Which 1787 law organized the first federal territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River?

The Northwest Ordinance organized the first federal territory northwest of the Ohio River.

Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787, under the Articles of Confederation. It created the Northwest Territory, covering land that later became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.

The ordinance established a path from territorial government to statehood. It also described population thresholds for forming a representative legislature and ultimately admitted new states on an equal footing with the original states.

A major provision prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, making it an important early federal restriction on slavery’s expansion. The ordinance is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which primarily established a system for surveying and selling western lands.