Which 1787 law created an orderly process for governing and admitting states from U.S. western territories?

The Northwest Ordinance created an orderly process for governing and admitting states from U.S. western territories.

The Continental Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787, under the Articles of Confederation. It governed the territory north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, an area that later became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.

The ordinance established territorial government in stages. Once a territory reached a specified population, it could form an elected legislature; when its population reached 60,000 free inhabitants, it could apply for statehood on an equal footing with existing states. The law also protected certain civil rights and encouraged public education.

The Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery in the territory, although it did not end slavery elsewhere in the United States. It is often confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which mainly created a surveying system. Together, the two measures supplied an early blueprint for westward expansion and the admission of new states.