14 Facts About Old Northwest

1.

At the time of its creation the Old Northwest Territory was a vast wilderness, long-populated by Native American cultures including the Delaware, Miami, Potawatomi, Shawnee and others; there were only a handful of French colonial settlements, plus Clarksville at the Falls of the Ohio.

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2.

Old Northwest Territory included all the then-owned land of the United States west of Pennsylvania, east of the Mississippi River, and northwest of the Ohio River.

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3.

Virginia capitalized on Clark's success by laying claim to the whole of the Old Northwest, calling it Illinois County, Virginia, until 1784, when it ceded its land claims to the federal government.

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4.

The rest of the Old Northwest Territory was divided into roughly uniform square townships and sections, which facilitated land sales and development.

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5.

Old Northwest led a punitive expedition involving two Regular Army regiments and some militia.

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6.

Old Northwest organized and led the first group of veterans to the territory.

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7.

The Old Northwest Territory doubled the size of the United States, and establishing it as free of slavery proved to be of tremendous importance in the following decades.

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8.

Old Northwest was resented by Ohio Democratic-Republicans for his apparent partisanship, high-handedness and arrogance in office.

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9.

Old Northwest thus played no part in the organizing of the state of Ohio in 1803.

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10.

Article VI of the Articles of Compact within the Old Northwest Ordinance prohibited the owning of slaves within the Old Northwest Territory.

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11.

The square surveys of the Northwest Territory became a hallmark of the Midwest, as sections, townships, counties were laid out scientifically, and land was sold quickly and efficiently.

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12.

General Assembly of the Northwest Territory consisted of a Legislative Council and a House of Representatives consisting of 22 members elected by the male freeholders in nine counties.

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13.

Old Northwest Ordinance called for a public university for the education, settlement and eventual statehood of the frontier of Ohio and beyond.

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14.

Old Northwest Territory ceased to exist upon Ohio statehood on March 1,1803; the lands in Ohio that were previously part of Wayne County but not included in Trumbull County reverted to an unorganized status until new counties could be formed.

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