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The Northwest Ordinance
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The Northwest Ordinance, also known as the Freedom Ordinance, was
enacted in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation of the United States
as a way of accounting for those who wanted to settle in the Northwest
Territory that would soon become Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
It let the world know that the former colonies planned to develop as much
of the continent as possible. It established the precedent for how the Union
would expand westward across North America, declaring that land north of
the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi would be settled as new states
“on an equal footing with the original states,” rather than as expansions of
the thirteen existing states.
Thomas Jefferson proposed that the new territories be prohibited from
instituting slavery or involuntary servitude, except for convicted criminals.
(However, it did not emancipate slaves already held by settlers in these
territories.) This made the Ohio River into a boundary between free and
slave states. The fact that these new states entered the Union slave-free
meant that the North would eventually have additional power and resources
during the Civil War. Future antislavery legislation would draw heavily on
the precedent of the Northwest Ordinance.
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An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States,
Northwest of the River Ohio, 1787.
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Thomas Jefferson, circa 1805.
1 The Northwest Ordinance
Credits:
Jensen, Merrill. The New Nation: A History of the United States During the Confederation,
1781-1789. New York: Knopf, 1950.
Onuf, Peter S. Statehood and Union: A History of the Northwest Ordinance. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1987.
Williams, Frederick D., ed. The Northwest Ordinance: Essays on its Formulation, Provisions,
and Legacy. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1989.
Grade Level Content Expectations:
Grade 8
• U5. 1.2: Describe the role of the Northwest Ordinance and its effect on the banning of
slavery (e.g. the establishment of Michigan as a free state).
Questions:
1. Why did Congress enact the Northwest Ordinance?
2. What precedent did the Northwest Ordinance establish for the development of the
United States?
3. What was the Northwest Ordinance’s effect on the fight against slavery?
Links to Internet Websites:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/northwest.html
http://www.in.gov/history/2695.htm
http://ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=8
2 The Northwest Ordinance
Library of Congress, Rare Books and Special Collections Division
The Northwest Ordinance declared that land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi
would be settled as new states “on an equal footing with the original states,” rather than as
expansions of the thirteen existing states.
3 The Northwest Ordinance
New York Historical Society
Thomas Jefferson proposed that the new territories be prohibited from instituting slavery or
involuntary servitude, except for convicted criminals.
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