The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created the Northwest Territory, the first organized incorporated territory of the United States after independence.
Congress enacted the ordinance on July 13, 1787, under the Articles of Confederation. The territory covered land north of the Ohio River, west of Pennsylvania, south of the Great Lakes, and east of the Mississippi River. Its area later became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.
The ordinance established a territorial government and described a path toward statehood. Once a territory reached specified population thresholds, it could form a constitution and seek admission as a state on an equal footing with existing states. This approach differed from simply expanding the boundaries of the original states.
The law also prohibited slavery in the territory, protected certain rights, encouraged public education, and addressed relations with Indigenous nations. It was not the first federal land law—the Land Ordinance of 1785 had organized surveying and land sales—but it became a foundational blueprint for later territorial administration. The First Congress reaffirmed it in modified form in 1789.