Northwest Territory

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Northwest Territory

The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest, was a historical region of the United States that encompassed the area northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. This territory was established by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and was the first organized territory of the United States.

History

The Northwest Territory was created following the American Revolutionary War and the subsequent Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the conflict and ceded British claims to the land to the United States. The Northwest Ordinance provided a framework for the governance of the territory and the creation of new states.

Geography

The Northwest Territory included the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota. The territory was bounded by the Ohio River to the south, the Mississippi River to the west, and the Great Lakes to the north.

Governance

The Northwest Ordinance established a structured process for the territory to transition from a federal territory to statehood. It included provisions for the establishment of a territorial government, the appointment of a governor, and the creation of a legislative assembly. The ordinance also outlined the process for admitting new states to the Union once certain population thresholds were met.

Significance

The Northwest Territory was significant for several reasons:

• It set a precedent for the orderly expansion of the United States.
• It established the principle that new states would be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with existing states.
• It included provisions for public education and the prohibition of slavery in the territory.

Related Pages

• Northwest Ordinance
• Ohio River
• Mississippi River
• Great Lakes
• American Revolutionary War
• Treaty of Paris (1783)
• Statehood

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