Given the very nature of colonialism and imperialism, it is doubtful that the Europeans would have wanted to give any credit to the Native Americans for their contributions to the development of democracy in the United States. As Johansen points out, the settlers in the Northeast must have gleaned some information about how Enlightenment principles can be put into practice. However, the indigenous peoples of North America were incredibly diverse, as were the settlers and their settlement patterns. Influences of Native Americans on Europeans varied, and in many cases the interactions were totally unlike the ones described by Johansen.

Although Johansen overestimates the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy government and social structure on the development of democracy in the United States, the role of Native Americans in the development of the United States should not be discounted. The very fact that Europeans encountered diverse indigenous peoples became a major factor...
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