One is that of Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers and the other is that of a recorded journal of Conrad Weiser the German interpreter for the Iroquois and great friend of Canasatego. The written source of Benjamin Franklin is taken directly from the minutes of each meeting involved with the Lancaster Treaty. The source details each component of the meeting from the details of gifts being presented to both the leaders of the tribes as well as the governors of the colonies involved. The source gives a word for word account of every member of the meeting who spoke. Canasatego’s speeches had to be translated from Iroquois to English by the interpreter and then a scribe wrote down the account in English. According to the primary document, Canasatego seemed a “powerful and formidable man…an eloquent orator with a serious mien.” In Franklin’s printing he refers to the Indians as “savages who know how to speak”. This is a backhanded compliment in a sense. They are complimented for addressing the people but yet they are still referred to as savages. It is evident that Franklin respects Canasatego for his thoughts but he still considers them as lesser to white
One is that of Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers and the other is that of a recorded journal of Conrad Weiser the German interpreter for the Iroquois and great friend of Canasatego. The written source of Benjamin Franklin is taken directly from the minutes of each meeting involved with the Lancaster Treaty. The source details each component of the meeting from the details of gifts being presented to both the leaders of the tribes as well as the governors of the colonies involved. The source gives a word for word account of every member of the meeting who spoke. Canasatego’s speeches had to be translated from Iroquois to English by the interpreter and then a scribe wrote down the account in English. According to the primary document, Canasatego seemed a “powerful and formidable man…an eloquent orator with a serious mien.” In Franklin’s printing he refers to the Indians as “savages who know how to speak”. This is a backhanded compliment in a sense. They are complimented for addressing the people but yet they are still referred to as savages. It is evident that Franklin respects Canasatego for his thoughts but he still considers them as lesser to white