SocietyNorth America
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Five nations, one constitution, recited from memory
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The clan mothers appointed and could depose the chiefs. How far the confederacy influenced the American constitution is debated — Franklin referred to it, but the parallels have also been overstated since. That a league of self-governing nations with a common council existed in North America before Europeans arrived is in any case well attested.
For children
Five peoples who had warred against each other made peace and formed a confederacy with a council requiring consensus. The rules were held in shell-bead belts — wampum — and recited from memory. The confederacy still exists.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org