United States History Student Edition

The Northwest Territory Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not tax citizens directly. Congress raised money by selling land in the Northwest Territory. The Ordinance divided land into townships, which were further subdivided into “sections.”

90°W

80°W

50°N

70°W

Township baseline 6 miles

N

E

W

6 5 4 3 2 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 18 17 16 15 14 13 19 20 21 22 23 24 30 29 28 27 26 25 31 32 33 34 35 36

S

u

Rang

e

p

k

e r

L a

i o

r

S

e lin

Fort Mackinac

M i

n n

e 6 m

M i s s i s s i p

L

a

e s

k

o t a

e

R .

Wisconsin

p i R .

n

H

a

u r

iles

g

M i c h i

o

n

S P A

Michigan

L a k e

Fort Detroit

Reserved for schools Reserved for federal government

N I S H

Half Section 320 acres

D

e s M

Lake Erie

1 mile

o i n

e s

40°N

R .

o i s R .

L O U

Ohio

Illinois

Indiana

Quarter Section 160 acres

n

l i

I l

I S I A

The arrangement of township sections shown here was adopted in 1796.

R .

M N A

o

i s s

u r i

s h

o R .

R

.

a

h i

W a b

O

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Northwest Territory Present-day state boundaries

0

300 miles

300 kilometers

0

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

McGraw-Hill National Social Studies Map Title: The Northwest Territory File Name: MS_USH_SE_T05_L02_001M GEOGRAPHY CONNECTION 1. Exploring Regions Which rivers acted as borders for the Northwest Territory? 2. Human-Environment Interaction Why do you think Congress set up such a precise system for measuring and dividing the land?

Map Size: 41p9 x 29p3 2 nd Proof: 06-Mar-2020 Although Native Americans still resided throughout those lands, many Americans were eager to settle in this region. The new United States government had to establish policies for settlement of these western lands. Another challenge was to come up with an orderly process by which new territories could

survey and sell the lands north of the Ohio River. The new law divided this large area into townships 6 miles long (9.7 km) and 6 miles wide (9.7 km). These townships were to be further divided into 36 sections of 640 acres (259 ha). The government would sell each section at public auction, or sale, for at least a dollar per acre. Concerned about lawless people moving into western lands, Richard Henry Lee, the president of the Congress, urged that “the rights of property be clearly defined” by the government. Congress drafted another law to protect the interests of the settlers.

achieve the status of statehood. The Ordinance of 1785

In 1785, the Confederation Congress passed an ordinance , or law, that set up a process to

ordinance law 174

TEXT: Cutler, William Parker and Julia Perkins Cutler. Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, L.L.D. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1888.