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The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the
Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
native Indians (also known as the Delaware Indians). In the purchase, the Penn family and proprietors claimed a 1686 treaty with the Lenape ceded an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,860 km2) along the northern reaches of the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before e ...
at the northeastern boundary between the Province of Pennsylvania and the West New Jersey area, east of the
Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...
, and forced the Lenape to vacate it. ''
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'' refers to the treaty as a "land swindle". The Lenape appealed to the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
Indian tribe to their north for aid on the issue, but the Iroquois refused their request, ultimately siding with the Penn interests. A legal suit was filed almost 300-years later over the continuing dispute. In the court case '' Delaware Nation v. Pennsylvania'' (2004), the
Delaware nation Delaware Nation ( del, Èhëliwsikakw Lënapeyok), also known as the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, based in Anadarko, OklahomaLenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
tribes) and its descendants in the 21st century claimed of land included in the original so-called "purchase" in 1737, but the
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
granted the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss. It ruled that the case was nonjusticiable, even if the Delaware Nation's allegations of fraud were true. This ruling held through several appealed actions made through several levels of the
United States courts of appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...
. The
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
refused to hear the case, thereby upholding the lower courts' decision.


History

The founder of the Colony, William Penn (1644–1718) in 1681, enjoyed a reputation for fair dealing with the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
(including the Delaware Indians). However, his heirs,
John Penn ("the American") John Penn (January 28, 1700 – October 25, 1746) was a proprietor of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania (later the American state – the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania after 1776). He was the eldest son of the colony's founder, William Penn (1 ...
and
Thomas Penn Thomas Penn (8 March 1702 – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. Penn is best known for his involvement in negotiating the Walking Purchase, a contested land cessi ...
, were known for not following many of their father's moderate practices. In 1736, they claimed a deed from 1686 by which the Lenape promised to sell a tract beginning at the junction of the upper
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before e ...
and the tributary Lehigh River (near present day
Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware River ...
) and extending as far west as a man could walk in a day and a half, later to become known as the "Walking Purchase" or the Walking Treaty of 1737. The original 17th century document might have been a verbal agreement, an unsigned treaty, an unratified treaty, or an outright forgery. Regardless, the Penns' agents began selling land in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
in the disputed area along the Lehigh River as if the treaty were in force and prior to the Lenape vacating the still inhabited area. To allay the Lenapes' misgivings and suspicions, Penn Land Office Agent and provincial secretary James Logan (1674–1751), had a map produced that misrepresented the farther Lehigh River as the closer Tohickon Creek, and including a dotted line showing a seemingly reasonable path that the "walkers" would take. Satisfied that the land in question was not so terrible a price to honor the old deed, the Lenape signed on, making the now 1737 treaty official. According to the popular account, Lenape leaders assumed that about 40 miles (60 km) was the longest distance that could be covered under these conditions. Provincial Secretary Logan hired the three fastest runners in the colony, Edward Marshall, Solomon Jennings, and James Yeates, to run on a prepared trail. They were supervised during the "walk" by the Sheriff of Bucks County Timothy Smith. The walk occurred on September 19, 1737; only Marshall finished,Gilbert, Daniel. "What Ye Indians Call 'Ye Hurry Walk'", The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Pennsylvania State University
/ref> reaching the modern vicinity of present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, 70 miles (113 km) away. At the end of the walk, Sheriff Smith drew a perpendicular line back toward the northeast, and claimed all the land east of these two lines ending at the Delaware River. This resulted in an area of 1,200,932 acres (4,860 km2), only slightly smaller than the size of Rhode Island, located in the modern seven eastern Pennsylvania counties of
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, Monroe,
Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes u ...
, Schuylkill,
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...
, Lehigh and Bucks. The Delaware leaders appealed for assistance to the Iroquois confederacy tribe to the north, who claimed hegemony over the Delaware. The Iroquois leaders decided that it was not in their best interest to intervene on behalf of their southern neighbors, the Delaware since, James Logan had already made a deal with the Iroquois to support the colonial side. As a result, the Lenape had to vacate the Walking Purchase lands. Chief Lappawinsoe, Manawkyhickon, Sassoonan, Nenatcheehunt, and other Lenape leaders continued to protest the arrangement, as the Lenape were forced into the Shamokin and Wyoming River valleys, already crowded with other displaced tribes. Some Lenape later moved further west into the Ohio Country and the southern and western claims of the
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in their territory of
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(
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
), west of the French
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
(later Fort Pitt and finally
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
) at the " Forks of the Ohio". Because of the Walking Purchase, the Lenape grew to distrust the Pennsylvania government.


''Delaware Nation v. Pennsylvania''


District Court (2004)

In 2004, the
Delaware Nation Delaware Nation ( del, Èhëliwsikakw Lënapeyok), also known as the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, based in Anadarko, OklahomaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...
, seeking included in the 1737 Walking Purchase and patented in 1741, which was known as Tatamy's Place. The court granted the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss. According to the District Court: The District Court recounted the Delaware Nation's allegations: The Delaware conceded that Thomas Penn had "sovereign authority," but challenged the transaction on the ground that it was fraudulent. The court held that the justness of the extinguishment of aboriginal title is nonjusticiable, including in the case of
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...
. Because the extinguishment occurred prior to the passage of the first Indian Nonintercourse Act in 1790, that Act did not avail the Delaware.


Circuit Court (2006)

The
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * E ...
affirmed the decision of the District Court.''Delaware Nation v. Pennsylvania'', 446 F.3d 410 (3d Cir. 2006). The Third Circuit upheld that aboriginal title may validly be extinguished by fraud, and further held that the tribe had waived the issue of whether Penn was actually a sovereign purchaser. Moreover, the Circuit held that any grants to the tribe subsequent to the extinguishment could not re-establish aboriginal title. Therefore, the Circuit did not consider the merits of the tribe's argument that: Specifically, the Circuit found it insufficient that the complaint had alleged that Penn was "accountable directly to the King of England." The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case on appeal.''Delaware Nation v. Pennsylvania'', 549 U.S. 1071 (2006).


See also

*
Phelps and Gorham Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of of land in what is now western New York State from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1,000,000 ( £300,000), to be paid in three annual installments, and the pre-emptive right to th ...


References


External links


The Walking Purchase at the Lenape Tribe official siteThe Walking Purchase
from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

on the Pennsylvania State Archives website {{DEFAULTSORT:Walking Purchase Lenape Native American history of Pennsylvania Political scandals in the United States Political scandals in Pennsylvania Former regions and territories of the United States Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania 1737 in Pennsylvania Aboriginal title in the United States 1737 in law Unratified treaties Treaties of indigenous peoples of North America 1737 treaties