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THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE (1787)
An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of the United States
northwest of the River Ohio.
Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that the
said territory, for the purposes of temporary government, be one
district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as
future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it
expedient.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the estates, both of
resident and nonresident proprietors in the said territory, dying
intestate, shall descent 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 collaterals, 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 witnesses; and real estates may be conveyed by
lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed and delivered
by the person 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 magistrates,
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, St. 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.
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 district, and have a
freehold estate therein in 1,000 acres of land, while in the exercise
of his office.
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 500 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 legislature, and the public records of the district,
and the proceedings 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 500 acres of land while in
the exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue
in force during good behavior.
The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and
publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal
and civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the circumstances
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 disapproved of by Congress;
but afterwards the Legislature shall have authority to alter them as
they shall think fit.
The governor, for the time being, shall be commander in chief of
the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below
the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be
appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the general assembly, the governor
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 the 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.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or
made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the
execution of 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.
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 a
representative from their counties or townships to represent them in
the general assembly: Provided, That, for every five hundred free
male inhabitants, there shall be one representative, 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 regulated 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 within 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.
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 court to serve
for the residue of the term.
The general assembly or legislature shall consist of the governor,
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, residents in the district, 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 council, the said house shall nominate ten persons,
qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress; five of
whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the
council five years, unless sooner removed. 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 declared. 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 governor
shall have power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the general
assembly, when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
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 governor 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 voting during this
temporary government.
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.
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 1.
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 2.
The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to
the benefits of the writ 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 offenses,
where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great.
All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or unusual punishments
shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or
property, but by the judgment 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 compensation 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 3.
Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good
government 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 shall never be invaded or
disturbed, unless in jst and lawful wars authorized by Congress;
but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from time to time
be made for preventing wrongs eing done to them, and for preserving
peace and friendship with them.
Article 4.
The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein,
shall forever 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 proportional part of the
expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress
according to the same common rule and measure 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 in the original States, within the time
agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled.
The legislatures of those districts or new States, shall never
interfere with the primary disposal of the soil 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 nonresident proprietors be
taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the
Mississippi and St. 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 5.
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 Wabash Rivers; a direct line drawn from
the Wabash and Post Vincents, due North, to the territorial 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. The eastern State shall be bounded by
the last mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said
territorial line: Provided, 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
that 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 permanent constitution and State government: Provided, the
constitution and government so to be formed, shall be republican, and
in conformity to the principles contained in these articles; and, so
far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the
confederacy, such admission 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 6.
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, always, 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 as 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.
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