===The Land Ordinance and The Northwest Ordinance===
Two of Congress's attempts to make money raise revenue by selling land west of the Appalachians were the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. An "[[ordinance]]" is a new law, often particularly one that concerns the regulation of land. These two ordinances were the only major laws enacted under the [[Articles of Confederation]], and they can often show up in a question or two about on an American Historyexam.
The [[Land Ordinance of 1785]] provided for surveying and dividing territories west of the colonies into towns 6 miles square, and selling 640 acre chunks at public auctions for a minimum of $1 per acre. Almost no one wanted to pay buy so much money in order to obtain much landat once, so these chunks were often bought and divided by investors, and then sold to farmers.
The [[Northwest Ordinance of 1787]] was a greater achievement. '''''Keep in mind that the "northwest" in 1787 consisted of the territory north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the [[Great Lakes]]'''''. It is the land that is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota (east of the Mississippi River), which was territory located northwest of the original 13 coloniesbut not what we think of as "northwest" today. [[Image:Northwest Territory.jpg|right|thumb|imprecise map of the Northwest Territory from the late 1700s]]
The Northwest Ordinance established a way to create no less than three and no more than five new states. It established a three-stage process based on population for new states to be created and join the Confederation of colonies. It also specified what type of government the new territories and states must have, a requirement that would later become part of the [[U.S. Constitution]].
When a new territory in the "northwest" had less than 5000 adult free (non-slave) males, it was to be ruled by a governor, a secretary, and three judges appointed by Congress. When the population exceeded 5000, then they could elect a legislature (assembly) that which could send a nonvoting person to Congress. A territory was required to have at least 60,000 free men living in it before it could apply for statehood. A republican form of government was required a requirement in order for a territory to become a new state. Slavery was prohibited north of the Ohio River (which means it was prohibited virtually everywhere in the Northwest Territory).
The Northwest Ordinance was the first to protect private property against the taking of property by government without just compensation, which later became part of the U.S. Constitution in the Fifth Amendment. This protection of private property by the Northwest Ordinance was one of several individual rights that the Ordinance protected which subsequently become part of the [[Bill of Rights]], including religious freedom, a right to a writ of ''habeas corpus'' (which enables anyone imprisoned to demand a hearing to challenge his imprisonment) and trial by jury (keep in mind that the [[U.S. Constitution]] did not exist yet). In addition, the ordinance encouraged public education, but public schools would not become widespread in their modern form until the 1900s.
The Northwest Ordinance was a huge success, establishing how new states could be created in a peaceful and orderly manner. It also put foreign countries, particularly England and France, on notice that the [[United States]] owned this territory and would be settling it.
The Northwest Ordinance was passed in by Congress under the Articles of Confederation during the summer of 1787, while which was the same time period at which the Constitutional Convention was meeting in Philadelphia. When the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance was passed again under the new Constitutionto ensure its continuing validity.
The following new territories became five new states due to the success of the Northwest Ordinance (with their date of statehood in parentheses): Ohio (1803), Indiana (1816), Illinois (1818), Michigan (1837), Wisconsin (1848). A sixth state, and Minnesota (1858), also claims to have some roots in the Northwest Ordinance.<ref>https://www.sos.state.mn.us/about-minnesota/minnesota-government/northwest-ordinance-of-1787/</ref>
===Shays' Rebellion===