster actually had on the representatives of the colonies. Stanford University historian Jack N. Rakove argued against any Six Nations influence, pointing to lack of evidence in U.S. constitutional debate records, and examples of European antecedents for democratic institutions. Journalist Charles C. Mann has noted other differences between The Great Law of Peace and

2745-428: The two forms of government, notably that all decisions were made by a consensus of male chiefs who gained their position through a combination of blood descent and selection by female relatives, that representation was on the basis of the number of clans in the group rather than the size or population of the clans, that the topics discussed were decided by a single tribe. Tooker concluded there is little resemblance between

2806-404: The wampum enabled the continuation of names and the histories of persons, the wampum was central to establishing and renewing peace between clans and families. When a man representing his respective social unit met another, he would offer one wampum inscribed with mnemonic symbols representing the purpose of the meeting or message. The wampum, thus, facilitated the most essential practices in holding

2867-589: The wampum showing that they had the authority to carry the message. As a method of recording and an aid in narrating, Iroquois warriors with exceptional skills were provided training in interpreting the wampum belts. As the Keepers of the Central Fire, the Onondaga Nation was also trusted with the task of keeping all wampum records. Wampum is still used in the ceremony of raising up a new chief and in

2928-552: The white shell bead, valued at 9 pence a yard, and wampom peak as denoting the more expensive dark purple shell bead, at the rate of 1 shilling and 6 pence (18 pence) per yard. He added that these polished shells with drilled holes were made from the cunk ( conch ), while another currency of lesser value called roenoke was fashioned from the cockleshell . Wampum briefly became legal tender in North Carolina in 1710, but its use as common currency died out in New York by

2989-857: Was a pioneering American viticulturalist who was the first to cultivate the Catawba grape . He is known as "the father of American viticulture" (grape-growing). He also served in the American Revolutionary War ; was a well-known surveyor ; was one of the first associate judges in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania ; and served in the United States Army in the War of 1812 . Adlum was born on April 29, 1759, in York, Pennsylvania , to Joseph and Catherine (Abbott) Adlum. His father

3050-736: Was a surveyor, during which time he took extensive notes on the various types of American grapes he encountered, their growing conditions, flavors, and more. He initially tried growing vines imported from Europe, but these succumbed to disease and insects. He turned his attention to domestic vines, and in 1809 succeeded in making an excellent wine from the Alexander grape . He sent some bottles to President Thomas Jefferson , who had an extensive knowledge of French wine. Jefferson praised Adlum's Alexander wine, comparing it very favorably to an excellent French Chambertin . Adlum wanted to keep planting European vines (knowing Americans would discriminate against

3111-507: Was commissioned a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia the same year. However, Adlum resigned his judgeship in 1798 and moved to Havre de Grace, Maryland . Adlum took up farming at Havre de Grace. Although the exact nature of his farming efforts are not clear, it is known that he began a vineyard to begin experimenting with growing native American grapes and using them in winemaking. Adlum's interest in grapes began while he

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3172-461: Was honorably discharged. Adlum married his cousin, Margaret K. Adlum on December 13, 1805, in Frederick, Maryland . The couple had two children, Margaret Catherine and Anna Maria. Adlum then enlisted in the newly formed United States Army in 1807, receiving a commission as a lieutenant . He was promoted to captain in 1808. He served in U.S. Army in the War of 1812 , and fought the British in

3233-421: Was in "poverty". After 1830, Adlum no longer contributed to agricultural journals or the national debate on viticulture and winemaking. In 1831, Adlum was forced to claim a minuscule pension for his Revolutionary War service (which he had long refused to do) in order to provide for his family. John Adlum died at "The Vineyard" on March 1, 1836. Although records are unclear, historian Bessie Wilmarth Gahn says it

3294-543: Was in 1899. Gibson then participated in a collective version with many Chiefs from the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in 1900 which was reprinted a number of times: first in 1910/1, and then included in another work. A final version was offered to Alexander Goldenweiser but wasn't finished translated and published until 1992 by Hanni Woodbury. Newspaper editor William Walker Canfield published

3355-659: Was not at all like the Great Law." Other critics of the Iroquois-influence theory include Samuel Payne, who considered the Iroquois division of powers as seen by Adams as being unlike those in the U.S. Constitution; William Starna and George Hamell, who described errors in Grinde's and Johansen's scholarship, particularly on Canassatego and the Lancaster Treaty; and Philip Levy, who also wrote that Grinde and Johansen had misused Adams's material, stating that he

3416-585: Was not describing the Iroquois Confederacy government separation of powers and model of government, but that he was instead describing England's structure. Ganienkeh Territory Council Fire, Onkwehonwe people Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from

3477-626: Was not very impressed. Nevertheless, Adlum expanded his vineyard, and by 1823 had 22 varieties of grape under cultivation. That year, he published A Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America and the Best Mode of Making Wine , the first book ever published on American viticulture. During the presidential administration of John Quincy Adams , Adlum requested that the federal government lease

3538-544: Was released on parole in February 1777. Unable to participate in the war any further due to the terms of his parole, Adlum settled in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania , where his father now lived and had a tanning business. John disliked the work, however, and began studying mathematics. He apprenticed as a surveyor, and in 1784 established a surveying practice. He won a commission in 1789 to survey

3599-408: Was reprinted by William N. Fenton , following Arthur Caswell Parker , in 1968. J. N. B. Hewitt published one in 1928 based on a much earlier fragment. Joseph Brant and John Norton commented on details of the narrative as early as 1801 and published since. Dayodekane, better known as Seth Newhouse , arranged for some versions that were published differently near 1900 - first from 1885 included in

3660-559: Was that manufactured by colonists, a market glutted by the Dutch. As William James Sidis wrote in his 1935 history: The weaving of wampum belts is a sort of writing by means of belts of colored beads, in which the various designs of beads denoted different ideas according to a definitely accepted system, which could be read by anyone acquainted with wampum language, irrespective of what the spoken language is. Records and treaties are kept in this manner, and individuals could write letters to one another in this way. Wampum belts were used as

3721-562: Was the sheriff and coroner for York County , and Adlum was raised in York. His paternal family was of Scots-Irish descent, while maternally he was of English descent. He was 15 years old when the American Revolutionary War broke out, but nonetheless organized a company of fellow teenagers from York County to help prosecute the war. Most of these fought with the Pennsylvania Blues, a volunteer state militia group. But Adlum led

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