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 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 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 circumstances 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 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 five thousand 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 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 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 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 vacancy shall happen 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, 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 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:
Article I.
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.
Article II.
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 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 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.
Article III.
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.
Article IV.
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.
Article V.
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
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 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
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 sixty thousand.
Article VI.
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.