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Ordinance of 1784
The first page of the Ordinance of 1784
(as ratified on 23 April 1784)
Ratified23 April 1784
LocationLibrary of Congress
Author(s)Congress of the Confederation
PurposeEstablish territorial government in the Northwest Territory. Define the procedure whereby territories become states.

The Ordinance of 1784 was the first positive legislation by the Congress of the Confederation on the subject of how new states would be added to the United States of America. The ordinance defined a process whereby American settlers, living in territories not a part of any existing state, would organize a republican form of government that would then become a new state of the union. Enacted on 23 April 1784 under the Articles of Confederation and in effect for only three years, no state would be added to the union under its provisions.

The ordinance would be replaced and repealed by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The significance of the Ordinance of 1784 is as the predecessor to this ordinance, and as a useful step in the formulation of an effective political process for adding states to the union.

As a practical application the ordinance was ineffectual. At the time of its enactment there was no law to govern the transfer of land from the government to settlers, so systematic settlement could not be made. A law for that purpose was intended to become effective at the same time as the Ordinance of 1784, but its enactment was delayed for over a year. In addition, Indians living in the region were still in possession of the land, and systematic settlement could not begin until their opposition to that settlement was eliminated.

Background[edit]

British territory east of the Mississippi River in 1775.

Britain had ceded its claim to all territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States in Article 2 of the Treaty of Paris on 3 September 1783.

Those lands south of the Ohio River already contained American settlements and had political relationships with several states. Kentucky was a part of Virginia, Tennessee was a territory of North Carolina, and the lands south of Tennessee were claimed by South Carolina and Georgia. The future of these territories would be set by events already in progress.

The territory north of the Ohio River, though claimed by several states, was unsettled by Americans. It had been a theater of war between the U.S. and Britain during the American Revolutionary War, and was considered to be new territory won by right of conquest.

As early as 1776 Congress had expressed interest in these western territories as a source of revenue.[1] There was also interest in its political future as a part of the United States, but Congress felt that it could not proceed on the matter until competing claims on the land were extinguished, both those of the states and those of the Indians who had possession of the land.

French settlers[edit]

Britain had gained control of the region that would become the Northwest Territory following its victory in the French and Indian War in 1763. The settlers were mostly French, and in 1774 the area north of the Ohio River was attached to the Province of Quebec by the Quebec Act of 1774,[2] which allowed for the French Civil Code as a judicial system and sanctioned freedom of religious choice for the mostly Catholic settlers.

The settlers had shown no sympathy for the British cause during the American Revolutionary War, often providing assistance to American military efforts against the British, though never becoming formally involved in the conflict.[note 1]

Taking advantage of this still-tenuous sympathy, overtures to the French settlers of the region were made, assuring them that their liberty and property would be respected.[3] The overtures were favorably received, and thereafter the United States had a solid foothold in the region.

State claims[edit]

State claims on territory east of the Mississippi River.
Main article: State cessions

Congress passed a resolution on 6 September 1780 calling on states to cede their western land claims to the government and resolving that the western lands would become republican states of the union on an equal footing with the original states.[4][5] The cessation of state claims proceeded, though not quickly. Congress had brought forth a minor resolution relating to the territory in November 1781, but no action was taken on it, and the matter was still pending in late 1783.[6]

The cessation of state claims was a slow and politically sensitive process, and it would sometimes delay progress, but ultimately it did not prevent the accomplishment of national objectives as expressed by Congress.

Indian claims[edit]

A strategy was formulated that did not leave room for Indians to remain in their homelands. The U.S. would first negotiate, inducing the Indians to leave and hoping that they would do so as Americans moved closer to them. If they did not leave, then an attempt would be made to purchase their lands through legal means prior to taking action that would result in war.[7] The strategy was sometimes successful, but the Indians quickly realized that their only hope of retaining their homes was to fight, and a series of bloody conflicts ensued.

Context[edit]

Congress had presented and enacted general resolutions relating to the Northwest Territory over several years, but held back from taking definitive action until such time as that action would be meaningful. A resolution of 10 October 1780 held that lands ceded by states to the federal government would be for the common benefit of the United States, that they would be settled and would become new republican states, and those states would have a standing equal to that of the original 13 states.[8]

The time for action was favorable in late 1783. State cessations were in progress and the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, ceding all British claims between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River to the United States. Following a committee report on October 15 on the subject of Indian Affairs, several related resolutions were enacted. These mandated a non-hostile approach to acquiring Indian lands, resolved that friendly overtures be made to all of the French settlers of the western territory, resolved that New York's aggressive attitude towards the Iroquois be tempered, ordered that Indian trade be regulated under strict federal control, and mandated that the lands south of Lake Erie, west of Pennsylvania, and north of the Ohio River be acquired for American settlement.[9]

In addition, the stalled legislation regarding the organization of the Northwest Territory was revived, and a resolution was adopted to form a territorial government in the Northwest Territory, to discharge the nation's obligations to its veterans through grants of land, and to appoint a committee to work out the plan for the territorial government and set the means by which new territories would be admitted to the union as states of equal standing to the existing states, with republican forms of government.[10]

In support of the resolutions was a letter from George Washington to Congressman James Duane, specifically recommending the course stated in the resolutions that were enacted.[11][note 2]

Several intangible but important factors were at play at this time. Lacking authority to raise taxes, Congress under the Articles of Confederation was perpetually in need of financial resources, a problem that rendered Congress nearly impotent and threatened the nation's continued existence. Among its most politically sensitive obligations was the debt owed to Revolutionary War veterans who had served without pay with the promise that payment would be received after the war.

Organizing the Northwest Territory was a way to solve several problems at once. The national aspiration to grow and add new states would be served by the admission of states created out of the territory. Needed money would be raised by the sale of land in the newly organized territory. The debt to veterans would be discharged by giving them parcels of land in the territory. Indians would be expelled from the territory, leaving it in the undisputed possession of the United States.

All that was left to do was to specify the mechanics by which all of this would be accomplished.

The ordinance[edit]

Two congressional committees were set up, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia would chair both of them. The first was to draft an ordinance for the government of the territories, and it consisted of Jefferson, Samuel Chase of Maryland, and David Howell of Rhode Island.[12] The other was to draft an ordinance for the disposal of lands in the territories. It consisted of Jefferson, Hugh Williamson of North Carolina, David Howell, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts]], and Jacob Read of South Carolina.[13] Both ordinances were required in order for there to be a systematic settlement of the territories.

The committee drafting an ordinance for the government of the territories produced its draft on 1 March 1784, and after a number of amendments it became the Ordinance of 1784 on 23 April 1784.

First version[edit]

Organization of western territories under the March 1 draft of the ordinance.

The two committees working on the plan for a new territorial government in the Northwest Territory were both headed by Thomas Jefferson, working on separate and complementary parts of the legislation. The first part dealt with the establishment of a government, and the second part dealt with the mechanics of surveying and organizing the land.

The plan for the first part became the Ordinance of 1784, the first draft of which was in Jefferson's own handwriting. Presented to Congress on 1 March 1784, it was amended several times and then enacted into law on 23 April 1784. The Northwest Territory would be divided into 10 states, each of which could adopt a temporary form of government. When there were 20,000 free inhabitants, a state would be admitted to the union as the equal of every other state, under a republican form of government. The articles of this ordinance were made a compact between the original United States and each new State, and thus forever immutable without the consent of all parties.[14]

The ordinance specified that voters would consist of free males of full age (without any requirement of property ownership), that the government must be republican in form, that it would forever be a part of the confederacy, that it could not impose taxes on land owned by the U.S. nor interfere with the disposition of this land, and that non-resident landowners could not be taxed at a higher rate than resident landowners.

The ordinance is regarded as a precursor of the Ordinance of 1787 and a useful step in addressing uncharted political territory in American constitutional history, but not otherwise significant. It is usually measured in terms of its shortcomings that motivated its replacement by the Ordinance of 1787, and also in the differences between Jefferson's original version of 1 March and the version that was enacted on 23 April.

Original version[edit]

Organization of western territories under the April 23 ordinance that was enacted.

Between its first reading on 1 March and its enactment on 23 April, a number of amendments were made in succession. Jefferson's suggested names for the 10 new states were quickly eliminated. His clause excluding hereditary titleholders from full citizenship was also eliminated, as this issue was no longer seen as a credible threat to the nation's security. A clause prohibiting a higher tax rate for non-resident landowners was added. Several other modifications were made.

Land Ordinance[edit]

On 7 May 1784 Jefferson was named minister to France and resigned his seat in Congress that same day. Before he left, his committee that was drafting an ordinance for the disposal of lands in the territories produced its draft, but it would languish for over a year, and after a number of amendments would become the Land Ordinance of 1785 on 20 May 1785. Without a means to dispose of lands there would be no systematic settlement, making the Ordinance of 1784 little more than a piece of paper.

Epilogue[edit]

Rufus King's failed resolution to re-implement the slavery prohibition in the Ordinance of 1784.

The elimination of Jefferson's clause prohibiting slavery and indentured servitude after the year 1800 did not close the matter, as shown by Rufus King's unsuccessful effort to re-institute the prohibition by introducing a resolution to that effect on 6 April 1785.[15] The issue would be revisited in 1787, when the ordinance of that year was enacted with the prohibition included.

The clause referring to the return of fugitive slaves was added in an effort to reduce opposition to the objective of the clause, which was to prevent the spread of slavery beyond its present limits and into the territories. Given that objective, it is ironic that this is the first attempt to enact a fugitive slave law in the United States, and that the first enactment of a fugitive slave law would accompany the prohibition of slavery in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which preserved King's original phrasing.

Read at Wikisource[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The antagonistic relationship between Britain and France was not the only relevant factor here. Relations between Indian tribes had created alliances and enmities, and many of the tribes allied with the British were enemies of both the French settlers and their local Indian allies.
  2. ^ Washington is sometimes given credit for moving the process along and setting its direction. However, this had been under discussion for months by members of Congress, Washington had been a party to some of these conversations, and the topic was ancillary to the stated purpose of Washington's letter. For those who favored the resolutions, it was fortuitous indeed that the influential Washington would write such a letter at just this time.
    Washington's stated purpose for writing the letter was to express alarm that the legislature of New York might try to expel the Six Nations (ie, the Iroquois) from that state, causing another costly and bloody Indian war that should be avoided. In a postscript he noted that after the Oneida had presented their grievances to him, he had ordered that troops be given additional ammunition as a precaution against hostilities. The Oneida were one of the Six Nations that New York intended to expel, and along with the Tuscarora they had been staunch U.S. allies during the Revolutionary War, and had been assured of favorable treatment after the war was won. If Washington felt any sense of moral obligation towards these Indian allies, he did not express it in his letter, which outlined a strategy by which all Indian peoples would be expelled from American territory.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Barrett 1891:4, Evolution of Ord. of 1787
  2. ^ Treat 1910:3, National Land System
  3. ^ Congress (October 15, 1783), "Report on Indian Affairs", in Hunt, Gaillard (ed.), Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 (1783, September 1 – December 31), vol. XXV, Washington: Library of Congress (published 1921), p. 689{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ Perkins 1851:xiv, Annals of the West
  5. ^ Merriam 1888:303–304, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  6. ^ Merriam 1888:304–307, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  7. ^ Merriam 1888:303–308, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  8. ^ Merriam 1888:304, Leg. Hist. of Ord. 1787
  9. ^ Merriam 1888:307, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  10. ^ Merriam 1888:307–308, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  11. ^ Washington, George (1783), "To James Duane, 7 September, 1783", in Evans, Lawrence B. (ed.), Writings of George Washington, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons (published 1908), p. 476 – 485 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  12. ^ Barrett 1891:18, Evolution Ord. of 1787
  13. ^ Treat 1910:22, National Land System
  14. ^ Merriam 1888:309–312, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787
  15. ^ Merriam 1888:314, Leg. Hist. Ord. of 1787

Bibliography[edit]


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