Expanding Our New Nation with the Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance represents the first time the United States spread its wings and began to fulfill its destiny. As a result, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota would eventually be added to our country.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the significant and precedent-setting provisions set out in this important document, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of the Library of Congress, Yale University Art Gallery, Gilcrease Museum, National Archives, Digital Commonwealth, Legends of America, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Wikipedia.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created the Northwest Territory and a template for how the vast area, also known as the Ohio Country, was to be settled by the United States. But determining how the land was to be developed was the easy part. The more challenging aspect for the federal government was how to make the territory safe for the new settlers given the many Indian tribes who claimed this area as their own and had no desire to move.