"The Iroquois confederacy represents the most advanced social organization achieved by any [American] Indians still at the lower stage of barbarism (excluding, therefore, the Mexicans, New Mexicans and Peruvians). [Engels means "horticultural, planting, food producing rather than food gathering" by "barbarism."]
The.... provisions of the confederacy were as follows:
The organ of the confederacy was a federal council of fifty sachems, all equal in rank and authority; the decisions of this council were final in all matters relating to the confederacy.
....They were elected by the respective gentes whenever a vacancy occurred and could be deposed by the gentes at any time; but the right of investing them with their office belonged to the federal council.
4. These federal sachems were also sachems in their respective tribes, and had a seat and a vote in the tribal council.
5. All decisions of the federal council had to be unanimous.
6. Voting was by tribes, so that for a decision to be valid every tribe and all members of the council in every tribe had to signify their agreement.
7. Each of the five tribal councils could convene the federal council, but it could not convene itself.
8. The meetings of the council were held in the presence of the assembled people; every Iroquois could speak; the council alone decided.
9. The confederacy had no official head or chief executive officer.
10. On the other hand, the council had two principal war-chiefs, with equal powers and equal authority (the two 'kings' of the Spartans, the two consuls in Rome).
That was the whole public constitution under which the Iroquois lived for over four hundred years and are still living today [1884]. I have described it fully, following [Lewis] Morgan, because here we have the opportunity of studying the organization of a society which still has noΒ state. The state presupposes a special public power separated from the body of the people...." - Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State
jbbartram-illu
ellievsbear
jacobvanloon
dailybridgerton
