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NW-ORDIN.TXT
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NORTHWEST ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE OF 1787, JULY 13, 1787
AN ORDINANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE
UNITED STATES NORTHWEST OF THE RIVER OHIO
Sec 1 Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That
the said Territory, for the purpose of temporary government, be
one district, subject, however, to be divided into two dis-
tricts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress,
make it expedient.
Sec 2 Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates both
of resident and non-resident proprietors in the said territory,
dying intestate, shall descend to, and be distributed among,
their children and the descendants of a deceased child in equal
parts, the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take
the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them;
and where there shall be no children or descendants, then in
equal parts to the next of kin, in equal degree; and among col-
laterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the
intestate shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased
parents share; and there shall, in no case, be a distinction
between kindred of the whole and half blood; saving in all cases
to the widow of the intestate, her third part of the real estate
for life, and one third part of the personal estate; and this
law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force
until altered by the legislature of the district. And until the
governor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned,
estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by
wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her in whom the
estate may be (being of full age,) and attested by three wit-
nesses; and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release,
or bargain and sale, signed, sealed, and delivered by the per-
son, being of full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested
by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such
conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly
proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magis-
trates, courts, and registers, shall be appointed for that
purpose; and personal property may be transferred by delivery,
saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and
other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vincents, and the
neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed themselves
citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among
them, relative to the descent and conveyance of property.
Sec 3 Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be
appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a governor, whose
commission shall continue in force for the term of three years
unless sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the dis-
trict, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres
of land, while in the exercise of his office.
Sec 4 There shall be appointed from time to time, by Congress, a
secretary, whose commission shall continue in force for four
years, unless sooner revoked; he shall reside in the district,
and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of
land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty
to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the legisla-
ture, and the public records of the district, and the proceed-
ings of the governor in his executive department, and transmit
authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months
to the Secretary of Congress. There shall also be appointed a
court, to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a
court, who shall have a common law jurisdiction and reside in
the district, and have each therein a freehold estate, in five
hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of their offices;
and their commissions shall continue in force during good
behavior.
Sec 5 The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and
publish in the district such laws of the original States, crimi-
nal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited to the cir-
cumstances of the district, and report them to Congress from
time to time, which laws shall be in force in the district until
the organization of the general assembly therein, unless dis-
proved of by Congress; but afterwards the legislature shall have
authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
Sec 6 The governor, for the time being, shall be commander in chief of
the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same be-
low the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be
appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Sec 7 Previous to the organization of the general assembly the gov-
ernor shall appoint such magistrates, and other civil officers,
in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the
preservation of the peace and good order in the same. After the
general assembly shall be organized the powers and duties of
magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and
defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and other
civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the
continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the
governor.
Sec 8 For the prevention of crimes, and injuries, the laws to be
adopted or made shall have a force in all parts of the district,
and for the execution of the process, criminal and civil, the
governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall
proceed, from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay
out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall
have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject,
however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the
legislature.
Sec 9 So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants,
of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the
governor, they shall receive authority, with time and place, to
elect representatives from their counties or townships, to rep-
resent them in the general assembly: Provided, That for every
five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one represent-
ative, and so on, progressively, with the number of free male
inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until
the number of representatives shall amount to twenty five; after
which the number and proportion of representatives shall be reg-
ulated by the legislature: Provided, That no person be eligible
or qualified to act as a representative, unless he shall have
been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a
resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the
district three years; and, in either case, shall likewise hold
in his own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land with-
in the same: Provided also, That a freehold in fifty acres of
land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the
States, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold
and two years' residence in the district, shall be necessary to
qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
Sec 10 The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two
years; and in case of the death of a representative, or removal
from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the county or
township, for which he was a member, to elect another in his
stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
Sec 11 The general assembly, or legislature, shall consist of the gov-
ernor, legislative council, and a house of representatives. The
legislative council shall consist of five members, to continue
in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress; any
three of whom to be a quorum; and the members of the council
shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to
wit: As soon as representatives shall be elected the governor
shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together, and
when met they shall nominate ten persons, resident in the dis-
trict, and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of
land, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress
shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid; and whenever
a vacancy shall happen in the Council, by death or removal from
office, the house of representatives shall nominate two persons,
qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names
to Congress, one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission
for the residue of the term; and every five years, four months
at least before the expiration of the time of service of the
members of the council, the said house shall nominate ten per-
sons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Con-
gress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to
serve as members of the council five years, unless sooner re-
moved. And the governor, legislative council, and house of
representatives shall have authority to make laws in all cases
for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the
principles and articles in this ordinance established and de-
clared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the
house, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to
the governor for his assent; but no bill, or legislative act
whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. The gov-
ernor shall have power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the
general assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
Sec 12 The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such
other officers as Congress shall appoint in the district, shall
take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office; the gov-
ernor before the President of Congress, and all other officers
before the governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in
the district, the council and house assembled, in one room,
shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate to
Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of
debating, but not of voting, during this temporary government.
Sec 13 And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and
religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these republics,
their laws and constitutions, are erected; to fix and establish
those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and
governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said
territory; to provide, also, for the establishment of States,
and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a
share in the Federal councils on an equal footing with the
original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with
the general interest:
Sec 14 It is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority aforesaid,
that the following articles shall be considered as articles of
compact, between the original States and the people and States
in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless by
common consent, to wit:
ARTICLE I
No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner,
shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship, or
religious sentiments, in the said territory.
ARTICLE II
The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled
to the benefits of the writs of habeas corpus, and of the trial
by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in the
legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the course
of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for
capital offences, where the proof shall be evident, or the pre-
sumption great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or
unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived
of his liberty or property, but by the judgement of his peers,
or the law of the land, and should the public exigencies make it
necessary, for the common preservation, to take any person's
property, or to demand his particular services, full compensa-
tion shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation
of rights and property, it is understood and declared, that no
law ought ever to be made or have force in the said territory,
that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect
private contracts, or engagements, bona fide, and without fraud
previously formed.
ARTICLE III
Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good gov-
ernment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of
education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith
shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and
property shall never be taken from them without their consent;
and in their property, rights, and liberty they never shall be
invaded or disturbed unless in just and lawful wars authorized
by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall,
from time to time, be made, for preventing wrongs being done to
them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
ARTICLE IV
The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein,
shall ever remain a part of this confederacy of the United
States of America, subject to the articles of Confederation, and
to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made;
and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States In
Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and
settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of
the Federal debts, contracted, or to be contracted, and a pro-
portional part of the expenses of government to be apportioned
on them by Congress according to the same common rule and mea-
sure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other
States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid
and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of
the district, or districts, or new States, as the original
States, within the time agreed upon by the United States in
Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find
necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide
purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of
the United States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors
be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading
into the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence, and the carrying places
between the same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as
well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens
of the United States, and those of any other States that may be
admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty
therefor.
ARTICLE V
There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three
nor more than five States; and the boundaries of the States, as
soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and consent to
the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to wit:
The western State, in the said territory, shall be bounded by
the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Wabash Rivers; a direct line
drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north, to the ter-
ritorial line between the United States and Canada; and by the
said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi.
The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the
Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct
line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the
said territorial line, and by the said territorial line: Pro-
vided, however, And it is further understood and declared, that
the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to
be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient,
they shall have authority to form one or two States in the part
of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line
drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan.
And whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand
free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted by its
delegates, into the Congress of the United States, on an equal
footing with the original States, in all respects whatever; and
shall be at liberty to form a constitution and government, so to
be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the princi-
ples contained in these articles, and, so far as it can be con-
sistent with the general interest of the confederacy, such ad-
mission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when there
may be a less number of free inhabitants in the State than sixty
thousand.
ARTICLE VI
There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the
said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes,
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted: Provided al-
ways, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or
service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States,
such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the
person claiming his or her labor or service aforesaid.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the resolutions
of the 23rd of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this
ordinance, be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and declared
null and void.
Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13th day
of July, in the year of our Lord 1787, and of their sovereignty
and independence the twelfth.
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From the Journals of Congress (ed. 1823), IV., pp. 752-54.
