Northwest Territory

Learn how the U.S. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance to outline settlement of the Northwest TerritorySee all videos for this article

Northwest Territory, U.S. territory created by Congress in 1787 encompassing the region lying west of Pennsylvania, north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts had claims to this area, which they ceded to the central government between 1780 and 1800. Land policy and territorial government were established by the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787. Ultimately, five states—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin—were organized from the territory, and a small part, the land lying between the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, was incorporated into Minnesota.