On what date did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 become law?

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 became law on July 13, 1787.

Enacted by the Confederation Congress, the ordinance created the Northwest Territory, the region north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River. It supplied a framework for territorial government and described how new states could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with existing states.

The law established a governor, a secretary, and judges for the territory at its earliest stage. It also promised civil and religious rights, encouraged education, and recognized legal protections such as trial by jury and habeas corpus. Its most famous provision prohibited slavery in the territory, although the text included a fugitive-slave clause.

The Northwest Ordinance influenced the later expansion of the United States. Ohio became the first state formed from the territory in 1803, followed by Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, plus part of Minnesota. The First Congress reaffirmed the ordinance in 1789 with modifications, preserving its importance after the Constitution created the new federal government.