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Extracts from the Treaty at Albany with the Six Nations (1754)

At the 1754 Albany Congress, colonial delegates met the Six Nations and debated a union of colonies; Indian speakers raised land complaints.

Signed
1754
Senate
Not recorded

What happened

This is a colonial record from 1754. It is the minutes of a congress held at Albany, New York, from 19 June into July 1754, decades before the United States existed. The National Archives series includes colonial records because United States treaty-making followed a custom set by Great Britain and the colonial governments.

New York's lieutenant governor, James De Lancey, hosted commissioners from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Benjamin Franklin was among Pennsylvania's. They met the Six Nations, whose speaker Hendrick told them the Six Nations had thought the Covenant Chain broken because they had been neglected for three years. He also said Virginia and Pennsylvania had made paths and built houses in their country without asking.

A separate speech from the River Indians recalled the friendship of their ancestors and the land they gave the first settlers. A speech copied into the minutes says white people said they wanted only the low lands, but now settled the hills too, and asks that the Indians be paid for their lands. The governor answered that if an inquiry showed injury, he would try to get redress.

The delegates also voted to form a plan of union of the colonies, to be established by an Act of Parliament. The minutes show the plan debated; they do not record what came of it.

Good to know. The minutes run from 19 June to 11 July 1754 and include speeches by the River Indians and Schaghticoke as well as the Six Nations.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. we then thought the Coven t Chain was broken, because we were neglectedAlbany Plan of Union, 1754 (proceedings of the Albany Congress), Tribal Treaties Database
  2. The Governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania have made paths thro' our Country to Trade and built houses without acquainting us with itAlbany Plan of Union, 1754 (proceedings of the Albany Congress), Tribal Treaties Database
  3. when the White people purchased from time to time of us, they said they only wanted to purchase the low landsAlbany Plan of Union, 1754 (proceedings of the Albany Congress), Tribal Treaties Database
  4. Whether the Board should proceed to form a plan of a Union of the Colonies to be established by [an] Act of ParliamAlbany Plan of Union, 1754 (proceedings of the Albany Congress), Tribal Treaties Database
  5. Negotiation of formal treaties with the Indians by the United States Government followed a custom established by Great Britain and the colonial governments.National Archives, Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722-1869 (microfilm publication M668)

Research notes. The 1754 date is the year; the minutes run 19 June to 11 July 1754. What happened to the plan of union is not shown on the page. The usual title mentions only the Six Nations, but the minutes also include speeches by the River Indians and Schaghticoke.

What happened next

Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.

Who is doing the work today

The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.

Native legal and land defense, nationally

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Sources

No source is linked to this record yet. That is a gap we are working to close.

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.