Transcript Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Power

Land Ordinance of 1785
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The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United
States Congress on May 20,1785.
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Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress did not have
the power to raise revenue by direct taxation of the
inhabitants of the United States. Therefore, the immediate
goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale
of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original
colonies acquired from Britain at the end of the
Revolutionary War.
Land Ordinance of 1785
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Law passed by Congress that created a plan for surveying
western lands and partitioning the land for sale.
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Surveyors created townships that consisted of 36 sections
that were 1 square mile (640 acres) each.
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Parcel 16 was set aside in each township for the purpose
of building and funding a public school.
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In the beginning a parcel was set aside for the construction
of a church and the hiring of a minister but this part of the
law was changed after a few years due to fears of
violations of the separation of church and state.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Created a process by which territories could become states.
1. Congress appoints a territorial governor and judges.
2. When a territory has 5,000 voting residents the
settlers could write a temporary constitution and elect
their own government.
3. When the total population of a territory reached
60,000 free inhabitants, the settlers could write a state
constitution and apply to Congress for statehood. If
Congress voted to approve the state constitution the
territory would become a state.