Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)

Overview

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was signed by the British colonial officials and representatives of the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy) in 1768. Following the establishment of the Proclamation Line, colonial governments and land investors pressured British officials to establish a formal boundary between the Native American Indian nations and the colonies. William Johnson and John Stuart were sent to negotiate with Indian leaders. Johnson met with the Iroquois and other tribal representatives at Fort Stanwix, now in Rome, New York. The treaty they agreed to pushed the northern boundary of the Proclamation Line further west, established a new Boundary Line, and ceded large tracts of land south of the Ohio River to Great Britain. Despite the treaty, hostilities followed, including Lord Dunmore’s War and the Northwest Indian War, which ended with the United States taking control of the Northwest Territory.

Essential Facts

• Also Known As: Boundary Line Treaty.
• Date: October 24–November 5, 1768.
• Location: Fort Stanwix in present-day Rome, New York.
• Participants: Great Britain and the Iroquois Confederacy.
• Key British Representatives: William Johnson, William Franklin (Governor of New Jersey), Frederick Smith (Chief Justice of New Jersey), Richard Peters (Pennsylvania), James Tilghman (Pennsylvania), Thomas Walker (Virginia).
• Key Iroquois Representatives: Tegaya (Cayuga), Teyanhasire (Mohawk), Conaquieso (Oneida), Chenughiata (Onondaga), Gostrax (Seneca), and Sesquaressura (Tuscarora).

Key Details

• The Treaty of Fort Stanwix formalized the Proclamation Line that was established by the Proclamation of 1763.
• The new line was known as the Boundary Line.
• At the time, it was the largest land transaction between Indians and the British.
• The Iroquois transferred roughly 27 million acres of land in the Ohio Country to Britain.
• It legally opened the Ohio Country to British investors and settlers.
• The Iroquois negotiated on behalf of the Indians living in the region; however, these people did not receive compensation for the land and refused to abide by the treaty’s terms.
• The Shawnee refused to leave the region until they were defeated at the Battle of Point Pleasant, during Lord Dunmore’s War.

Significance

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) is important to American History for its role in the acquisition of territory from the Iroquois and other nations and tribes, as well as the Westward Expansion of the United States.

History

During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the French constructed Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio, which posed a threat to British settlements in the Ohio Country and the Delaware Tribe in western Pennsylvania. British officials, led by William Johnson, sought to strengthen their alliances with the Iroquois Confederacy, Shawnee, and Delaware by establishing a border between the colonies and Indian territories. 

Treaty of Easton

On October 28, 1758, negotiators agreed to the Treaty of Easton, which established a border between Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country.

• The Indians agreed to join the British war effort.
• The British agreed to recognize Indian settlements and hunting grounds in the Ohio Country, and suggested they would stop Americans from settling in the region when the war was over.

Another key aspect of the treaty was that the Delawares agreed to cede political authority to the Iroquois.

• When the French abandoned Fort Duquesne, the British took control of it.
• The Delawares believed this violated the Treaty of Easton, breaking the Covenant Chain between the Iroquois and Britain.

AHC Notes

• Covenant Chain — A political and diplomatic alliance between the Iroquois Confederacy and British officials that dated to 1677. The alliance was represented as being a “silver chain” that linked the two groups. It was often weakened when the Iroquois took offense at British encroachment into their territory, but it could also be strengthened through treaties and gift-giving.

Pontiac’s Rebellion and the Proclamation of 1763

Following the French and Indian War, colonial officials renewed their interest in expanding westward into the new territories ceded by France to Britain in the Treaty of Paris (1763). The Indians living in these areas rejected this, along with the idea that they were British subjects. They responded with Pontiac’s Rebellion. In this uprising, they attacked British forts and settlements on the Western Frontier. To reduce tensions and bring the conflict to an end, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which did the following:

• It affirmed British ownership of the land between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River.
• It established a new western border for the American Colonies, known as the “Proclamation Line,” by expanding the Treaty of Easton’s boundary along the full length of the Appalachian Mountains, from New York to Georgia.
• It reserved territory between the Proclamation Line and the Mississippi River, as well as between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, for the Indians to use as hunting grounds.
• It banned British settlements west of the Proclamation Line and banned individuals and land companies from buying land directly from the Indians.

Pontiac’s Rebellion ended on July 25, 1766, with the signing of the Treaty of Oswego. Although the Proclamation contributed to the restoration of peace, its restrictions on westward expansion and land ownership created tension between the colonies and the British government.

• Settlers who were already living in the Ohio Country refused to leave, while more crossed into Kentucky and Tennessee.
• Land speculators, many of whom were wealthy colonial officials, owned land west of the mountains and were upset that they could not buy more.

These violations, along with weak enforcement of the Proclamation Line, upset Indians in the Ohio Country and contributed to ongoing hostilities, but on a smaller scale. There were also Indians living east of the line who did not want to move westward.

Over the next two years, the Superintendents of Indian affairs, William Johnson (Northern Department), and John Stuart (Southern Department), petitioned the Board of Trade to:

• Conduct a formal survey of the Proclamation Line.
• Make treaties with the Indians to move the Proclamation Line westward, over the mountains.

In 1768, the Board of Trade agreed to the request and specified that the Proclamation Line should run from Fort Stanwix, near present-day Rome, New York, southward to the confluence of the Ohio River and the Kanawha River. From there, the Board wanted the Line to run northward up the Kanawha River to its headwaters in western Virginia and southward to Spanish Florida.

Stuart and Johnson proceed to set up meetings with the Indians in their respective regions:

• Stuart was tasked with negotiating with the Cherokee to extend the southern portion of the Proclamation Line in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
• Johnson was tasked with negotiating with the Iroquois to extend the northern portion of the Proclamation Line.

AHC Notes

• The Proclamation Line was an arbitrary line that was neither surveyed nor marked.
• The Proclamation of 1763 essentially turned the Ohio Country into an “Indian Reserve.”
• The Indians and British had different views on land ownership. To the Indians, usage was equivalent to ownership. To the British, ownership required a deed. This difference of opinion over the definition of ownership created conflict between Americans and Indians for decades.

Treaty of Hard Labour

While Johnson prepared to negotiate with the Iroquois, Stuart met with Cherokee leaders near Hard Labor, South Carolina. On October 16, 1768, they agreed to the Treaty of Hard Labor, which established the southern portion of the new “Boundary Line.”

• The treaty pushed the southern portion of the Proclamation Line westward
• It settled the boundary between the Province of Virginia and the Cherokee Nation.
• The Cherokee ceded lands along the Kanahwa River in present-day West Virginia.

Negotiations at Fort Stanwix

Johnson invited the Iroquois and others to join him at Fort Stanwix, an abandoned fort near present-day Rome, New York. In preparation for the conference, Johnson had new buildings constructed on the grounds. The first Indians arrived in August, and negotiations officially started on October 24, 1768.

• It was the largest conference held in America during the Colonial Era.
• An estimated 3,000 Indians attended, along with British observers.
• Other Indian nations, including the Shawnee, Delaware, and Minisink, also attended.

The Iroquois claimed to be the “conquerors and protectors” of the tribes living in the Ohio Country and reserved the right to negotiate on their behalf. The Delaware, Shawnee, and others protested the Iroquois claims of authority.

• The British ignored these protests but allowed them to observe the treaty discussions.
• The British also dismissed the Cherokee and Shawnee claim to lands north of the Tennessee River, which they considered to be part of their hunting grounds.

On November 5, the treaty was agreed to and signed by representatives from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Iroquois Confederacy. The northern Boundary Line identified in the treaty was further west than the Board of Trade specified.

• The line started at Fort Stanwix and extended southwest into Pennsylvania.
• It included the forks of the Susquehanna River.
• It followed the Western Branch of the Susquehanna River to the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania.
• From there, it followed the Ohio River westward to the mouth of the Tennessee River.

When it was done, the British took control of a large tract of land and paid the Iroquois approximately £10,000 in silver, along with other goods. 

However, the agreement was quickly criticized because the northern portion of the Boundary Line was 300 miles west of the southern portion. The Cherokee were especially concerned about this and complained to Stuart. In turn, Stuart shared his own concerns with Johnson and other British officials.

• General Jeffery Amherst, the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, told Johnson to renegotiate the northern portion of the Boundary Line and close the gap.
• The Board of Trade agreed with Amherst.
• Johnson refused, but the 1770 Treaty of Lochaber with the Cherokee altered the Boundary Line and finalized what is known as the “Property Line.”

AHC Notes

• William Johnson (1715–1774) — Johnson was a British colonial official and Indian agent who played a key role in maintaining Iroquois loyalty to Britain during the French and Indian War. As Superintendent of Indian Affairs north of the Ohio River, he built alliances that strengthened British control of the frontier. His victory at the Battle of Lake George and his diplomatic skills in dealing with Native American Indians made him one of the most influential figures in British North America before the American Revolutionary War.
• Jeffery Amherst (1717–1797) — Amherst was a prominent British officer during the French and Indian War. He is most famous for leading British forces to victory over New France, which helped Great Britain gain dominance in Colonial America.
• Board of Trade — The Board of Trade was a part of the British government that helped manage affairs in Colonial America. It is most famous for its involvement in the enforcement of policies that led to the American Revolution and the American Revolutionary War.
• Treaty of Lochabar (October 18, 1770) — John Stuart and representatives of the Cherokee Nation negotiated this treaty. It adjusted the boundary line between the Province of Virginia and the Cherokee Nation, which had been established by the Treaty of Hard Labour (1768). The provisions gave Virginia control of territory in Western Virginia.

Colonial Expansion

Following the signing of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768), British settlers pushed over the Appalachian Mountains and into the Ohio Country. This increased tensions with Native American Indians living in the region, who rejected the provisions of the treaty. These tribes were led by the Shawnee, who organized a confederacy among the tribes to resist British expansion.

Murder of James Boone

In September 1773, Daniel Boone led a group of settlers into Kentucky, which included his family and five others. There were approximately 50 men, women, and children in the group. They reached present-day Powell’s Valley, Tennessee, in October.

• A small group, including Boone’s eldest son, James, was sent for supplies. 
• They were camping and sleeping when a party of Indians attacked. Everyone was killed, including James and another, who were tortured.

AHC Notes

• When the bodies were found, Boone wanted to continue the journey to Kentucky, but the other men disagreed and voted to return to North Carolina. 
• Boone was forced to delay his plans to settle in Kentucky and returned to North Carolina.
• This is recognized as one of the first attacks that led to Lord Dunmore’s War.

Hancock Lee’s Expedition Attacked

In early 1774, the Ohio Company sent an expedition into the region to survey the territory. This expedition was led by Hancock Lee, who was supposed to join another expedition led by Captain Thomas Bullitt. Lee’s expedition was attacked by Indians and forced to return to the safety of the settlements in Virginia. One of the members of Lee’s Expedition, Simon Kenton, remained in the area and went to hunt along the Little Kanawha River.

AHC Notes

• Simon Kenton (1755–1836) — Kenton was a Frontiersman, scout, and soldier who is most famous for helping defend Kentucky settlers from the late Colonial Era to the Early Republic. Kenton is one of the most important figures of the early era of Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny, and was associated with Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark.

Fort Dunmore

John Murray, the Governor of Virginia, ordered John Connolly to occupy Fort Pitt, which had been abandoned, and to raise militia companies to protect the western frontier. Connolly seized the fort and renamed it “Fort Dunmore.” Soon after, fur traders visited the fort and told Connolly that Indians were carrying out raids and that there were rumors of Shawnee war parties traveling south of the fort. In response, Virginia Militia forces were dispatched, and Connolly sent messages to the settlements, warning them of the potential for hostilities.

• John Murray, Lord Dunmore (1732–1809) — John Murray, also known as Lord Dunmore, served as the Royal Governor of New York and then Virginia. Dunmore governed Virginia through hostilities with Native American Indians in 1774 and then clashed with Patriot leaders in the early days of the American Revolutionary War. Dunmore was forced to flee Virginia in 1775 and never returned. 

Battle of Pipe Creek

Meanwhile, George Rogers Clark had led a group of settlers to the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, at present-day Parkersburg, West Virginia, intending to move on to Kentucky and settle there. During the journey, they encountered Captain Michael Cresap, who suggested they take refuge at Ebenezer Zane’s settlement in western Virginia, which was called “Zanesburg,” which was at present-day Wheeling, West Virginia.

• By the time they arrived at Zanesburg, the settlers were preparing for hostilities.
• They had heard about brutal Indian attacks from survivors.
• Connolly’s message arrived, raising the alarm about further attacks.

On April 26, 1774, Cresap called a Council of War at Zanesburg. The participants decided to take action.

• The next day, April 27, they saw Indians in canoes on the river.
• They followed them 15 miles to Pipe Creek.
• A small fight ensued, and Cresap and his men seized a supply of ammunition.

Afterward, Cresap and his men considered attacking Chief Logan’s hunting camp on Yellow Creek. However, they decided that Logan and his people were on good terms with the British and decided against it.

Clark and Cresap decided they could not continue to Kentucky. They led the settlers to Cresap’s base of operations, Redstone Old Fort, which overlooked the Monongahela River in present-day Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

AHC Notes

• George Rogers Clark (1752–1818) — Clark was an explorer, soldier, and hero of the American Revolutionary War. He is famous for leading American forces in a series of raids against British forts in the Northwest Territory during the war, earning him the nickname “Conqueror of the Old Northwest” and “Washington of the West.”
• Michael Cresap (1742–1775) — Cresap was a frontiersman from Oldtown, Maryland, who hunted and traded in the Ohio Country. In 1774, he led a militia force into the Ohio Country, with the intention of establishing settlements near present-day Wheeling, West Virginia. This led to Cresap’s War, a series of skirmishes with Native American Indians. An attack on a party of Indians at Yellow Creek (Yellow Creek Massacre), which included the wife and sister of Chief Logan, a Mingo warrior, was initially blamed on Cresap. The massacre triggered Lord Dunmore’s War.
• Chief Logan (c. 1723–1780) — A Mingo leader known for his eloquent 1774 speech, “Logan’s Lament,” expressing sadness and anger after his family was killed in the incident that led to Lord Dunmore’s War. Also known as “Logan the Orator.”
• Mingo People — The Mingo People were Cayugas (Iroquois) who had immigrated to the Ohio Country.

Yellow Creek Massacre

On April 30, 1774, a group of settlers led by Daniel Greathouse and Jacob Greathouse attacked a Mingo village and killed the family of Chief Logan, who had been an ally up to that point. Logan responded by declaring war on the settlers.

• The attack took place at Baker’s Bottom, where Joshua Baker operated a tavern.
• The settlers gave a group of Mingos rum and then lured them into the tavern.
• The Mingos, which included Logan’s brother, were held for three days, when the Greathouses murdered six of them.
• Among the dead were Logan’s brother and sister.

Logan responded by forming a war party that included Mingo and Shawnee warriors. They carried out raids on the frontier and attacked the family of John Roberts. Logan, who mistakenly thought that Cresap was responsible for the deaths of this family members, left this message:

“To Captain Cressap — What did you kill my people on Yellow Creek for. The white People killed my kin at Conneestogo a great while ago, & I thought nothing of that. But you killed my kin again on Yellow Creek and took my cousin prisoner then I thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to war since but the Indians is not Angry only myself. — Capt. John Logan.”

AHC Notes

• Logan is believed to have killed 30 settlers in retaliation for the Yellow Creek Massacre.
• Afterward, he returned to his home and did not participate in the ensuing hostilities, which are known as “Lord Dunmore’s War.”
• Logan’s message mentions “Conneestogo,” which refers to the Conestoga Massacre (1763). This took place near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in December 1763, during Pontiac’s Rebellion. A group known as the Paxton Boys carried out a series of attacks on the Conestoga Tribe, a group of peaceful Indians living in the area.

Lord Dunmore’s War

Lord Dunmore called up the Virginia militia on June 10, 1774. He used the conflict to strengthen Virginia’s claims to western lands, which the Shawnee and the Province of Pennsylvania also claimed.

• Major Angus McDonald attacked Shawnee villages along the Muskingum River in early August.
• Dunmore led nearly 2,000 militia down the Ohio River while Andrew Lewis led over 1,000 militia down the Kanawha River.
• The Shawnee chief Cornstalk organized warriors from several tribes to attack Lewis before Dunmore arrived.

Cornstalk fought with the Virginia Militia in the Battle of Point Pleasant (October 10, 1774). The Virginians won the intense battle, and the Indians withdrew. Soon after, Dunmore and Lewis marched to present-day Chillicothe, Ohio, where they merged their armies.

• Cornstalk and other Indian leaders met with Dunmore to negotiate an end to the war.
• Logan refused to attend peace talks, but dictated a message that is known as “Logan’s Lament.”
• On October 19, Cornstalk accepted the terms of the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, and the Shawnee agreed to recognize the boundaries set in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix.
• This marked the first time Indians living in the Ohio Country were forced to cede territory.

AHC Notes

• Andrew Lewis (1720–1781) — Lewis emigrated from Ireland to Virginia in 1732 and gained military experience in the French and Indian War. He won the Battle of Point Pleasant (1774) during Lord Dunmore’s War and became a Brigadier General in the Continental Army in 1776. After resigning in 1777 over a missed promotion, he served in the Virginia Militia and was a member of Thomas Jefferson’s executive council.

Logan’s Lament

Chief Logan refused to attend the negotiations with Lord Dunmore. Instead, he dictated a message to Simon Kenton, Simon Girty, and John Gibson, who was Logan’s brother-in-law. The message was written down by Gibson, and the three of them delivered it to the negotiations.

Known as Logan’s Lament, the message said:

“I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan’s cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, Logan is the friend of the white men. I have even thought to live with you but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This has called on me for revenge. I have sought it; I have killed many; I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. — Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.”

Prelude to the Northwest Indian War

Following the American Revolutionary War, many Indians living in the Northwest Territory did not acknowledge American authority or ownership of the lands. As early as 1783, Joseph Brant started organizing a confederation of Indian Tribes in the Northwest Territory. His first meeting is believed to have been held at modern-day Fremont, Ohio.

AHC Notes

• Joseph Brant (1742–1807) — Brant, also known as Thayendanegea, was a Mohawk. He is most well-known for leading parties of Indian warriors against American forces during the Saratoga Campaign and in the New York Border War.
• Northwest Territory — Also known as the Old Northwest, the Northwest Territory encompassed an estimated 260,000 square miles, including the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix

Some tribes agreed to make treaties with the United States, ceding their lands. The first of these was the Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix. It was signed in 1784 between the United States and the Iroquois.

• It reaffirmed the Boundary Line and tried to settle land claims made after the colonies declared independence.
• The region remained unstable and continued to experience conflict for many years following the signing of the treaty.

This was followed by the Treaty of Fort McIntosh (1785), the Treaty of Fort Finney (1786), and the Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789). However, tribes that were part of the Northwest Indian Confederacy carried out raids on American settlements, which slowed Westward Expansion.

AHC Notes

• Treaty of Fort McIntosh (1785) — Signed between the United States and several Native American tribes, including the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa. It established boundaries for Native lands in the Ohio region and forced tribes to cede much of their territory. The treaty was part of U.S. efforts to secure land for settlement, but it was met with resistance, leading to continued frontier conflicts.
• Treaty of Fort Finney (1786) — An agreement between the United States and representatives of the Shawnee Nation. Negotiated at Fort Finney near present-day Cincinnati, Ohio, the treaty forced the Shawnee to cede lands in the Ohio Country and acknowledge U.S. sovereignty over their territory. It also aimed to secure peace between the Shawnee and American settlers. Many Shawnee leaders disputed the treaty, leading to resistance that culminated in the Northwest Indian War.
• Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789) — It reaffirmed earlier treaties, including Fort McIntosh, and attempted to resolve disputes over land in the Ohio Region. Negotiated between the United States and tribes such as the Wyandot, Delaware, and Shawnee, it clarified boundaries but failed to address Indian grievances, leading to continued hostilities in the Northwest Indian War.

Northwest Indian War

Between 1786 and 1795, the Northwest Indian War occurred. It was finally resolved when American forces under the command of General Anthony Wayne won the Battle of Fallen Timbers (August 20, 1794). The Northwest Indians signed the Treaty of Greenville on August 3, 1795, which ended the war and transferred control of most of Ohio to the United States.

AHC Notes

• Northwest Indian War (1785–1795) — A conflict between the United States and a confederation of tribes in the Northwest Territory. Indians, supported by Britain, resisted U.S. expansion into their lands. Key events included the defeat of U.S. forces at the Battle of the Wabash (1791) and the American victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). The war ended with the Treaty of Greenville (1795), which forced the Indians to cede significant territories to the United States, opening the Northwest Territory for settlement.
• Treaty of Greenville (1795) — Signed following the U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), it ended the Northwest Indian War. Indian tribes ceded large portions of land in Ohio and Indiana to the United States in exchange for goods and formal recognition of their remaining territories. The treaty marked a turning point in U.S. expansion, solidifying American control over the Northwest Territory.

AP US History

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:

• Seven Years’ War (APUSH 3.2)
• Shaping a New Republic (APUSH 3.10)
• Movement in the Early Republic (APUSH 3.12)
• American Secedes from the Empire (1775–1783)