Which 1787 law organized the Northwest Territory?

The Northwest Ordinance organized the Northwest Territory in 1787.

Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787, under the Articles of Confederation. It governed lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, an area that later became several Midwestern states.

The ordinance created a territorial government and outlined a path from territory to statehood. Once a territory reached a population threshold, it could form a government and eventually be admitted as a state on an equal footing with the original states.

The law prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, although it did not immediately end slavery elsewhere in the United States. It also encouraged public education and recognized certain rights, including religious freedom and trial by jury. The territory later produced Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as part of Minnesota.