What act created the Northwest Territory in 1787?

The Northwest Ordinance created the Northwest Territory in 1787.

The Confederation Congress enacted the measure on July 13, 1787. Formally called An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio, it organized the lands north and west of the Ohio River and south of the Great Lakes. The territory later supplied land for several Midwestern states.

The ordinance established a process for territorial government and eventual statehood. It also prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, protected religious freedom, encouraged public education, and recognized certain legal rights. The act is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which created a surveying system but did not create the territory itself. The Northwest Ordinance therefore links the early national government to later state formation and westward expansion.