textfiles/politics/no-west.ord

THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE

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 grand-
child 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 ircumstances 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 ap-
pointed 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 author-
ity, 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 countto 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 acancy shall
happen in the council, by death or removal from ffice, the house of representa-
tives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and
return their names to Congress; one of whom congress shall appoint and commis-
sion 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 govern-
ment.  

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 follow-
ing 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 propor-
tionate 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 proper-
ty, 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 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.   

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 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 boun-
daries 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 con-
federacy, 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.   

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 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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Prepared by Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa300)