Treaty of Fort Stanwix
10/22/1784
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Signed in the wake of America’s victory in the Revolutionary War, this treaty punished four of the six Iroquois Nations for supporting the British. Viewing the Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Mohawk as conquered enemies, U.S. treaty commissioners Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee dictated harsh terms, even holding six Iroquois delegates hostage after the proceedings concluded at Fort Stanwix, near present-day Rome, New York. In exchange for peace and trade goods, the Iroquois were ordered to return all prisoners of war and to give up their claims to lands in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and western New York.
Iroquois leaders quickly disavowed the 1784 treaty, claiming they had been forced to sign it. Under the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, the Six Nations regained some 1,600 square miles of the land they had relinquished 10 years earlier.
Iroquois leaders quickly disavowed the 1784 treaty, claiming they had been forced to sign it. Under the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, the Six Nations regained some 1,600 square miles of the land they had relinquished 10 years earlier.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
Full Citation: Treaty with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix; 10/22/1784; RIT #9; Indian Treaties, 1789 - 1869; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/treaty-fort-stanwix, March 28, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.