Land Ordinance of 1785

Original Text: BE it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that the territory ceded by individual States to the United States, which has been purchased of the Indian inhabitants, shall be disposed of in the following manner: A surveyor from each state shall be appointed by Congress or a Committee of the States. The Surveyors, as they are respectively qualified, shall proceed to divide the said territory into townships of six miles square, by by lines running due north and south, and others crossing these at right angles, as near as may be…. The plats of the townships respectively, shall be marked by subdivisions into lots of one mile square, or 640 acres, in the same direction as the external lines, and numbered from l to 36.

Why was this necessary? It was enacted by the U.S. Congress for the purpose of establishing orderly and equitable procedures for the settlement and political incorporation of the Northwest Territory The minimum land sale was set at one square mile (640 acres), and the minimum price per acre was $1. (Congress hoped to refill the treasury by land sales in this region, but the requirement of $640 in cash eliminated many potential buyers.) One section in each township was to be set aside for a school.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

The Northwest Ordinance, adopted July 13, 1787, by the Second Continental Congress, chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, provided a method for admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory.

To maintain order, the Northwest Territory would be divided into "not less than three nor more than five States“. The 3-step process was as follows: The Territory would start with a congressionally appointed governor, secretary, and three judges to rule; When the territory grew to a population of 5,000 free male inhabitants of adult age, the territory could elect an assembly and have one nonvoting delegate to Congress; When the population reached 60,000, then a state constitution would be drafted (written) and membership to the Union to be requested. If approved by the U.S. Congress, it would be allowed in as a new state.

The Northwest Ordinance also provided a bill of rights protecting: Religious freedom, The right to a writ of habeas corpus (if you are arrested, you have to be brought before a judge. Any male who owned 50 acres of land could vote, (if you wanted to hold public office, you had to own more land), Slavery is prohibited The right to bail and trial by jury No cruel and unusual punishment Right to enter freely into private contracts Right to compensation for eminent domain (if the government needs your land, they must pay you for it).