Land Ordinance of 1785

• The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress on May 20,1785.

• 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

• Law passed by Congress that created a plan for surveying western lands and partitioning the land for sale.

• Surveyors created townships that consisted of 36 sections that were 1 square mile (640 acres) each.

• Parcel 16 was set aside in each township for the purpose of building and funding a public school.

• 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.