What territory did the 1787 Northwest Ordinance organize as the new nation’s first incorporated territory?

The 1787 Northwest Ordinance organized the Northwest Territory as the new nation’s first incorporated territory.

Congress enacted the ordinance on July 13, 1787, under the Articles of Confederation. The territory lay north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, south of British North America and the Great Lakes, and west of Pennsylvania. It included land that later became several Midwestern states.

The ordinance created a territorial government and established a path toward statehood. Once a territory reached 60,000 free inhabitants, it could apply for admission as a state on an equal footing with the original states. Ohio became the first state formed from the territory, entering the Union in 1803.

The law also protected certain civil rights, encouraged education, and prohibited slavery in the territory. Its provisions influenced later American territorial policy. The Louisiana Territory, Indiana Territory, and Oregon Territory were separate entities created through later laws or acquisitions, so they are not the answer to this question.