The Northwest Ordinance established a plan for governing U.S. territories in 1787, an early national milestone before America250.
The Confederation Congress adopted the ordinance on July 13, 1787. It governed the territory north and west of the Ohio River, an area that later became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.
The ordinance created a structured path from territorial government to statehood. It also protected certain civil liberties, encouraged public education, and prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, although it did not end slavery elsewhere in the United States.
The measure is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which established a surveying system for western lands. The Northwest Ordinance dealt chiefly with territorial government, admission of new states, and rules for settlement and administration.