What 1787 law organized the Northwest Territory and prohibited slavery there?

The Northwest Ordinance organized the Northwest Territory and prohibited slavery there in 1787.

The Confederation Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787. It governed lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, an area that later became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, plus part of Minnesota. The ordinance established a process by which territories could form governments and eventually enter the Union as states.

Its sixth article prohibited slavery in the territory, although it also required the return of people claimed as escaped enslaved persons. The ordinance protected religious freedom, encouraged public education, and recognized certain legal rights. It did not immediately create five states; statehood came later through separate admissions. The law is important to America250 because it shows how the early United States addressed westward expansion, governance, education, and slavery before the Constitution took effect. It also provides context for later arguments over whether Congress could restrict slavery in federal territories.