The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set up the territories that would eventually become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Slavery was prohibited in these territories, and certain funds from land sales were set aside for schools. Both of the latter were due to the Enlightenment ideals of Jefferson and other Patriots.
Congress was to set up a governor and judges for the new territory, but once the territory gained 5000 voters (free adult men, obviously), it could set up and elect their own territorial legislature. When the population reached 60,000, it could apply for statehood in the Confederation contingent upon having written a republican constitution, and if it reached statehood, would be on an even footing with the existing states.
This had major significance due to the fact that it established an orderly method of settling the west that did not have political wrangling at every step. It also set up a precedent for the federal government to manage land directly. When the Confederation became the United States, the law was passed on in a slightly revised form. Ohio was the first state admitted from the territory.
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By providing things like public education, the right to trial by jury, freedom of religion, and the outlaw of slavery, the Northwest Ordinance was fairly progressive for its time. It was one of the first coherent forms of western policy (having aid from the federal government).
The ordinances are significant for several reasons. Counties were surveyed differently from those in the eastern states. They also helped to propagate the concept of freedom for all Americans well into the west. Furthermore, they promoted peaceful settlement while avoiding the development of a secessionist movement.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was great for for the new country because it helped the expansion westward. Also because they made guild lines for when the territories could be states and when they could be able to elect their state legislation,the states could easily and quickly enter the new nation. The guild lines also made the chance for small factions to take over a state very difficult. One thing I found to be ironic was the fact that they wanted the states to be free and the people making these laws such as Thomas Thomas Jefferson were slave owners.
The Northwest Ordinance, while it did establish many new territories, it is also very significant because slavery was not allowed. But for the exchange for no slavery,slaves became 3/5 of a person giving states with a high population of slaves more power in the House.
A major aspect of the Northwest Ordinance was compromise. The Northerners and Southerners compromised in a couple of big ways in the writing of this ordinance. The Northerners were made happy by the fact that slavery wasn't allowed in the new territories, and the Souterners were pleased by the 3/5 clause, saying that each slave in a state counted as 3/5 of person, even though they couldn't vote. It was compromise between the East and West, because the West got to become states of their own, and this meant the East didn't become and empire governing colonies, like Britain. It was also kind of a compromise between the rich and poor, because the poor now had more land available to own, but it could only be bought up in huge chunkks, so the rich bought it and sold smaller sections to poorer farmers and made money. As you can see, the NW Ordinance was full of compromise, like the US Constitution with it's amendments would come to be.
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