Which 1787 law organized U.S. territory northwest of the Ohio River and set a path to statehood?

The Northwest Ordinance organized U.S. territory northwest of the Ohio River and set a path to statehood.

Congress of the Confederation adopted the ordinance on July 13, 1787. It governed the Northwest Territory, an enormous region that later became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The law established a territorial government and described how new states could be admitted.

The ordinance created a progression from appointed territorial administration to elected government and eventual statehood. It also prohibited slavery in the territory, although the ban did not end slavery elsewhere in the United States. The law promised protection for religious liberty, property rights, and education.

The Northwest Ordinance is sometimes confused with the Land Ordinance of 1785, which primarily established a system for surveying and selling western land. Together, the two measures provided an early framework for expansion. The ordinance’s orderly state-admission process became an important model for later U.S. territories.