The Confederation Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance in 1787.
Formally titled An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio, the measure was enacted on July 13, 1787. It created the Northwest Territory, covering lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.
The ordinance established a system for territorial government and eventual statehood. It provided that the territory could ultimately be divided into new states admitted on an equal footing with the original states. Ohio became the first state formed from the territory, entering the Union in 1803.
The law also protected certain civil rights, encouraged education, and prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. Its provisions became an important model for later American territorial expansion. The First Congress reaffirmed the ordinance in 1789, with modifications, after the Constitution replaced the Confederation government.