Northwest Ordinance Essay

The Northwest Ordinance was enacted July 13, 1787. The Northwest Ordinance is the only reason why many of our states exist. This ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States. This was a method for admitting new states to the Union from within the territory. It also listed a guaranteed bill of rights, and was adopted by the second Continental Congress.
This ordinance was for expanding the Union from within the Northwest Territory. The Northwest territory was located west of Pennsylvania, north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the great lakes. The general location today is known as the American Midwest. Until around the year 1780, the Northwest Territory was claimed by the states New York and Virginia. Soon after that, the states ceded their holdings to the central government. This was necessary for the division of the Northwest Territory to function properly.
There were three principle provisions ordained in this document. This was to help with the organization of the new states. The first principle in this document was the division of the Northwest territory. This meant that no less than three nor more than five states. The second principle was a three-stage method to admit states to the union. In this method, they

Thomas Jefferson was an American founding father and was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He was also the third person of the United States. He originally created it in 1784. He divided this territory into a bunch of self-governing districts. The ordinance stated that each district could send a representative to Congress upon its population of 20,000, and they would become eligible for statehood. Under this ordinance, the principle of granting new states equal rather than inferior was clearly established. The ordinances foreshadowed how the issues of territorial expansion and slavery would become