The Western Territory, the Land Companies and the Northwest Ordinance. Manasseh Cutler. Summary and Analysis

Bowen returns to the issues being considered at the Convention in this chapter, which is one of the longest in the book. The question of further expansion of the United States and how newly acquired land should be governed is one of the most central questions of the Convention.

The Western Territory extends from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River in the West, and from Spanish Florida in the south to the Great Lakes in the north. Ten states will eventually be formed within this area. The British had given up defending the region from Indians while America was under its rule, and closed it to settlement. With independence, the territory is open again.

The...