The Four Great Ideas Some of the nicest things that the Iroquois Confederacy gave to the young government of the United States are the following ideas, which were not part of European governments. We call them the Four Great Ideas. Only one leader speaks at a time. No interrupting or shouting at someone who is speaking. In Canadian and English Parliament, the leaders interrupt and yell at each other. The United States Congress does it the Native American way. Caucus (a Mohawk word) Most of the leaders have to be present before voting on an issue. This means that even if a few sneaky leaders wanted to pass a law in secret without the others, they couldn't do it. Impeachment A bad leader can be removed from office by the people. In Europe, the people could not get rid of the king even if he was a bad leader. Confederacy of sovereign nations All of the nations work together as equals and no nation rules the other. Each one is its own boss. It's easy to break one stick, but hard to break a bundle of six sticks. These four great ideas are still used today at the United Nations, United States Congress, and the Iroquois Confederacy.

Confederacy of sovereign nations means that each nation is its own boss but they all work together.

Impeachment means that no peaches are allowed in leaders' food.

In the Iroquois Confederacy, the leaders interrupt each other.

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