The Great Treaty of Amity and Friendship
Posted: Saturday, October 01, 2011
by Jack H. Schick
From 1647 on, George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), preached of the equality of all men, regardless of origin or status. That which makes people different from each other in society and culture is irrelevant in the Spirit. He believed, as did many Seekers and Mystics of the day, that there is that of God, a Light, in each of us; and, every human being is a receptacle in which that Light of the universal Mind resides with equality.
In other American Colonies Indians were considered to be sub-human savages bereft of a soul, but not in Pennsylvania. When he first acquired lands in American from King Charles II, William Penn established utopian rules of conduct for relations with the Natives. No individual justice would be tolerated. If a colonist had a grievance with an Indian, he was required to bring him before a tribunal consisting of six Indians and six colonists. If an Indian had a grievance against a colonist, legal channels were provided for redress.
Penn also realized that, even though the land was his by royal decree, it was best that he compensate the Natives to maintain good relations. Penn ended up paying for most of his land twice, sometimes more. Indian territories over lapped. In many cases and he paid more than one tribal group for the same land. He acquired land along the Delaware River and territories that extended west to the Susquehanna River. Western New Jersey and parts of Delaware were also part of his original Colony.
In the spring of 1683, Penn traveled nearly fifty miles through what was still wilderness to meet with the Chief of the Unami Turtle Clan of the Lenape tribe, Tamanend, at his village of Perkasie. The two gained mutual respect. Tamanend accepted Penn's invitation to visit Philadelphia where he attended a Quaker Meeting for Worship. On June 23, 1683, at Shackamaxon (now Kensington, Philadelphia), on the banks of the Delaware River under the Great Elm tree, William Penn and Tamanend held council to finalize the purchase of two tracts of land and sign a treaty. Penn said:
"We meet on the broad pathway of good faith and good-will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. We are the same as if one man’s body was divided into two parts; we are of one flesh and blood."
Tamanend responded, “We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon and stars endure.”
This was the enactment of The Great Treaty, or the “Treaty of Amity and Friendship.” Voltaire, in 1764, called this agreement between Penn and the Lenape “the only treaty never sworn to and never broken.” There is a debate whether this treaty was ever actually written down, though indications are that it was. A persistent rumor is that a copy of the Great Treaty was kept in the possession of the head of the Turtle Clan for generations, and that on March 24, 1782; Chief Killbuck lost it when he fled to Fort Pitt from Scotch-Irish settlers who were intent on killing him. Another rumor is that it was lost in a fire on the reservation in Oklahoma in the late 1800’s.
Regardless, The Great Treaty of Shackamaxon remains an important event in the history of the Native American people, and in the traditions and history of Pennsylvania and the United States. The agreement between the Lenape and Quakers to live in peace and mutual respect was kept for generations. Quakers seldom suffered at the hand of Indians. Even in raids during the Indian wars of the mid-seventeen hundreds, Quaker homes were usually spared by the warriors.
Governor Gordon, at the Council of Conestoga in May, 1728, quoted some words with which the Indian Leaders closed The Great Treaty parlay:
"We will be brethren, my people and your people, as children of one father. All the paths shall be open to the Christians and the Indian. The doors of the Christian shall be open to the Indian and the wigwam of the Indian shall be open to the Christian."
"The Christian shall believe no false stories, the Indian shall believe no false stories, they shall first come together as brethren and inquire of each other; when they hear false stories they shall bury them in the bottomless pit."
"The Indian shall help the Christian, and the Christian shall help the Indian, against all evil men, who would molest them."
"We will transmit this league between us to our children. It shall be made stronger and stronger, and be kept bright and clean without rust or spot, between our children and our children’s children, while the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon and stars endure."
There are few, if any, events, agreements, or treaties in American history that are so much noted for the fair, just, and equal treatment of peoples of different cultures or religions as Penn and Tamanend’s Great Treaty. It created a partnership of mutual respect and tolerance that helped to perpetuate Penn’s Holy Experiment for another 70 years.
Having no concept of land ownership, as the Christians had, the Natives were unperturbed at having to gradually move north and west as the areas in southeastern Pennsylvania filled with settlers. They simply relocated to another creek or river valley further to the interior. The Lenape were subordinate to, and members of the Iroquois Nations. They commingled and lived side by side with other tribes of the Confederation.
Peace and fairness was maintained between the colonists and Indians for over half a century. In that time Pennsylvania grew from a wilderness to a heavily populated province of the British Empire. By 1700 the city of Philadelphia was a thriving, bustling seaport. Areas like Germantown, Abington and Chester were also now population centers. Europeans continued to arrive to take advantage of the near utopian government Penn had established.
However, by 1754, the Friends were no longer the dominant power in the Pennsylvania legislature. William Penn’s heirs were not Quakers. German and Scotch-Irish immigrants constituted more than half the population of the colony and lived primarily on the wilderness fringe in direct contact with the Native tribes. Amity and mutual respect began to evaporate. Terrible atrocities were committed by both sides during the French and Indian War. By war’s end, the Indian culture east of the Allegheny Mountains was in its final decline.
The Great Treaty was an unprecedented event in world history. For over half a century peace and mutual respect was maintained. But eventually, the inevitable result of the clash of “civilized” and primitive cultures was realized. The Lenape were gradually moved westward, and in 1862, were “put” on land in the Oklahoma Territory with the rest of the tribes. They still honor the memory of William Penn and the terms of the Treaty of Amity and Friendship--the only treaty between white men and an indigenous people that was never sworn to and never broken.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Yes, many treaties made by white men to the Indians were broken. It's a shame how we as Americans mistreated the American Indians. The true natives of the landThat's inevitable progress
What a great history lesson. We all forget sometimes the indignities suffered by Native Americans, such as 'The Trail Of Tears", it's stain will never be forgotten.
Nice to know how much William Penn actually did to be fair. Thanks.Thanks for readign and commenting- I'm proud to be a Friend (Quaker)
Hi again, Jack. I grew up in Maryland a half a mile from the Mason-Dixon line but went to High School in Pennsylvania where the story of William Penn was part of the history we were taught. It is a story that I wish would get a lot of attention today because it proves that people of vastly different cultures and religions CAN live peacefully together if they treat each other with respect.
My Mennonite ancestors settled in Pennsylvania for the very same reasons - they would be left alone to live in peace and allowed to practice their religion without interference.
Great piece!Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I grew up German Reformed, converted to RC out west, am now a Quaker. This stuff is for a 'book' on local Meeting history I'm working on
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