The Northwest Territory
Unit 2, Lesson 4
The United States
• The Treaty of Paris officially named the
United States of America as a new country.
– Treaty = gave most British Lands south of the
Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to
the United States
• British still held some forts.
• Spain claimed lands west of the Mississippi
River.
A New Territory
• The United States had many debts post-war.
– American Revolution = costly
– Debt  something owned, often money
• Many American soldiers, farmers, and
merchants had not been paid.
• France, which helped the United States win
the war by sending soldiers and supplies,
was also owed money.
A New Territory
• Congress decided to use lands in an area that
came to be called the Northwest Territory to
help pay debts.
– Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
part of Minnesota
– Territory  an area owned and governed by a
country
• Plan = Congress would pay some soldiers with
land instead of money. Other lands in the
territory would be sold to raise money.
The Northwest Territory
Settling the Northwest Territory
• Before Congress could use the lands in the
Northwest Territory, it had to settle some
border conflicts.
– Parts were claimed by states (Virginia, New York)
• In many ways, the 13 colonies acted like
separate countries before the Revolutionary
War.
– The war had shown the importance of acting as one
nation.
• To support the new government, states gave up
their land claims.
The Land Ordinance of 1785
• Land Ordinance of 1785 a plan passed by
Congress to settle the Northwest Territory
– Ordinance  law
• The ordinance told how the Northwest Territory
would be surveyed (measured).
• Land was divided into squares called townships.
– Each township was then divided into 36 smaller
squares (sections).
– Each section was one square mile.
– One section in each township was set aside for a school.
The Land Ordinance of 1785
The Northwest Ordinance
• 1787  Congress passed the Northwest
Ordinance
– This law set up a plan for governing the Northwest
Territory
– Described how new states would be formed
• Land in the Northwest Territory would be
divided into large territories.
– Once a territory had 60,000 people, it could become
a state.
– Each new state would be equal to the other state in
every way.
The Northwest Ordinance
• The Northwest Ordinance promised settlers
freedom of religion and other rights.
– Right  a freedom that belongs to a person
• Slavery was banned in states formed from the
Northwest Territory.
• Congress appointed Arthur St. Clair, a former
Revolutionary War general, as governor of the
Northwest Territory.
– Part of his task was to stop the fighting between
settlers and Native Americans.
The Northwest Ordinance
• Native Americans in the Northwest
Territory did not want to leave their lands.
• 1789  St. Clair convinced some tribes to
sign the Treaty of Fort Harmar
– Tribes gave up much of their lands
– Most Native Americans ignored the treaty
because many leaders were not at the treaty
talks.
The Northwest Ordinance
The Ohio Territory
• Land in the Northwest Territory did not cost
much.
– Some land was sold for less than $1 an acre.
• The land was sold in big pieces, usually to
companies who then sold similar pieces of
land to settlers.
Early Towns
• Many people were eager to settle in what is
now Ohio.
• As land became easier to buy, settlers from
eastern states and Europe began to move to the
region.
• Marietta  first town in the Ohio Territory
– Founded by 50 settlers in 1788
– Led by Rufus Putnam  started one of the
companies that had bought land in Ohio from the
government
Marietta, Ohio
• Directions
Early Towns
• Cincinnati
– Land purchased by John Cleves Symmes
– Originally named Losantiville in 1790 by Arthur St.
Clair
• Belpre
– Bathsheba Rouse  first female teacher in Ohio
Territory
– Began teaching in this are in 1789
• Cleveland
– Rebecca Fuller and her family were the first
Europeans to settle in this area.
– Their log cabin served as the community’s store,
trading post, church and jail.
Farms and Businesses
• Farmers in Ohio:
– Grew wheat, corn, and fruit.
– Raised cattle, pigs, and sheep which were often sold
to people in eastern cities.
• Early businesses in Ohio served settlers.
– Mills ground grain into flour.
– Cincinnati became a pork-processing center in the
early 1800s
Other businesses build farm tools, and there were
stores, blacksmiths, and barbers in early towns.