Continental Congress
Excerpt from "The Northwest Ordinance"
Issued on July 13, 1787
Published in Documents of American History, edited by
Henry S. Commager, 1943
On July 13, 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, a detailed step-by-step plan that outlined how territories could become states. This ordinance and the Land Ordinance of 1785 were the only major lasting pieces of legislation passed by the Continental Congress operating under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation functioned as the nation's first constitution, remaining in effect from 1781 until 1788.
The Northwest Ordinance was based on the Ordinance of 1784, written by Virginia statesman Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). The.....
This is a free excerpt of 100 words. This section contains 3,416 words. This
article contains 10,187 words (approx. 34 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Continental Congress: the Northwest Ordinance Access Pass.
