8.9.3
Describe the significance of
the Northwest Ordinance in education and in the banning of slavery in new states
north of the Ohio River
Slavery and Education, two important issues in the Northwest Territory, were both
mentioned in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Some of the 13 colonies wanted to
extend their borders past the Mississippi. These territories, claimed by the
states, were eventually given to the government, and were called the Northwest
Territory. When Georgia and North Carolina turned over their land, they
requested that slavery be prohibited in those territories. The Northwest
Ordinance, adopted in 1787, gave Congress the power to divide the Northwest
Territory into 3 to 5 separate territories. Each territory had a governor, a
secretary, and three judges to govern it. A territory could also become a state
if its free population exceeded 60,000. It is mentioned in the Northwest
Ordinance that “schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged,”
which meant a portion of the money from the sale of the land in the territories
would go to public education. This is the first time the United States
government funded education, and “public schools” would appear throughout the
country, as they do today. Public education allowed those that were less wealthy
to go to school, resulting in more literacy and educated people among the
population. In addition, the Ordinance prohibits slavery in the new territories,
as suggested by Georgia and North Carolina, further spreading antislavery
principles throughout the northern part of the United States. “There shall be no
Slavery nor involuntary Servitude in the said territory”. The geography of the
northern states made slavery less profitable as in the South. However, the
Ordinance did not affect slaves already in the territories or ban slavery
completely. It would be a while before slavery is completely erased from the country.
The Northwest Ordinance, encouraging education.
Article 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. . .
The Northwest Ordinance, on slavery in the territories.
Article 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.
More Information:
1.
http://www.gliah.uh.edu/documents/searchdisplay.cfm?ID=301
Discusses the causes and agreements in the Northwest Ordinance,
specifically on the issue of slavery. Quotes significant parts of the actual
document.
2.
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle/northwest.html
Also talks about the main points of the
Ordinance. A rough overall summary (not as detailed).
3.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nworder.htm
Read the actual Northwest Ordinance, in the exact words of the creators. If
you find this hard to understand, visit the above sites for an interpretation.
More Information:
1.
The Great Lakes Frontier: An Epic of the Old Northwest
by John Anthony Caruso
2.
Pathways to the Old Northwest: An Observance of the Bicentennial of the Northwest Ordinance
by Lloyd A. Hunter.
3.
North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States 1790-1860
by L.F. Litwack