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The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States.
The full mechanisms of government were put in place, as outlined in the Northwest Ordinance. A bicameral legislature consisted of a House of Representatives and a Council. The first House had 22 representatives, apportioned by population of each county. [30] The House then nominated 10 citizens to be Council members.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 stated, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." [30] However, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 also contained Southern characteristics of municipal governance. The Southern influence can be ...
The Northwest Ordinance laid out the conditions for the development and creation of states from the territory. With the act of May 7, 1800, the eastern part of the Northwest Territory, Ohio was set off under a distinct territorial government, and the remainder was organized as the territory of Indiana. [2]
The ordinance was further augmented with the Land Ordinance of 1785, [4] and superseded by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This latter ordinance provided for civil liberties and public education within new territories that would be created north and west of the Ohio river, and banned slavery therein. [ 5 ]
The rectangular survey system established by the General Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance divided the public domain into 36-square mile areas of land, referred to as townships. Each township was further divided into 36 one-square mile sections. This basic system of government was strongly informed by the governance structure ...
Under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance, the territorial government went through 3 phases prior to statehood: [14] [15] During the non-representative phase of territorial government the U.S. Congress and after 1789, the president with congressional approval appointed a governor, secretary, and three judges to govern each new territory.
The British refused to evacuate US territory, while the Spanish used their control of the Mississippi River to stymie Western settlement. In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which set an important precedent by establishing the first organized territory under the control of the confederated government.