Ordinance
of 1787. The title of this important act of Congress is " An
ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States
northwest of the River Ohio." It provides for the governance of the
Northwestern Territory, and the
text is as follows :
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 descend 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 nay
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, 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 bein
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 5,000 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 representatives from their
counties or townships to represent them in the General Assembly:
Provided, that for every 500 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 shall 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, 200 acres
of land within the same: Provided, also, that a freehold in 50 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 county or township for which he
was a member, to elect another in his stead, 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 500 acres of land, and
return their names to Congress; five of whom Congress shall appoint and
commission to serve as afore-said; and, whenever a vacancy shall hap-pen
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, pro-rogue,
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 of 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:
ART. 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.
ART. 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 offences, 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.
ART. 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 just and lawful wars authorized by
Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to
time, be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for
preserving peace and friendship with them.
ART. 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 non-resident
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 therefore.
ART. 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 St. Vincent's, 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
Vincent's, 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 60,000 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 60,000.
ART. 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
23d of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this ordinance, be, and
the same are hereby repealed, and declared null and void.
Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13th day of July,
in the year of our Lord 1787, and of their independence the twelfth. See
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY, THE. |