Hello, Reader,

In December 1776, a Lenape leader named White Eyes traveled to Philadelphia and stood before the Second Continental Congress.

He had not come to declare himself a revolutionary. Nor had he come to pledge loyalty to King George III.

He came to test a promise.

By then, the Lenape, or Delaware, people had been observing the character of European newcomers for more than 250 years.

They had watched a Dutch land agreement they understood as a living relationship become a permanent sale. They had watched Pennsylvania hire runners to cover ground a man was supposed to walk. They had been pushed west and west again.

So when American commissioners asked for Delaware neutrality, the question before every Delaware community was not whether to leave the British Empire. It was older and harder than that.

What this Episode is About

This episode explores the American Revolution as the Lenape, also known as the Delaware, actually lived it: as a long calculation about land, survival, and trust rather than a fight over independence. It follows their history from long before European contact through the September 1778 Treaty of Fort Pitt, the first treaty the United States made with a Native nation.

We're joined by Jeremy Johnson, Cultural Education Director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and former Assistant Chief of the tribe. He guides us through a history that begins thousands of years before contact and continues through removal, resilience, and the present day.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

• How Lenape diplomacy worked long before Europeans arrived
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• How three Lenape leaders came to sign the Treaty of Fort Pitt in September 1778, a treaty that recognized the Delaware as a sovereign nation and promised them the leadership of a fourteenth state with representation in Congress
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• What happened seven weeks later

SUPPORT FOR THIS EPISODE COMES FROM The Massachusetts Historical Society's new exhibition 1776: Declaring Independence, traces how the Declaration grew from private letters and draft manuscripts into a document that echoed around the world. On view through December 19,2026 Learn More

Go Even Deeper The History Explorers Club is a historian-led membership community for curious adults. It features live conversations with historians, monthly club calls, and a community that finds meaning in the past.

💬 Join the Conversation

Has learning about Lenape experience of the American Revolution changed how you view the 250th anniversary? If so, I'd like to know how.

📨 Email: liz@benfranklinsworld.com​

📝 Submit a future episode idea: benfranklinsworld.com/request​

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Happy Exploring,

Liz