Treaty of Shackamaxon

The Treaty of Shackamaxon refers to one or more agreements concluded between William Penn and leaders of the Lenape (Delaware) Indians in 1682 or 1683 at Shackamaxon, a Lenape village located in what is now Fishtown. According to tradition, Penn met with Lenape sachems (chiefs) beneath a great elm tree to establish peaceful relations and to formalize land purchases for his new colony of Pennsylvania. The treaty has become legendary as an example of fair dealing between European colonists and indigenous peoples, celebrated in art, literature, and civic memory. However, historians debate the precise nature and terms of what occurred at Shackamaxon, as no written treaty document survives and accounts were recorded long after the fact. Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown commemorates the legendary meeting site.

Historical Context

William Penn arrived in his new colony in October 1682 with a distinctive vision for relations with indigenous peoples. Unlike many colonial proprietors, Penn believed that the land belonged to its original inhabitants and that Europeans had no right to simply claim territory by virtue of discovery or royal grant. He insisted that all land be purchased from the Lenape through fair negotiation, and he instructed his agents to deal honestly with indigenous peoples. Penn had communicated these intentions to the Lenape before his arrival, sending letters (translated by interpreters) that expressed his desire for friendship and peaceful coexistence. This approach represented a genuine attempt at ethical colonization, though it could not ultimately prevent the dispossession of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands.

The Lenape whom Penn encountered had already experienced decades of European contact through the Swedish, Dutch, and English colonies along the Delaware River. They had traded with Europeans, experienced epidemic diseases that devastated their populations, and watched as settlers established farms on lands the Lenape had long inhabited. Some land sales had already occurred before Penn's arrival, negotiated by his agents with Lenape leaders. Penn's personal meetings with Lenape sachems in 1682-1683 were intended to confirm these transactions, establish protocols for future dealings, and build personal relationships of trust that would govern relations between the colonists and the indigenous population.

The Meeting at Shackamaxon

Shackamaxon (from a Lenape phrase meaning "place of eels" or "eel fishing place") was a Lenape village and gathering site located along the Delaware River, in the area that would become the neighborhood of Fishtown and Kensington. The precise nature of what occurred at Shackamaxon has been debated by historians, as no contemporary written record of a treaty signing survives. What seems clear is that Penn met with Lenape leaders on one or more occasions at or near Shackamaxon during his first visit to Pennsylvania, and that these meetings involved land transactions and the establishment of friendly relations.

The legendary account of the treaty, which became famous through Benjamin West's 1771 painting "Penn's Treaty with the Indians," depicts Penn meeting with Lenape chiefs beneath a great elm tree. In this version, Penn—dressed simply in Quaker gray without weapons or military escort—exchanges wampum belts with the Lenape and concludes a peace agreement that would never be broken. The elm tree became a sacred symbol, visited by dignitaries and tourists throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries until it finally fell in a storm in 1810. Whether this specific scene actually occurred as depicted is uncertain, but the legendary treaty captured a genuine truth about Penn's approach to indigenous relations: he sought peace and fair dealing when many colonial leaders sought only conquest.

Terms and Significance

The traditional understanding of the Treaty of Shackamaxon holds that Penn and the Lenape agreed to perpetual peace and friendship, with Penn promising to deal fairly in all land transactions and the Lenape welcoming the colonists as neighbors. Wampum belts were exchanged as symbols of the agreement, and both parties pledged to settle disputes through negotiation rather than violence. Penn reportedly told the Lenape that he desired to "enjoy [the land] with your Love and Consent, that we may always live together as Neighbors and Friends." These sentiments, whether or not they reflect Penn's exact words, captured the spirit of his approach to indigenous relations.

The significance of the Treaty of Shackamaxon lies less in its specific terms—which remain uncertain—than in what it represented about Penn's vision for Pennsylvania. Penn genuinely believed in treating indigenous peoples fairly and sought to establish his colony through purchase rather than conquest. He learned the Lenape language (or at least some phrases), participated in their councils, and made sincere efforts to understand their customs and concerns. This approach distinguished Pennsylvania from many other colonies and contributed to decades of relatively peaceful relations between Pennsylvanians and indigenous peoples—a peace that held until the pressures of settlement expansion and the machinations of Penn's less scrupulous successors finally broke it.

The Great Elm

The elm tree at Shackamaxon became a potent symbol of the Penn-Lenape treaty and was venerated by both Europeans and Native Americans throughout the colonial period. The tree stood near the Delaware River in what is now Penn Treaty Park, reputedly marking the exact spot where Penn and the Lenape concluded their agreement. Visitors throughout the 18th century sought out the tree as a monument to Penn's legacy, and it became one of the most famous landmarks in early America. When the tree finally fell during a storm on March 3, 1810, pieces of its wood were preserved as relics, and objects made from the elm became prized possessions among Philadelphia's elite families.

The veneration of the Treaty Elm reflected the broader mythologizing of the Penn-Lenape relationship that occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries. As Philadelphia grew into a major city and Pennsylvania became one of the most prosperous colonies (and later states) in North America, the story of Penn's treaty became a founding legend that celebrated the city's origins in peace and fair dealing. Benjamin West's famous painting, completed in 1771 and reproduced countless times since, fixed the legendary scene in the American imagination. The painting hangs today in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, continuing to shape public memory of an event whose historical details remain elusive.

Historical Debate

Modern historians have questioned many aspects of the traditional Treaty of Shackamaxon narrative. No signed treaty document has ever been found, and the earliest detailed accounts of the meeting were written decades after it occurred. Some scholars suggest that what happened at Shackamaxon was not a single formal treaty but rather one or more of the many land transactions Penn conducted with various Lenape groups. Others argue that the legendary treaty is largely a later invention, embellished over time to create a heroic founding myth for Pennsylvania. The debate continues, with historians disagreeing about what exactly occurred, when it occurred, and what it meant to the participants.

What is not in doubt is that Penn did pursue peaceful relations with the Lenape and did conduct land purchases through negotiation rather than conquest. Multiple deeds survive from Penn's time documenting transactions between the proprietor and various Lenape groups. Penn's letters and those of his agents confirm his commitment to fair dealing with indigenous peoples. Whether or not a single dramatic meeting beneath an elm tree occurred exactly as legend describes, Penn's approach to native relations was distinctive and, within its limitations, genuinely attempted to balance colonial development with indigenous rights. The tragedy is that this approach could not survive the pressures that followed Penn's death, culminating in the infamous Walking Purchase of 1737.

Legacy and Commemoration

Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown commemorates the legendary treaty site. The park, established in 1893, occupies land along the Delaware River near where the Lenape village of Shackamaxon once stood. A monument marks the approximate location of the Treaty Elm, and the park's name perpetuates the memory of Penn's meeting with the Lenape. The park has been the site of commemorative events, including ceremonies marking anniversaries of the legendary treaty and efforts at reconciliation between descendants of colonists and indigenous peoples.

The Treaty of Shackamaxon, whatever its precise historical reality, remains powerful as a symbol of what colonial relations might have been. Penn's approach—grounded in Quaker beliefs about human equality and the wrongfulness of violence—offered an alternative to the brutality that characterized many European-indigenous encounters. That this approach ultimately failed to protect the Lenape from dispossession does not diminish its significance as an aspiration. The treaty continues to be invoked by those seeking more just relations between settler societies and indigenous peoples, a founding legend that points toward a better possibility, even if that possibility was never fully realized.

See Also

• William Penn
• Lenape People
• Penn Treaty Park
• Fishtown
• Quaker Philadelphia