The Northwest Ordinance created the first organized U.S. territory in 1787.
The Confederation Congress enacted the ordinance on July 13, 1787. It organized the Northwest Territory, a large region north and west of the Ohio River that later contributed to the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The law established a process by which territories could form governments and eventually enter the Union as equal states. It also prohibited slavery in the territory, protected religious freedom, encouraged education, and recognized trial-by-jury rights.
The ordinance is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which primarily governed surveying and land sales. The Northwest Ordinance dealt with territorial government and statehood. The First Congress reaffirmed it in 1789 with some modifications.