Many Native Americans stayed neutral in the American Revolution, because they disliked both the English and the American colonists rebelling against them.
However, some groups, such as the six Iroquois tribes, took sides. When the war began in 1776, the influential Mohawk chief Joseph Brant allied his people with the English.
The Onondaga, Seneca, and Cayuga followed his lead, but the Oneida and Tuscarora decided to fight on the side of the Americans. For the first time in the history of the Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois of one tribe were fighting those of another.
In addition to nearly destroying the confederacy, the war caused the Iroquois to lose large amounts of land. Soon after the revolution ended in 1783 with an American victory, the United States took over much of their territory in what is now New York State.
It even confiscated land from the Oneida and Tuscarora, who had helped the new country win the war.
Related Posts
-
How did the American Revolution inspire the French Revolution?
The American Revolution inspired the French Revolution in more ways than you might imagine. The obvious link was that the heady concepts of freedom and equality traveled well over the ocean. The less…
-
Why was contact with non-Native Americans good for Northwest Native Americans?
At first, Native Americans welcomed non-Native Americans into their lands. They liked the new goods traders offered, and traders, eager just to do business, did not try to hurt them, change their ways,…
-
When did Northwest Native Americans first meet non-Native Americans?
In the late eighteenth century, non-Native Americans from Europe and Russia began to travel the sea to the Northwest Coast. The first were explorers, but soon they were followed by traders. These businessmen…
-
What language do Native Americans speak and Do Native Americans still speak Indian languages?
Some Native Americans are bilingual. They speak English with non-Native Americans but might use their native language with relatives and other tribe members. In some Native American communities, however, a Native American language…
-
How did the Iroquois fight other Native American tribes?
Although the members of the Iroquois Confederacy pledged not to war with one another, they were often ferocious in battles with other tribes. The Iroquois often fought against neighboring Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes,…
-
How many Native Americans live in the United States and is the Native American population growing?
According to the 1990 census, there are about 1,900,000 Native Americans in the United States, approximately .75 percent of the total U.S. population. The Native American population has grown steadily throughout the twentieth…
