The Northwest Ordinance created a process for governing and admitting states from U.S. territory north of the Ohio River.
The Confederation Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787. It organized the Northwest Territory, a large region that later became all or parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The law established a territorial government and described how a territory could progress toward statehood.
The ordinance initially provided for a governor and judges appointed by Congress. When the population reached specified thresholds, residents could form a legislature and eventually apply for admission as a state. The law also protected certain civil liberties, encouraged public education, and prohibited slavery in the territory, although it did not end slavery elsewhere.
The Northwest Ordinance is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which primarily created a system for surveying and selling western lands. Together, the two measures helped the new United States administer and settle its expanding western domain under the Articles of Confederation.