Date

6-17-2026

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Arts in History - Thesis (MA)

Chair

Christopher Smith

Keywords

History; Indigenous Studies; Native American History; The Treaty of Fort Pitt; 1778; Riddle, Veronica E.; American History; American Revolution; Revolutionary War; Diplomacy; Politics

Disciplines

History | Political Science

Abstract

This study examines the Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778), signed in present-day Pittsburgh, as the first formal diplomatic agreement between the United States and the Lenape (Delaware) Nation during the American Revolutionary War. Formed amid the military and political instability of the Revolution, the treaty promised mutual military assistance, recognition of Lenape sovereignty west of the Alleghenies, protection from settler encroachment, and the unprecedented possibility of Native representation within the emerging American confederation. However, following the deaths of key Lenape leaders, escalating frontier violence, and the failure of the Continental Congress to ratify or uphold critical provisions, the treaty rapidly unraveled. This paper analyzes the treaty’s negotiation, implementation, and collapse through a historiographical and diplomatic framework, arguing that its failure reflected not merely isolated betrayal but deeper structural tensions embedded within early United States–Indigenous relations. By examining competing diplomatic expectations, asymmetrical power dynamics, and conflicting territorial ambitions, the study demonstrates how performative diplomacy enabled American expansion while simultaneously undermining Native sovereignty. Ultimately, the Treaty of Fort Pitt reveals the fragile and conditional nature of early federal commitments to Indigenous nations and illustrates how revolutionary ideals of alliance and liberty were subordinated to settler-colonial expansion in the postwar era.

Download

Share

COinS