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Moving West
The Land Ordinance of 1785
&
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
New Land Policies
• Beginning of the Revolution
– Only a few thousand lived
west of the Appalachian
Mountains
– Treaty of Paris of 1763
• Proclamation Line of 1763
• Forbid moving West
• By 1790’s
– Treaty of Paris of 1783
allowed Americans to move
west
– Around 120,000
• Settlers wanted to organize
their lands and join the
Union
States Relinquish Territories
• All states relinquished
land claims in the new
territory and gave it to
the congress
Congress in Debt
• Congress had no power
to tax the inhabitants of
the United States
– Goal of the Land
Ordinance of 1785
• To raise money through
the sale of land
• Pay off war debts
• Organize new territories
gained under the Treaty
of Paris of 1783
Dividing and Selling Land
• Congress surveyed and
Divided the land in
order to sell it to people
moving west.
• They passed the “Land
Ordinance of 1785” to
divide the land.
Dividing the Land
• Divided into Townships
– 6 Miles Long
• Townships divided into
36 Sections
– 640 Acres
– Sold at public auctions
for at least $1
Land Speculations
• Speculators viewed the law as an opportunity
to accumulate land cheaply
– Concerned with the lawlessness in the West,
Richard Henry Lee urged, “the rights of property
be clearly defined”
– Congress solved this problem by setting up a new
Ordinance called “The Northwest Ordinance of
1787”
The Northwest Ordinance
Setting up government in the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance
• Passed in 1787
• Created the Northwest
Territory
• Would divide the lands
into 3-5 smaller
territories
Setting Up Boundaries
• Northwest Territory
– First Organized Territory
of the United States
• Boundaries
– South of the Great Lakes
– North and West of the
Ohio River
– East of the Mississippi
Abolition of State Claims
• The new territory was
to be controlled by the
central government
• States had to give up
their land claims in the
West
• Congress would be the
legislative body of the
new territories
Reaching Statehood
• When the territory
reached a population of
5,000 “free male
inhabitants of full age”
they could form a
legislature.
• Once the Territory
reached a population of
60,000 it could apply for
statehood
– These states would be
admitted to the Union with
equal rights of the original
13 states.
Establishing Civil Rights
• Property Rights were
Promised
• Religious Tolerance was
proclaimed
• Free Public Education
• No Cruel or Unusual
Punishment
• Trial By Jury
The Prohibition of Slavery
• Slavery and Involuntary
Servitude was illegal
Rights of the Native Americans
• “The utmost good faith
shall always be
observed towards the
Indians; their land and
property shall never be
taken without their
consent; and , in their
property, rights, and
liberty, they shall never
be invaded or
disturbed.”