The Northwest Ordinances that were passed under the Articles of Confederation government created the basic framework for government and settlement of the Northwest Territory—the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The Northwest Ordinances also provided the model for the incorporation of other territories into the United States as equal partners in the national government. Following the Revolutionary War (1775-83), the states agreed to give up their individual claims to western lands. The Second Continental Congress needed a method to govern and sell the land, since the sale of land in the Northwest Territory would raise money for the government and allow it to pay off its debts. Thomas Jefferson suggested a division of the territory into over a dozen smaller entities, each with classical, or Roman, names. When a territory contained as many residents as did the smallest of the 13 original states, it could gain statehood. This proposal alarmed many of the people in the existing states, who feared that the West would dominate the government. Congress eventually amended Jefferson’s plan to create a temporary government and to establish universal rights for all men in the territory. Although never enforced, this plan, referred to as the Ordinance of 1784, was endorsed by Congress and became the basis for the Ordinance of 1787. Before that act, however, Congress passed another law in 1785.
The Ordinance of 1785 simplified the process of the sale and distribution of land. The act called for the survey of rectangular townships. Each township would then be subdivided into 36-square-mile sections, which contained 640 acres. These sections were to be auctioned off for not less than one dollar per acre. Four sections in each township were reserved for future sale by Congress. Section 16 of each township was set aside for the establishment of educational institutions.
While the Ordinance of 1785 laid the groundwork for settlement of the Northwest Territory, it did not provide a governmental or legal system to oversee the territory and manage the land. Therefore, two years later Congress passed the Ordinance of 1787. One of the most important features of the Ordinance of 1787 was the establishment of a system for a territory to become a state. Congress, which in effect owned the territory, would appoint a governor, a secretary to serve under the governor, and three judges. These officials would govern the territory as agents of Congress and were subject to the authority of Congress. Once the territory, or a section of the territory, contained 5000 adult white males, the territory would elect a legislature and send a speaking, but not voting, delegate to Congress. Finally, once the total population rose above 60,000, the territory could apply to Congress and be admitted “on equal footing with the original states.”
The Ordinance of 1787 also contained six articles, which established laws within the territory. Articles I and II contained the equivalent of a territorial bill of rights by protecting freedom of worship and religion, assuring the right to trial by jury and reasonable bail and fines, guaranteeing against cruel and unusual punishment, and asserting the legal sanctity of property and contracts. Article III stressed the importance of education in the territory, which added emphasis to the establishment of schools in the Ordinance of 1785. Article III also provided for the fair treatment of Native Americans. It declared: “The utmost good faith shall always be observed to the Indians,” and promised that their property would not be taken from them without their consent. Moreover, the article assured that “they [Indians] shall never be invaded or disturbed,” unless the United States had just cause, and that “laws founded in justice and humanity” shall be made to protect the Indians. These provisions concerning Indians were often ignored. Article IV opened the waterways of the Northwest Territory to tax-free navigation. Article V divided the Northwest Territory into no less than three but no more than five separate states. This provision limited the potential influence in Congress of the new western states, easing the fears of western domination felt by some people in the existing states. Finally, Article VI outlawed slavery by declaring: “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude” in the territory except in the punishment of crimes. But the article also provided for the capture and return of fugitive slaves from “one of the original States.” This act constituted the first federal-level legislation against slavery. There were many later attempts to repeal Article VI, but it remained in force.
When combined, the Ordinance of 1785 and the Ordinance of 1787 provided the framework for the governance of the Northwest Territory and established a method for the territory to be divided into states. However, these two pieces of legislation had an impact well beyond their intended purpose. The same basic rules used in the Northwest Territory were applied in the establishment of nearly every western state. This made the Ordinance of 1785 and the Ordinance of 1787 the most important legislation passed by the Articles of Confederation government.
Further reading: Peter Onuf, Statehood and U'nian: A History of the Northwest Ordinance (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1987).
—Michael L. Cox
World History
