Name:
Class Period
Northwest Ordinance Activity
Directions: Read the background information about the legislation passed regarding land and
new territory. Then complete the moving activity in part 2. Use the information and pictures in
part 1 to help you complete it.
Part 1: Northwest Ordinance and the Land Ordinance of 1785
Until about 1780 the lands of the Northwest
Territory were claimed by several existing
states, including New York and Virginia.
Those states soon ceded their territorial
holdings to the central government and, by
the time the American Revolution ended in
1783, specific measures were needed to
guide the settlement and division of the
Northwest Territory.
The Ordinance of 1784, drafted by Thomas
Jefferson and passed by Congress, divided
the territory into a handful of self-governing
districts. It stipulated that each district could
send one representative to Congress upon
its attaining a population of 20,000, and it
would become eligible for statehood when
its population equaled that of the leastpopulous existing state.
The Ordinance of 1785 provided for the scientific surveying of the territory’s lands and for a
systematic subdivision of them. Land was to be subdivided according to a rectangular grid system. The
basic unit of land grant was the township, which was a square area measuring six miles on each side.
A township could then be subdivided into a number of rectangular parcels of individually owned land.
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.
The Northwest Ordinance laid the basis for the government of the Northwest Territory and for the
admission of its constituent parts as states into the union. Under this ordinance, each district was to
be governed by a governor and judges appointed by Congress until it attained a population of 5,000
adult free males, at which time it would become a territory and could form its own representative
legislature. The Northwest Territory must eventually comprise a minimum of three and a maximum of
five states; an individual territory could be admitted to statehood in the union after having attained a
population of 60,000. Under the ordinance, slavery was forever outlawed from the lands of the
Northwest Territory, freedom of religion and other civil liberties were guaranteed, the resident
Indians were promised decent treatment, and education was provided for.
Under this ordinance, the principle of granting new states equal rather than inferior status to older
ones was firmly established. The ordinances were a major accomplishment of the often-maligned
government under the Articles of Confederation. Moreover, the ordinances foreshadowed how the
issues of territorial expansion and slavery would become intertwined during the ensuing years.
18th century kitchen
18th century one room cabin
Each Conestoga wagon was pulled
by four to six horses. These horses
were docile and strong, and could
cover some 12 to 14 miles a day.
The driver of the Conestoga
wagon would usually not ride
inside the vehicle but walk
alongside, ride one of the rear
horses or perch on what was
called the lazy board, a piece of
wood that could be pulled out
from beneath the wagon bed in
front of one of the rear wheels.
The wagon could carry up to 6
tons of freight.
Part 2: Activity
You and your family are moving out west to the new territory. You will need to apply the concepts
you've learned in today’s lesson, reading guide 7.1, and part 1 of this activity to complete these
questions.
1. Why you are moving?
2. Explain where you are moving to in the Northwest Territory and why.
3. Explain why the Northwest Ordinance and the Land Ordinance of 1785 encouraged your move.
4. Make a complete list of everything your family owns, including children, things, and animals.
4. In 1 paragraph, make a specific plan to survive your first 3 years on your land. Remember, there are
diseases, Indians, wild animals, no supermarkets, and no hospitals. There isn't even a general store yet
to buy food staples and grain. You and your family must prepared to live ON YOUR OWN for 3 whole
years.