What was the purpose of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

• A. To facilitate trade with Native Americans
• B. To create a system for adding new states and managing western territories
• C. To establish military forts in the Northwest Territory
• D. To abolish slavery in new territories

Answer: (B)

The Northwest Ordinance was designed to provide an orderly way to govern and admit new territories into the United States. It created a clear framework for ruling the Northwest Territory (the lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi), detailing how a territory would be governed and, once it reached a large enough population, how it could become a state with full rights as part of the Union. Specifically, it established a territorial government and set milestones for when residents could form a government, draft a constitution, and apply for statehood at 60,000 free inhabitants. It also reserved land for public education and protected basic rights, including religious freedom and due process, and it permanently banned slavery in the territory, signaling an early stance on that issue in new states. While the ordinance did address relations with Native Americans and included some limits related to slavery, its main purpose was to outline how western lands would be governed and eventually integrated as states, ensuring orderly expansion rather than ad hoc settlement.