The Delaware belong to the great Algonquin family. Their oldest known home was in the lower part of Pennsylvania
Delaware Warrior
and the adjacent parts of New Jersey, their villages being on the waters of the Delaware River and its tributary streams. The Delaware, or Lenni Lenape, claimed to be the "parent" from which the numerous Algonquin tribes descended -- the name Lenape signifying original man. Their claim to superiority was recognized by the other tribes, who accorded to them the title of "Grandfather."
The chiefs of this tribe were the principal parties to the first treaty made with William Penn. They were conquered, and for many years lived under the domination of the Iroquois, who bestowed upon them the degrading appellation of "Women." They espoused the cause of France during the the Old French War, and at the opening of the American Revolution, declared independence on their own account -- ridding themselves of the hated domination of the Iroquois, and the still more hated name that nation had fastened upon them.
The first treaty made by the United States with an Indian tribe was with the Delaware on September 17, 1778, at Fort Pitt. It was a treaty of peace and mutual protection, the sixth article indicating that the United States contemplated the possible formation of an Indian State, with the Delaware at its head.