U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Is it true that . . . >

Is it true that . . . The Senate passed a resolution on September 16, 1987 stating that the U.S. Constitution was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Constitution?

The answer is no. However, the Senate did pass a resolution acknowledging the contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development of our Constitution and reaffirming the continuing government-to-government relationship between Indian tribes and the United States established in the Constitution.

The facts: Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) introduced S.Con.Res. 76 on September 16, 1987. Representative Morris Udall (D-Arizona) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives as H.Con.Res. 331. The House agreed to H.Con.Res. 331 on October 4, 1988 by a vote of 408-8, and the Senate agreed to H.Con.Res. 331 by voice vote on October 21, 1988.

Read the text of H.Con.Res. 331 as passed by the Senate and House in 1988.


	For information on the Senate, Congress, the legislative process and the federal government, the Virtual Reference Desk is a good place to begin.


	Follow this guide on how to contact your Senators by phone, postal mail, or on the Web.


	Historical information provided by the Senate Historical Office.


	Compilations of Law links to the full text of several popular acts of law as they have been amended over the years.